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Welcome to another season of our Vancouver Whitecaps contest “Guess the Starting XI and Final Score”. As is tradition, thanks to former regular Spencer for starting this several years ago. It has grown into a great contest and I am appreciative of him for the original idea. Like last season, we will break the contest up into the three ‘seasons’: first half, second half, and non-MLS. We will continue to have fun monthly ‘bonus’ prediction categories, with some being based on whatever it topical at the time. Last season we had things like “Robbo post-match quotes”, “yellow cards”, “first goal scorer”, and several others. However, to start the season, we will keep March simple. With that out of the way, let’s remind you all how the scoring is done.
Contest Details
- Contest article will be posted 2-3 days prior to game day.
- We will keep track of first half, second half, and monthly winners so that late joiners will have something to play for.
- I will have a separate ‘contest’ for Voyageurs and Champions League.
- As the MLS season is 34 matches, each half of the season will be based on 17 matches, with your worst two match predictions being dropped. This will allow everyone a few misses or bad guesses throughout the season.
- Predictions will be ‘valid’ if posted HERE 1.5 hours prior to kickoff (or half an hour prior to the lineup being officially announced).
How Scoring is Determined
- You receive 1 point for every player you correctly guess to be in the Starting XI. Receive 1 bonus point for correctly predicting 10 starters. Receive 3 bonus points for correctly predicting 11 starters.
- You get 5 points for correctly guessing Win/Lose/Draw.
- You receive 1 point for correctly guessing each team’s final score. Receive 1 bonus point for correctly guessing both teams final score (for a total of 3).
That means, if you correctly predict the Starting XI, Final Score, and Winner, you can earn 22 points!
After each match, I will tally the scores and update the standings, which will be posted with the following match’s prediction article. I will post three sets of standings. First, the results from the previous match. Second, the monthly standings. Third, the first/second half standings (with your worst two match predictions removed).
Non-MLS Match #3 (Toronto FC)
| Ranking | User | Score | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score | Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | User | Score | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score | Card |
| 1 | rtomsheck | 18 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 2 | Westsider13 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | AtlantisB | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | BlackPanther99 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | CascadiaCrunchFC | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | olikchivas | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | GreyHouseEffect | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Island Life | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Arjon | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | chuckbiscuits | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | edmondk | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Isabelt | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | JStebeck | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | freewheeling | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | tecate | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | The Squirrel | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Second Half Standings
| Rank | User | Score | COL | CHI | DC | SEA | MIN | NYCFC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | User | Score | COL | CHI | DC | SEA | MIN | NYCFC |
| 1 | Arjon | 61 | 8 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 4 |
| 2 | chuckbiscuits | 58 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 14 | 15 | 4 |
| 2 | Isabelt | 58 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 7 |
| 4 | The Squirrel | 57 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 11 |
| 5 | Jph003 | 55 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 19 | 14 | 8 |
| 6 | AtlantisB | 53 | 8 | 10 | 17 | 12 | 14 | 8 |
| 7 | CascadiaCrunchFC | 52 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| 7 | GreyHouseEffect | 52 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 9 | 0 |
| 7 | hbamaral | 52 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 14 | 5 |
| 7 | Island Life | 52 | 7 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 3 |
| 11 | edmondk | 50 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 5 |
| 11 | olikchivas | 50 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 14 | 7 |
| 11 | ZTJ9901 | 50 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 14 | 0 |
| 14 | BlackPanther99 | 49 | 9 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 7 |
| 15 | dfree646 | 47 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 13 | 8 |
| 15 | rtomsheck | 47 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 16 | 6 |
| 15 | Westsider13 | 47 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 7 | 8 |
| 18 | MarcoD77 | 42 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 19 | AmandaC | 41 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 6 |
| 20 | AdamP17 | 40 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 5 |
| 21 | MacMhuirrich | 38 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Jstebeck | 37 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 14 | 9 |
| 22 | tecate | 37 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 24 | Cashen | 32 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Jitsuo | 31 | 7 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | robbosg1 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | freewheeling | 18 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 28 | CWilkins | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Match Review (New York City FC) and Preview (Portland Timbers)
Yuck! I didn’t think that our scores could be any worse than the Colorado match, but here we go!
First, I will remind everyone that the final First Half Standings have been posted, along with all the fun statistics, so make sure to check that out. Congrats to dfree646 for winning that contest!
Several participants posted “I hope I am wrong” score guesses. Well, you were half wrong. Does that count? NYC FC did not win, but neither did the Caps. Only two participants (The Squirrel and JStebeck) correctly predicted a draw. However, The Squirrel also correctly predicted a 2-2- draw (JStebeck had 1-1). Both are probably thankful that they correctly predicted the draw because their other predictions were not so good; The Squirrel tied for a match low of 3/11 for the Starting XI while JStebeck wasn’t much better at 4/11. Don’t worry though, you were not alone!
As has been the case several times this season with our bonus contest, there were zeros across the board. No one received a yellow for the Whitecaps...and none of us predicted no yellow cards. This is the reminder that we are doing a ‘First Yellow Card’ prediction for August. If you correctly predict the first Whitecaps player to receive a yellow card (or if you predict NO yellow cards), then you get the additional three bonus points.
AmandaC was lucky enough to watch the game at Yankee Stadium. How was it? Did it feel as small watching it live as it does on television? AmandaC originally predicted a 2-2 draw, but was scared off by the big lights of Yankee Stadium and changed their prediction. Tisk tisk. Consolation prize, you still got one point for correctly guessing NYC FC goal total...and you left the stadium with a Whitecaps draw.
I have posted the Second Half Standings (excluding your worst two matches). Arjon has the early lead in that one, with 61 points, while newcomer Isabelt and regular chuckbiscuits are tied for second with 58 points. The Squirrel (57) and Jph003 (55) round out the top five.
The Vancouver Whitecaps now travel to Portland to play their second Cascadia match. Hopefully this one turns out better than the first. Portland has been on a VERY hot streak of late, and used the MLS transfer deadline to strengthen their team...while the Whitecaps did...little. It could be a tough match for the Whitecaps.
Efrain Juarez will still be out, due to suspension, while several players could miss time because of injuries; although most appear to be among bench players. The Captain Kendall Waston will be back, and hopefully Alphonso Davies did not sustain an injury at the tail end of Wednesday’s Voyageurs Cup match.
Good luck with this one. I will update as more information becomes available.
KNOWN OUT (Will be updated as information becomes available)
Injury:
Suspension: Efrain Juarez