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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 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).
Match 31 - Houston Dynamo
| Rank | User | Total | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score | Possession |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | User | Total | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score | Possession |
| 1 | Island Life | 22 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Colombian_Southsider77 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | rtomsheck | 17 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | AshMan77 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | hbamaral | 16 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | AtlantisB | 15 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | tecate | 15 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | Tres-Tristes_Tigres | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | CDPrior | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | CascadiaCrunchFC | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 11 | AmandaC | 10 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | GreyHouseEffect | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | edmondk | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | chuckbiscuits | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Airos | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | Isabelt | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Westsider13 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Match Review (Tres_Tristes_Tigres & AtlantisB)
The Vancouver Whitecaps decided to switch things up and try winning for a change this week, an outcome predicted by half of us. It seems that an opportunity to face the conference’s next worst team at home sparked some optimism going into the match.
Congrats to Island Life for running away with the top spot this week. They were just one player away from a perfect score. They join tecate as the only people to earn lineup bonuses this week.
It was a strong start for the September bonus category. There were six people who claimed the three points for predicting a Whitecaps possession rate between 46% - 52%. It was a nice improvement for the Caps, who had averaged just 40% possession in their previous three home games.
I have decided NOT to provide the update for the Second Half standings for the remainder of the season. I feel like it could make it a bit more ‘interesting’ heading into the final few matches if we don’t (easily) know where people stand. I will update the monthly contest though starting next match.
As outlined above, the bonus category for September/October contest is possession. Correctly predict the Whitecaps possession within +/- 3% and you get three extra points added to your monthly total only (it is excluded from the overall standings).
As usual, make sure to check out our Know the Enemy and Match Preview prior to making your predictions for the Columbus Crew match for all the latest on potential formation, injuries, scores, etc.
Good luck!