Oakland Soul got the job done with a 3-nil win on the road in San Francisco over Olympic Club on Thursday night, firmly putting them into second place going into the season-finale at Merritt College against San Francisco Glens. Earlier this week on Tuesday, Soul also took home a 1-nil victory over Marin Siren FC while playing away to help boost their standing.
The results continue Oakland’s undefeated record to 8-3-0 with a Points Per Match average of 2.45. They are tied with California Storm’s average of 2.45 with an identical 8-3-0 record, but Storm owns the tie-breaker with a goal differential of +28 to Soul’s +20.
With California set to face Academica for its season-finale, it means everything points to a critical final day of the season against Glens. The San Francisco club, which plays in San Bruno and soon-to-be in Treasure Island, is coming off of a shocking 2-2 draw with Pleasanton RAGE and squandered its chance to nearly assure itself a second-straight playoff bid.
Soul putting itself in this position is already a moment of triumph. After drawing the first game of the season with Stockton Cargo 0-0, there was already some dread about what that would mean for Oakland. To make matters worse, the odds were severely stacked against Soul with the W League creating a schedule where Glens and Storm played just once, while Oakland had to battle against the two difficult clubs twice.
Should Oakland triumph on Sunday against Glens, Soul fans will need to send a huge thank-you to Pleasanton RAGE.
But Soul should be going in full-steam and beaming with confidence. They defeated Glens 3-2 back on June 2 in San Bruno and previously demolished the SF side 3-0 in its only other match played at Merritt College. For Oakland, a win or a tie gets the job done in securing the Nor Cal Division’s second seed.
Against Olympic Club, Lauren Frohan broke through for Soul in the 21st minute when she was fed a ball at the top of the area following a long throw in, lasering a right-footed shot to the top right bin.
Soul stayed on the front foot into the second half. A near goal was cleared off of Olympic Club’s line in the 53rd minute, then second-half substitute Miranda Nild helped put the game away.
Nild made it 2-0 in the 78th minute, retrieving a loose ball in Olympic Club’s defensive third, taking a few dribbled before uncorking a low-rocket to the left of the keeper into the net. Just six minutes later, Nild struck again after placing herself right in front of net, redirecting a driven pass into the net for the tap-in goal.
Oakland nearly had another goal in the 83rd minute when a cross into the box targeting Nild trickled into the net, however, Miranda was ruled offside and the play was called dead.
Nild also launched in Soul’s only goal in its 1-nil victory over Marin in the second half. It could’ve easily been a 3-0 lead in the first half, but Kennedy Shoennauer had a shot blast off of the crossbar and another attempt clang off of the left post. Moments later, Kaytlin Brinkman had a volley nick off of the right post.
With a well-rested group, Oakland should be the favorite on Sunday against Glens. Can the squad continue its undefeated record into the W League postseason?
W League Playoff Structure
It’s worth mentioning that Storm and Soul will not automatically be slated to play each other in the first round of the playoffs. The Nor Cal Division resides in the Western Conference and have a four-team playoff; two teams from the Nor Cal, one from the Northwest Division, and another from the Mountain Division. Teams will be seeded based on the PPM model.
Of the Northwest Division, FC Olympia is set to finish its 10-match season perfect, holding 3.00 PPM. In the Mountain Division, Colorado Storm has already completed its season with a 2.58 PPM.
Olympia is set to attain the No. 1 seed and neither Cal Storm or Soul can catch Colorado Storm’s 2.58, so they are the No. 2.
Even with a win against Glens, Soul will finish below Storm based on Goal Differential, barring something going wrong for Storm against Academica, making Oakland the No. 4 seed. Unless the W League rearranges things to limit travel expenses for Soul and Storm, it looks like Oakland will make the trek to Olympia if they can lock down a playoff spot on Sunday.