As the 2010 WPS regular season came to a close, only four teams made the WPS playoffs with a post-season format completely unique to WPS! The format heavily rewards teams for their placings in the regular season table, giving a nod to soccer heritage while also upholding the American playoff tradition with elimination games.
The breakdown... - The top team during the regular season (Bay Area) became WPS Regular Season Champion and earned an automatic place as host of the WPS Championship, the league’s championship game.
- In the First Round of the playoffs, the No. 4 team in the regular season (Washington) will face the No. 3 team (Philadelphia) at No. 3’s stadium.
- The second place team in the regular season (Boston) will receive a bye into the Super Semifinal and host the winner of the First Round.
- The winner of the Super Semifinal then traveled to the top-seeded FC Gold Pride for WPS Championship on September 26!
What it meant for Philly...
- In order to host a playoff match, the Independence had to secure a third, second, or first place finish in the regular season table.
- At the time, the Independence held third place in the league standings, with one regular season match remaining. After a disappointing loss in their final regular season match, the Independence finished with a respectable third place seed.
Only two expansion teams in the history of professional sports have managed to capture a championship in their inaugural season of play. In 1973, the Philadelphia Atoms captured the North American Soccer League (NASL) Championship, and in 1997 the Chicago Fire won the MLS title in their inaugural season of play. With a run through the playoffs, the Independence had a chance to become just the third expansion team in pro sports history to capture a championship as a first-year franchise in an existing league.