Honoring Former Players
Before diving into the playoff implications this game has, I would like to take the time to recognize another big moment. For the first time in the history of the club Vlora FC will be honoring former players Jason Lentz and Guilherme Castro into the clubs Hall of Fame! Both players have been with the club since its inception and were full time players through the 2019 season, Vlora’s inaugural UPSL season where they won the then named Midwest Conference West Division title. The club finished the season with 25 points (8 wins, 1 tie, and 1 loss), scoring 38 goals while conceding just 8.
Vlora FC will host the Blackhawks of St. Paul tomorrow night at Bob Pates Stadium located at Burnsville High School, 600 State Hwy 13 Burnsville, MN 55337. This is very important match for both squads as UPSL Midwest West Division regular season winds down. Vlora FC currently sit in 3rd place with 17pts just 1 pt above Superior City FC, who have a game in hand. Blackhawks sit in 5th place behind Superior City FC with 13pts. There are a few scenarios that could see one or both teams make the playoffs. Before breaking down the different ways this could playout, I want to state that there is very small chance that Vlora could finish in first or second place in table but that would require either Minneapolis City SC and St. Croix SC or both to both lose their final regular season games, against Maplebrook 58ers and FC Minneapolis, respectively. They are heavily favored to win so I won’t focus on those scenarios, but it should be stated because this division is no stranger to upsets and teams dropping points when you least expect it.
Table
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Minneapolis City SC | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 7 | 15 | 26 |
| 2 |  St. Croix SC | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 12 | 25 | 25 |
| 3 |  Superior City FC | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 19 |
| 4 |  Vlora FC | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 18 |
| 5 |  St. Paul Blackhawks | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 17 |
| 6 |  Worthington Comm. FC | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 19 | 23 | -4 | 16 |
| 7 |  FC Minneapolis | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 21 | -13 | 12 |
| 8 |  Austin Villa FC | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 17 | 21 | -4 | 8 |
| 9 |  Twin City FC | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 15 | 20 | -5 | 6 |
| 10 |  Granite City FC | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 30 | -18 | 5 |
| 11 |  Maplebrook 58ers | 10 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 23 | -16 | 3 |
Vlora FC finish 3rd and Blackhawks finish 4th
Scenario 1: A Vlora FC win or tie over Blackhawks and they will officially clinch a spot in the 2023 Midwest West Division playoffs. If the game ends in a tie, then Blackhawks would need Vlora to beat Superior City FC in final week of the regular season. Then Blackhawks would need a win in their final game over Twin City FC, a team that may be 8th in the table but all of their losses have been decided by 1 goal.
Scenario 2: If Vlora FC beats Blackhawks, then things get interesting for Blackhawks. Blackhawks not only would need Vlora to beat Superior City FC and they win their final game against Twin City FC, but now tie breakers come into play. The first tiebreaker is goal difference, so that means their potential win over Twin City FC would have to offset the potential loss to Vlora. Then as things currently stand, they would hope that Vlora beats Superior City FC by a big margin (minimum of 3 goals).
Scenario 3: If Vlora’s or Blackhawks’ margin of victory in the final week is not large enough to separate Blackhawks and Superior City FC by goal difference, the next tiebreaker is goals scored. Superior City FC currently has a 3-goal advantage in that category so that means Blackhawks would need the results to play out the same with them scoring at minimum 3 goals more than Superior City FC in the remaining games.
Scenario 4: If they and this is a highly improbable if, somehow Blackhawks and Superior City FC finish even on both goal difference and goals scored, then Blackhawks would win the third tie breaker, which is head-to-head points, having recently beat Superior City FC 2-0.
Blackhawks finish 3rd and Vlora FC finish 4th
If Blackhawks pick up a win over Vlora FC, then that would make them tied for points with Superior City FC and give them a chance to take the third spot for playoffs. In order for that to happen, Vlora and Superior City FC would have to tie and then Blackhawks would have to win their final game of the regular season.
