Our final PDL playoff preview features the three divisions comprising the Western Conference. The three divisions have already been wrapped up so all that’s left is who will join them as the wildcard.

(Be sure to also check out our previews for the Eastern, Southern and Central conferences.)

First, a little refresher about how the playoffs work.

The postseason starts July 20 with four four-team Conference playoffs. The Conference winners then move on to the National Semifinals.

with four four-team Conference playoffs. The Conference winners then move on to the National Semifinals. In conferences with three divisions (that’s the Eastern, Southern and Western), each division winner and the highest-finishing second-place team in the conference make the playoffs. The second-place team is automatically the №4 seed, no matter their point total, and will be matched up with one of the teams outside of their division.

The Western Conference playoffs will take place July 20–21 in Pasadena, Calif., with FC Golden State Force playing host.

Southwest Division

First up are the hosts FC Golden State Force (11–1–1, 34 points), who wrapped up the Southwest Division. They were also last year’s Western Conference champions and made it to the PDL Final Four before losing 1–0 to PDL runners-up Thunder Bay Chill.

This year’s Force had a decent run in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, beating two USL clubs (Orange County SC and Las Vegas Lights) before losing to MLS’s LA Galaxy in the fourth round.

The Force are led in scoring by Samuel Villava (12 goald, two assists) and have the No. 44 PDL Top Prospect in Pedro Fonseca, a midfielder from the University of Louisville. The Force travel to Ventura County Fusion July 14. A Force win will guarantee the No. 1 seed as well as potentially denying Ventura County a wildcard spot.

Northwest Division

The Northwest Division saw Calgary Foothills FC (10–1–2, 32 points) win the title after tying with Portland Timbers U23 last season. Calgary is led in scoring by Moses Danto, who has bagged nine goals in nine games for Foothills FC this season. Danto also cracks the Top Prospect list, coming in at No. 50.

Calgary last won the Northwest in 2016, the same season they made it to the PDL Final before falling to the Michigan Bucks. Foothills has only conceded seven goals on the season.

The men from Calgary can clinch the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference if they win their final match, a home date with Sounders FC U23 July 14, and if FC Golden State Force fails to win or draw their final match.

Mountain Division

Colorado Rapids U23 (8–2–4, 28 points) are set to win their first division crown since returning to the PDL in 2017. The club had previously competed from 2000–2008 and won two Heartland Division championships.

This year’s squad was led in scoring by John Haist. The Englishman, who plays collegiately at Colorado School of Mines, has scored 10 goals in 14 games this season. The Rapids U23 also have four players on the Top Prospects list: No. 13 Sam Raben, a defender from Wake Forest; No. 20 Griffin Dorsey, a forward from Indiana; No. 28 Andre Shinyashiki, a forward from Denver; and No. 29 Moshe Perez, a midfielder from Denver.

Rapids U23 wrapped up their regular season July 11 with a come-from-behind 2–2 draw against second place FC Tucson. Speaking of FC Tucson…

Wild card

Five teams have a shot at the wild card spot in the Western Conference. FC Tucson (6–3–4, 22 points) took a big step towards claiming that No. 4 seed with a 2–1 win against Switchbacks U23 last night. No. 3 overall prospect Tate Schmitt, a forward from Louisville, and Tucson will look to beat that same Switchbacks U23 team on the road again July 14 to have a shot.

Ventura County Fusion (7–5–1, 22 points) needs a win against FC Golden State Force tonight and needs FC Tucson to drop points to snag the No. 4 seed. The Fusion have been a historical power despite only being around since 2007. They have one championship and have won the Southwest three times, most recently in 2014. Fusion defender Carson Vom Steeg checks in at No. 26 on the Top Prospect list and plays collegiately at UC Santa Barbara.

If both FC Tucson and Ventura County fail to get the maximum points they have remaining, either Sounders FC U23 (6–4–3, 21 points), Santa Cruz Breakers FC (6–5–2, 20 points) or Fresno FC U23 (6–6–1, 19 points) can sneak into the No. 4 seed with wins. Sounders FC U23, led by No. 5 Top Prospect Santiago Patino, a forward from Florida International and No. 36 Hugo Delhomme, a midfielder from Syracuse, need a road win in Calgary. The Santa Cruz Breakers host bottom-of-the-table San Francisco City FC July 15. Fresno FC U23 needs a win July 14 against the San Francisco Glens and loads of help (and someone to explain to me the tiebreakers).

This is the beauty of the PDL: lots of drama in each conference, either for the outright division crown or each conference’s wildcard spot. Who do you have advancing from the Western Conference for the wildcard?

Once each conference tournament field is set we’ll have another breakdown of each matchup leading up to the games July 20. Make sure you come back to check that out.

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