WPSL Northern Conference: Final showdown

Salvo and Maplebrook looked to have narrowed the Northern Conference championship down to a two team race, but Mankato has absolutely refused to let that door close. Now, entering the final weekend of the regular season, Mankato still has at least a slim mathematical chance to force a three way tie where head to head records may land them in the playoffs. ​​

How we got here

​Last Friday, Salvo had the chance to essentially lock in their first place finish a whole week early. But the Fire worked hard for the full 90 minutes and managed a tie on Salvo’s home turf, keeping both Maplebrook and Mankato in the playoff picture at least through their matchup this Friday. The two tied in their first matchup earlier this year and Mankato has come on strong their last few games. But both would essentially need to win both of their final two games in order to have a chance at unseating Salvo. And if Salvo eventually wins their final match, at home, against Mankato on Sunday, they can render all the lead up moot.

Believe it or not, if Salvo plays its cards right, it can have home field advantage now, all the way through to the national championship. The WPSL has confirmed that the Central Region Playoffs will be hosted by the Northern Conference (Minnesota + Fargo). So, if Salvo wins on Sunday, they will then host a four team playoff (matchups by blind draw) between the Northern, Mountain, Heartland, and Red River Conferences within the Central Region. The four regional champions then head to Oklahoma for the WPSL Championship the following weekend. 
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We’ll plan on live tweeting at least one of the Friday/Sunday games this weekend and we’ll absolutely be covering the Central Region Playoffs, likely with some extra help for pregame/halftime/postgame analysis on Twitter.