August 16, 2019 League 1 Ontario--Preview of Matchweek 15 games (from League 1 Ontario website)

All On The Line In Matchweek 15 Men's Final Match-Ups
08/16/2019, 3:45pm EDT
By League1 Ontario staff

Who needs to win? Who could lose? It's all at stake with #playoffs2019 right around the corner...
 
The 2019 League1 Ontario men's season wraps up over the Aug 16 - 18 period with Matchweek 15, 
but the pot has not boiled yet on the destiny of several teams determined to make their mark 
in the playoffs.

Let's take a closer look...

At the top of the table, three teams sit in "untouchable" territory - Oakville Blue Devils 
(35 pts), Vaughan SC (34 pts) and Alliance United (33 pts). 

None of the top three seeds can be caught in the final matchweek by the teams below them, 
so they will enjoy the benefit of being able to choose home or away status in their first 
quarter-final round.

However, any of these three sides could flip-flop position with the other, depending on results. 
And so who do they have??

Oakville Blue Devils will play 13th place Windsor TFC on Friday August 16 (8 p.m.) 
@ University of Windsor, Windsor. 

Vaughan SC will play 9th place Aurora FC on Sunday August 18 (6 p.m.) 
@ Stewart Burnett Park, Aurora. 

Alliance United will play 14th place Durham United FA on Friday August 16 (8 p.m.) 
@ Kinsmen Park, Pickering. 

Oakville's trip to Windsor will be tough, especially with the southern Ontario side 
showing great progress in 2019, but one would reasonably expect the Blue Devils 
and Alliance to show their class and win these contests handily.

Vaughan, on the other hand, are up against a very strong Aurora side that will know 
a win is their only hope at post-season qualification. Keep your eyes on this fixture!

The real warfare in Matchweek 15 is going to be with teams occupying positions fourth 
through tenth in the table, as currently ranked playoff sides will be hungrily eyeing 
that fourth and final top seed spot.

Currently, Sigma FC (27 pts) occupy fourth place in the table, ahead of Masters FA 
(27 pts) by the thinnest of margins as both sides are tied on points, but Sigma 
go ahead based on League1's second tiebreaker - most points in head to head regular 
season competition (Sigma took out Masters 2-1 back in May).

Both sides do not need to win in their final match, as the 6th place side is too 
far back to catch them, but Sigma will need to match Masters' result if they are 
to hold a top seed position.

So who have they got?

Sigma FC will play 6th place side North Mississauga SC in a local derby, which 
also doubles as the first ever Mississauga supporters-driven Credit River Cup Final, 
on Friday August 16 (7:45 p.m.) @ Paramount Fine Foods, Mississauga. 

Masters FA will play 16th place side OSU Force on Saturday August 17 (3:30 p.m) 
at L'Amoreaux Sports Centre, Toronto. 

Given the day between each match, and a considerable difference in quality 
between Masters and their opponent, Masters do look like a decent bet to overtake 
Sigma into seeded territory if the Mississauga academy is not careful against 
a North Miss side with serious momentum and drive. 

Occupying sixth position in the table is North Mississauga (23 pts), who have 
proven themselves to be a force to be reckoned with after gelling well under 
the leadership of first year League1 coach, Aleks Balta. But the Panthers are 
not 100 per cent safe yet. 

Tonight's big fixture could be euphoria or heartbreak for the Mississauga side 
as there is a slim chance that a loss or draw could even bounce them out 
of the playoffs. 

This would require the three teams below - 7th place FC London (22 pts), 8th place 
Woodbridge Strikers (22 pts) and 9th place Aurora FC (21 pts) - to win their 
Matchweek 15 matches, combined with a low-scoring draw by North Miss. 

In this case, the Panthers would be tied on points with Aurora FC for the final 
spot in the eight-team playoffs grouping, with tiebreakers being called into play. 
As both teams would be equal on points and drew each other 1-1 in the regular 
season, the dividing line would come down to which side has a better goal 
difference followed by a tiebreaker of which side has the most goals for. 

Destiny-shaping for these teams is of course all about who can take the three 
points at this stage. Since we know who North Miss and Aurora are playing, 
we'll take a gander at who London and Woodbridge have:

FC London will play 11th place side Pro Stars FC on Sunday August 18 (5 p.m.) 
at Victoria Park, Brampton.

*Note - London v Pro Stars will be carried as a live stream on: league1ontario.com

Woodbridge SC will play 12th place side Unionville Milliken SC 
on Sunday August 18 (5 p.m.) at Vaughan Grove, Woodbridge. 

Last, and certainly with the least chance of making the playoffs, is the tenth 
place side, Darby FC (20 pts). 

Despite having a very strong season, the east-side GTA squad dropped points in some 
crucial matches and head into Matchweek 15 with only a hope and a prayer as company.

It is impossible for Darby to catch 6th place side North Mississauga as they lost 
in head-to-head seasonal competition, but they do have a chance to overhaul London, 
Woodbridge and Aurora. 

Darby would need to win outright and have FC London draw, Woodbridge lose 
and Aurora draw in order to go above all three and settle in 7th position 
in the table.

A better result from any of the above and Darby are out of luck. But, first 
things first, who do Darby need to topple??

Darby FC will play 13th place Toronto Skillz on Sunday August 18 (2 p.m.) 
at Birchmount Stadium, Toronto.

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