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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 half-an-hour prior to the lineup being officially announced (1 hour before kickoff).
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).
Previous Match Rankings
| Rank | User | Total Score | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score | First Goal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | User | Total Score | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score | First Goal |
| 1 | The Squirrel | 19 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | chuckbiscuits | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Isabelt | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Island Life | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Airos | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | AmandaC | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | CascadiaCrunchFC | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | CDPrior | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | GreyHouseEffect | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | TillmanD | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | ZTJ9901 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | tecate | 11 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | AtlantisB | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | CapsOnTheDrive | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Columbian_Soutsider77 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | Tres_Tristes_Tigres | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | AdamP 17 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | AshMan77 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | edmondk | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Fudmur | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | hbamaral | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | rtomsheck | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | SnakeDave | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Westsider13 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
April Final Standings
| Rank | User | Overall Score | Galaxy | Chicago | LAFC | Orlando | Philadelphia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | User | Overall Score | Galaxy | Chicago | LAFC | Orlando | Philadelphia |
| 1 | CapsOnTheDrive | 65 | 9 | 19 | 18 | 9 | 10 |
| 2 | AtlantisB | 63 | 17 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 10 |
| 2 | Isabelt | 63 | 9 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 15 |
| 2 | tecate | 63 | 8 | 16 | 13 | 15 | 11 |
| 5 | GreyHouseEffect | 62 | 9 | 19 | 10 | 12 | 12 |
| 5 | Westsider13 | 62 | 16 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 8 |
| 7 | The Squirrel | 60 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 19 |
| 7 | ZTJ9901 | 60 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 10 | 12 |
| 9 | Columbian_Soutsider77 | 57 | 8 | 17 | 12 | 10 | 10 |
| 10 | Tres_Tristes_Tigres | 56 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | CascadiaCrunchFC | 53 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 14 |
| 12 | chuckbiscuits | 52 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 15 |
| 13 | edmondk | 51 | 7 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 9 |
| 13 | TillmanD | 51 | 9 | 14 | 16 | 0 | 12 |
| 15 | Airos | 50 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 14 |
| 15 | AmandaC | 50 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 14 |
| 17 | AshMan77 | 49 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 9 |
| 17 | rtomsheck | 49 | 8 | 10 | 15 | 8 | 8 |
| 19 | hbamaral | 48 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 |
| 20 | Fudmur | 45 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
| 21 | AdamP 17 | 43 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 9 |
| 21 | CDPrior | 43 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 12 |
| 23 | Island Life | 42 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 15 |
| 24 | PowerOutOnTheKingsway | 41 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 0 |
| 25 | Jitsuo | 39 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 0 |
| 26 | AlexGangue91 | 35 | 11 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Jph003 | 29 | 0 | 12 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | SnakeDave | 29 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 8 |
| 29 | MarcusEarth | 27 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | BlackPanther99 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | JStebeck | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Slowkid | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First Half Standings
| Ranking | User | Overall Score | Match #1 | Match #2 | Match #3 | Match #4 | Match #5 | Match #6 | Match #7 | Match #8 | Match #9 | Match #10 | Match #11 | Match #12 | Match #13 | Match #14 | Match #15 | Match #16 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | User | Overall Score | Match #1 | Match #2 | Match #3 | Match #4 | Match #5 | Match #6 | Match #7 | Match #8 | Match #9 | Match #10 | Match #11 | Match #12 | Match #13 | Match #14 | Match #15 | Match #16 |
| 1 | Island Life | 204 | 15 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 15 | 15 | 7 | 20 | 15 |
| 2 | AtlantisB | 203 | 9 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 19 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 15 | 11 |
| 3 | Isabelt | 197 | 11 | 19 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 12 |
| 4 | tecate | 196 | 16 | 19 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 14 |
| 5 | edmondk | 194 | 8 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 10 |
| 6 | AmandaC | 192 | 11 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 15 | 9 |
| 7 | CascadiaCrunchFC | 191 | 15 | 17 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 19 |
| 7 | Westsider13 | 191 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 15 |
| 9 | ZTJ9901 | 190 | 10 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 20 | 16 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 12 |
| 10 | The Squirrel | 185 | 13 | 19 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 12 |
| 11 | chuckbiscuits | 184 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 17 | 11 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 17 | 9 |
| 12 | GreyHouseEffect | 183 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 19 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 9 |
| 13 | AshMan77 | 180 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 14 |
| 14 | hbamaral | 176 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 12 |
| 15 | Airos | 174 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 15 |
| 16 | CapsOnTheDrive | 172 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 19 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 11 |
| 16 | rtomsheck | 172 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 9 |
| 18 | Tres_Tristes_Tigres | 168 | 0 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 11 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 11 |
| 19 | AdamP 17 | 161 | 11 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 16 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 10 |
| 20 | CDPrior | 159 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 14 |
| 21 | Fudmur | 138 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 12 | 19 | 0 | 6 | 19 | 12 |
| 22 | TillmanD | 133 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 12 | 17 | 19 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 10 |
| 23 | Columbian_Southsider77 | 132 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 10 |
| 24 | Jitsuo | 101 | 8 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 25 | AlexGangue91 | 77 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Jph003 | 71 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MarcusEarth | 60 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | BlackPanther99 | 51 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | SnakeDave | 46 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Slowkid | 44 | 9 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | PowerOutOnTheKingsway | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | JStebeck | 35 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | olikchivas | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Derek L | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Hasslis2ndshirt | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | sammygee | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | JSONX | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Match in Review (Philadelphia Union) and Preview (Colorado Rapids)
Hello Everyone. A lot to cover in this one, so let’s get right to it. We will start with the easy one. Thanks to Tres_Tristes_Tigres who noted my error with the 1st Half Standings. That has now been updated above.
Speaking of Tres_Tristes_Tigres, they will be assisting me with updating the tables each week, so a big thanks to them.
We had a great final match of the month with The Squirrel coming out on top. They were the only participant to correctly predict a 1-1 draw and were only missed on their lineup with Lass instead of PC. There was a three-way tie for second between chuckbiscuits, Isabelt, and Island Life. Congrats to chuckbiscuits who was the second prediction of the week and managed a perfect lineup. Island Life had to settle for second this match, but I wanted to add their comment “...if I keep predicting they will win at some point I have to be right...” We can only hope. Sadly, it wasn’t this match.
AmandaC is FINALLY trusting their gut and it is paying off. Meanwhile, GreyHouseEffect REALLY covered themselves by predicting a 2-1 win but also predicting no goal scorer. Sadly, both were wrong. I like the creativity though. AshMan77 was very optimistic with their 3-0 scoreline. Sadly, they were a bit too optimistic. tecate called the “PC is an MDS favourite utility guy who can help in the upfield pressure game”. Was also correct on the Henry goal, but sadly, said it wouldn’t be the first goal. Finally, congrats to ZTJ9901 who was the only person to correctly predict Henry with the first goal.
Some general comments. A lot of classic 2-1 scorelines. Seems a lot of fans don’t have confidence in Nerwinski as Sutter still shows up in a lot of lineups. Several VAR predictions, so clearly I write this for NO ONE! :P
Moving to the April Standings, we have a final score. And the winner is....well, you already know as you looked at the standings. Congrats to CapsOnTheDrive who beat out AtlantisB, Isabelt, and tecate by two points to take the April ‘title’. tecate, if only you weren’t so adamant about that VAR situation ;).
A new month means a new bonus category. Let’s get away from the goals contest and go with first substitute. We are going to make this a little more creative this time. You can earn a bonus ‘4’ points instead of the typical ‘3’. You get ‘2’ points for correctly predicting the first player substituted OFF and ‘2’ points for correctly predicting the first player being substituted ON.
That is it from me. Make sure to check out our Know the Enemy and Pre-Match articles to prep you for this one. Hint, Reyna is injured.
Good luck!
P.S. I would love if someone would create a great little graphic that we could use for these articles!