After a two long, gruesome months, the Midwest’s field of 13 teams has finally been narrowed down to just four. The Madison 56ers, Detroit City FC, AFC Cleveland and the Indiana Fire meet in Wisconsin this weekend to determine which team will lift the Midwest cup and go on to represent the region in the NPSL National Playoff. Each of the four teams battled throughout the summer to get to this point, but none are done yet. Here is the format for the 2015 Midwest Region Playoff.
Friday July 24
4:00 PM EST Match: #2 Detroit City FC vs. #3 AFC Cleveland
8:00 PM EST Match: #1 Madison 56ers vs. #4 Indiana Fire
Saturday July 25
4:00 PM EST Match – Regional Final
All three games will be played at Breese Stevens Athletic Field in Madison, Wisconsin.
DCFC meets a recognizable opponent for the opener. This first semifinal features Le Rouge, returning to postseason action since 2013, taking on their Rust Belt Derby rival, AFC Cleveland. The two sides met once during the regular season, a 3-2 victory for DCFC at Cass Tech. The result was many weeks ago, but it is a hard one to forget. Tied 2-2 in the 88thminute, Seb Harris (Oakland) slammed a header into the back of the net to send the fans into complete delirium. The late finish made for an enthralling victory for DCFC; one that Cleveland will surely want to avenge.
On the other side of the bracket, the Indiana Fire snuck into the tournament at the last minute, jumping ahead of FC Buffalo. The Fire clinched the fourth seed when Minnesota United Reserves failed to field a team in a recent make-up match, giving Indiana the automatic three points they needed to keep their season alive.
Madison’s run to the top may seem odd to any DCFC fans, who will recall a 5-0 rout that Le Rouge poured upon the visiting 56ers in early June. Nonetheless, Madison put the devastating loss behind them, finishing the season 9-2-1.
Despite the nearly seven-hour drive to Madison, Wisconsin, it would be no shock if DCFC brings out the most fans of any team. Detroit City FC doesn’t want to see its 2015 campaign end this weekend, and neither do the supporters.
For DCFC head coach Ben Pirmann, this week’s preparation is key toward obtaining victory this weekend.
“The biggest thing is making sure in every single way that we’re prepared,” Pirmann said. “Whether it’s mentally, physically or tactically. We’ve got make sure we get our preparation right. We’re traveling Thursday.”
They’re traveling Thursday, it starts Friday and it ends Saturday. There will be madness in Madison all weekend long.
Quick Facts:
1. None of the four teams in this playoff have played each of the three other teams. While Detroit took down Madison and Cleveland during the season, it never faced Indiana. Similarly, Madison never played Cleveland.
2. Cleveland, Madison and Detroit are all tied to lead the Midwest Region in goals for (30), but Cleveland and Indiana hold the lowest goals against tally (10).
3. All four teams landed huge numbers of players on the All-Midwest teams that were released earlier this week. Five from DCFC and Madison each along with four from both Cleveland and the Fire made up for over a third of all players given honors.
– Ted Janes / DCFC Staff Writer
