NASL: September 24, 2014 - With just six weeks remaining in the North American Soccer League (NASL) Fall Season, all 10 teams are still alive in the race for a spot in The Championship, the league’s four-team postseason tournament that kicks off in November. You read that right…all 10 teams.



Under the NASL’s split-season format, teams can qualify for The Championship by winning either the Spring or Fall Season or if they come up just short on those achievements, they can also get in by compiling the highest point totals between the two seasons. What does this mean? Simply put, it means every match matters…all the way until the final week.

By winning the Spring Season title, Minnesota United FC is the only team that already holds a spot in The Championship. The three remaining spots are up for grabs, and there are plenty of teams within striking distance. If the season ended today, the San Antonio Scorpions, New York Cosmos, and Carolina RailHawks would join United in The Championship. That could change overnight, though. The Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Tampa Bay Rowdies, and FC Edmonton are all four points or less away from the final spot in The Championship.

Even the Atlanta Silverbacks, Ottawa Fury FC, and Indy Eleven, who have largely struggled in 2014, are one hot streak away from making things very interesting down the stretch. That being said, they will need some others to falter, and that isn’t out of the realm of possibility considering the parity within the league. In fact, the Silverbacks and Fury FC aren't far removed from knocking off a pair of serious contenders, the Carolina RailHawks and Tampa Bay Rowdies, in their own home stadiums.

At this point in the Fall Season, most teams are focused on simply getting to The Championship, but a few are beginning to ponder seeding. The reward for winning the Spring or Fall Season title is a #1 or #2 seed, which comes with a guaranteed home game in The Championship Semifinals. When it counts, every team wants to be at home, so that makes the Fall Season Championship an extremely coveted prize.

Should Spring Season Champion United capture the Fall Season crown as well, the three teams with the next best overall records would fill out the remaining spots in The Championship.

Week by week, the Fall and Combined Standings continue to shift, and with a lot of soccer yet to be played, we’re still in for a few more surprises. Which four teams will end up in The Championship in early November? Well, under this exciting competition format...you’ll just have to wait and see!