Rescheduled Play-Offs
Whitecaps scheduled to play on 26th.
from the Whitecaps and USL Soccer

This will be the second leg of the two-game total-goals series.  Vancouver will open the playoffs on the road on Wednesday, September 26 in either Atlanta or San Diego.  The two-game first round series between Atlanta and San Diego concludes Sunday, September 23 in Atlanta.

The A-League playoffs had been scheduled to begin yesterday, but were postponed one week by the United Soccer Leagues in the wake of the tragedy of this week's terrorist attacks.

Against San Diego this season, the Whitecaps posted a 2-1 record with home wins of 3-2 and 3-0 and a 2-3 OT road loss.  Vancouver eliminated San Diego from the playoffs last season on penalty kicks after playing to a 1-1 tie in San Diego in a single-game elimination format.  Vancouver has not played Atlanta since 1997 when the team was known as the Ruckus. 

The winner of the Vancouver vs Atlanta/San Diego series will advance to the semi-finals to face the winner of the Hershey Wildcats vs Portland Timbers/Charlotte Eagles series. 

All playoff series, apart from the A-League Final which is a single game, use the two-game total-goals format introduced to the league last season.  The higher seeded team gets to decide whether to play their home game first or second.  If the aggregate score is tied after the second game, then 30 minutes of sudden-death overtime, and if necessary, penalty kicks, are used to decide the winner.  In last year's playoffs, Vancouver lost their total-goal series with the Minnesota Thunder by an aggregate of 4-3 in overtime in Minnesota after winning the first game 3-0 at home.

Whitecaps Train Thursday and Friday this Week
The Whitecaps train Thursday and Friday this week at 4:00 p.m. at the BCIT Oval off Wayburne Drive in Burnaby.  On Saturday, Vancouver will fly to Calgary for an exhibition game against the Calgary Storm of the USL Premier Development League, pending the availability of their scheduled flight.

Sulentic Breaks Mobilio's Assist Record
Following a video review of Vancouver's opening goal by Jason Jordan in last Friday's 2-1 win over Seattle, the assist has been changed from Alfredo Valente to John Sulentic.  That gives Sulentic 26 assists in his Vancouver career, breaking the club record of 25 held by Domenic Mobilio.  Vancouver players have only received assists since 1993 as they were not awarded in the Canadian Soccer League.  On the goal, Valente fed the ball into the box, Sulentic stabbed it at goal, and it deflected to Jordan in front who scored.

Revised A-League 2001 Playoff Schedule (All times PDT)

Round 1

Bye to second round:
  #1 seed Richmond Kickers (16-7-3)
  #2 Hershey Wildcats (16-7-3)
  #3 Vancouver Whitecaps (16-8-2)
  #4 Rochester Raging Rhinos (16-6-4)

#5 Charleston Battery (16-9-1)  vs  #12 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (10-12-4)
  Thur, Sept 20 in Pittsburgh, 4:35 p.m.
  Sat, Sept 22 in Charleston, 4:30 p.m.

#6 San Diego Flash (14-11-1)  vs  #11 Atlanta Silverbacks (13-12-1)
  Wed, Sept 19 in San Diego, 7:00 p.m.
  Sun, Sept 23 in Atlanta, 2:30 p.m.

#7 Charlotte Eagles (14-10-2)  vs  #10 Portland Timbers (13-10-3)
  Thur, Sept 20 in Portland, 7:05 p.m.
  Sat, Sept 22 in Charlotte, 4:30 p.m.

#8 Milwaukee Rampage (14-10-2)  vs  #9 Nashville Metros (14-10-2)
  Thur, Sept 20 in Nashville, 5:00 p.m.
  Sat, Sept 22 in Milwaukee, 1:00 p.m.

Round 2

Richmond vs winner of Milwaukee-Nashville
  TBA in Milwaukee or Nashville
  Sun, Sept 30 in Richmond, 2:00 p.m.

Hershey vs winner of Charlotte-Portland
  TBA in Charlotte or Portland
  Sat, Sept 29 in Hershey, 6:35 p.m.

Vancouver vs winner of San Diego-Atlanta
  Wed, Sept 26 in San Diego or Atlanta
  Sat, Sept 29 in Vancouver, 7:30 p.m.

Rochester vs winner of Charleston-Pittsburgh
  TBA in Charleston or Pittsburgh
  Sat, Sept 29 in Rochester, 4:35 p.m.

Round 3 runs October 3-7.

The A-League Championship Final will be played between October 12-14.  It will be hosted by one of the two finalists, as awarded by the league office. 

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