2024 Playoff Preview: Your WPSL, USL W League, and UPSL Guide to the Postseason in the North. Player/Coach Interviews, Playoff Matchups, and How to Watch!

7/3/2024

Author: Mark Privratsky

It is playoff time! It feels like we just kicked off, but these Summer Leagues are a sprint, not a marathon. We’ve seen more teams in more leagues than ever this year, and every season we have more to talk about. MN Aurora FC continued their 3 year (!) regular season undefeated streak to take another Heartland Division Title in the USL W League. Sioux Falls City FC took another step as the Champion of the WPSL Northern Conference, taking the Title to the 605 for the first time as “South Dakota’s Team”, beating the heavy hitters of the Twin Cities along the way. Meanwhile, MN Aurora 2 debuted in the UPSL Midwest West and took the Title from fellow debutant NOSC Blast on goal difference. If you want to study up for any of the league’s playoffs, we have multiple full interviews from squads in W League, WPSL and UPSL, along with 4 different watch-alongs from the UPSL and WPSL to prep with! Find our archive of watch alongs and past content on YouTube. With almost all of the postseason scenarios now defined, let's dig into your guide for 2024 Summer League Playoffs!

USL W LEAGUE HEARTLAND DIVISION

The W League is now 80 clubs deep in just their third year back in action, so the playoff bracket of 16 squads is sure to represent only the best that the League has to offer. Here in the Central Conference, Detroit City will host the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. Like last year (and ‘22) MN Aurora took the Heartland Division Title, and a Divisional opponent joins as the Central Conference Wild Card. River Lights are in their first ever season in the W League and impressively took a postseason spot with an impressive 8-2-1 debut season. Detroit City won the Great Lakes Division, while Indy Eleven won the Valley Division. Due to W League rules about intra-division matchups, Aurora will face defending Champions Indy Eleven (July 5, 3pm Central) in the round of 16, which is a crazy first round matchup. Aurora will have to face the squad that knocked them out right away, but if they pass that test, the momentum would certainly be on their side. Detroit City will face River Lights (July 5, 6pm Central) as both squads face postseason play for the first time. Expectations are certainly lower on the debutants and you’d argue they are just playing with house money at this point. Detroit City has the distinct advantage of a true home field advantage and will carry that through the first two rounds. The Central Conference Championship will be decided on July 7 in Detroit. Equal Time will be on the ground for the first two games, so stay engaged on socials to see all our coverage. Streams will be on NBC Sports Engine Play (and local TV for the Michiganders)

Photo Credit: Kayla Plummer (@KP_KaylaMarie on Twitter)

AURORA MEDIA AVAILABILITY

INTERVIEWS FROM THE W LEAGUE

WPSL NORTHERN CONFERENCE

In the WPSL, our Northern Conference Champion, Sioux Falls City FC, host the Central Region Playoffs on July 13 and 14. City is making history in their first ever playoff birth after clinching the Northern Title with a huge home win over Salvo and a clinching win over St Croix. They’ll look to use the home field advantage to extend this history making season. Two of the Conferences are split into two divisions each, so we cannot confirm all of the final participants. Sioux Falls City represents the Northern Conference, and in the Heartland we have Kansas City SG as the clear winner. In the Mountain Conference, Utah Surf handily won the Wasatch Division with 25 points in 10 games, while Pride leads the Rockies Division with 18 points on 7 games so far. In the Midwest, Dayton ran away with the title with 28 points in 10 games, while Milwaukee Torrent swept the Lake Michigan opponents. The full bracket for Central Region Playoffs is still to be revealed, stay tuned to Equal Time social for more info. Expect Streams to come from the Sioux Falls City hosts via Hudl, which means a dependable broadcast for the Central Region.

INTERVIEWS FROM THE WPSL

UPSL MIDWEST WEST

Dates are still to be determined, but sources tell us that we can expect a similar postseason format to last year, the top 4 teams making up the Midwest West Division Championship on the weekend of July 12-14. The only difference? Last year it was a league of 6, now it’s 12 (11*? See Tonka Fusion Elite) and the playing level made a huge jump in year 2. The UPSL Womens League has not yet held a National Tournament, so the trophy to play for is local. MN Aurora 2 and NOSC Blast both finished undefeated with 9-0-2 records, racking up goal differences of 38 and 36 with big blowout scores throughout, and Aurora 2 took the title by the slimmest of margins. Northern Tide have lost just twice and are safely in 3rd, while the 4th seed is FULLY in play. MN Twin Stars sit on 16 points and Granite City is on 14, both with 1 game to play. Meanwhile Vlora and Superior City sit on 14 points with 2 to play. For what it’s worth, it can be tough to depend on the standings and schedule from the UPSL website, which is our reference, so some of these details may include a grain of salt. We know for certain that eyes will be on a potential rematch of Aurora 2 and NOSC Blast, who tied 1-1 in their regular season match. Tide could certainly be a contender, and whoever grabs the 4 seed will be fully playing David in their matchup with MN Aurora 2. Details on where the games will be played are yet to come. The hosting will no doubt be affected by both seeding and facility availability. Stay tuned for details on hosts and streams from Equal Time, but we will be on the coverage as much is feasible. UPSL Midwest West have been streaming on YouTube for each host club.