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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 #32 - Columbus Crew
| Rank | User | Total | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score | Possession |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | User | Total | Lineup | Bonus | Winner | Score | Possession |
| 1 | AmandaC | 22 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | CascadiaCrunchFC | 20 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Isabelt | 20 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | AshMan77 | 19 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Colombian_Southsider77 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | edmondk | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Island Life | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Airos | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | CDPrior | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Westsider13 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | hbamaral | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | tecate | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 | rtomsheck | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | chuckbiscuits | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | Tres_Tristes_Tigres | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | AtlantisB | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
September/October Standings
| Rank | User | Overall | Houston | Columbus | LA | RSL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | User | Overall | Houston | Columbus | LA | RSL |
| 1 | Columbian_Southsider77 | 60 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 15 |
| 2 | AshMan77 | 58 | 17 | 19 | 10 | 12 |
| 2 | Island Life | 58 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 12 |
| 4 | CascadiaCrunchFC | 55 | 13 | 20 | 10 | 12 |
| 5 | CDPrior | 50 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 13 |
| 5 | tecate | 50 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 12 |
| 7 | AmandaC | 49 | 10 | 22 | 8 | 9 |
| 8 | edmondk | 48 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 15 |
| 8 | Isabelt | 48 | 9 | 20 | 10 | 9 |
| 8 | rtomsheck | 48 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 12 |
| 11 | AtlantisB | 46 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 12 |
| 11 | hbamaral | 46 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 9 |
| 13 | chuckbiscuits | 40 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 13 |
| 14 | Tres_Tristes_Tigres | 37 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| 15 | Airos | 33 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 0 |
| 16 | GreyHouseEffect | 32 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 16 |
| 17 | Westsider13 | 29 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 0 |
Match Review (Tres_Tristes_Tigres & AtlantisB)
The Vancouver Whitecaps match against Columbus Crew was certainly an interesting one. The last-second tying goal dramatically changed our prediction standings. This led to an interesting spread of scores. I think it might be the most varied this season. We have a cluster who finished from 19-22, another from 12-15, and a third, sadly where both Tres_Tristes_Tigres & AtlantisB find themselves) from 8-9.
Congrats to AmandaC who was one a Bair instead of Chirinos away from a perfect match. They finished at the top with 22 points, followed by CascadiaCrunchFC (20), Isabelt (20), and AshMan77 (19).
Congrats to 10 of the 16 of us, who correctly predicted the possession number. I thought that this contest would be difficult but it seems people have done quite well over the first two matches. We will see if that continues this weekend.
With two solid matches to start September, AshMan77 has a one point lead (36 to 35) over Island Life. Still really close though, especially with the top five. Personally, I am just glad I am not last as it has been a TERRIBLE period of predictions for me.
The Caps are in LA this weekend to face the LA Galaxy. We will have our Know the Enemy piece up on Friday and our Match Preview up on Saturday morning. Make sure to check out both before making your predictions. Will we see the same old, same old, or will some of the young, fringe, guys get an opportunity?