At the beginning of the season, in our Preseason Power Rankings, we had the same rankings as we do now with only the New York Rumble and the San Francisco Dogfish switching spots. This almost did not happen though, the Washington D.C. Current nearly knocked off the Philadelphia Spinners to close the season. With the Boston Whitecaps setting new records against the New York Rumble, we would have been due for a mix up. Out west, the Portland Stags took care of the Seattle Rainmakers in a preview of next week's playoff matchup, showing that Portland may finally be heading to the MLU Championship this year.
#1 Portland Stags: 9-1
Last Week: #1 Change: +0
Do you think that Portland still remembers losing to the Rainmakers in last years Western Conference Finals? In this last game zero breaks for Seattle, a 91.7 offensive scoring efficiency for Portland, 93 percent completion percentage for Portland, 20 different Stags scoring a point in the game. There was no question or doubt in this match on who was the superior team. However, this week had little to no meaning. Just like last season can they beat Seattle for a fourth time? For the second straight year they have been the top team in the power rankings, out of the 12 editions in 2016 there was only two weeks that the Stags were not at the top.
#2 Philadelphia Spinners: 9-1
Last Week: #2 Change: +0
This may have been one of the most impressive performances for the Spinners all season. It looked to be a case of Philadelphia showing up and expecting the victory. Their offense got broken three times on the first three points, however for the remaining 35 minutes the team got broken only four times. It was enough to allow they offense, which was missing Trey Katzenbach to WUGC, to get back into the match. Greg Martin did an incredible job matching up against Delrico Johnson and limiting his impact. Without Johnson getting into a flow on offense, the Spinners held the Current to only two points in the final quarter, enough to give them a victory to end the year and cap their best season ever.
#3 Boston Whitecaps: 8-2
Last Week: #3 Change: +0
So bear with this list of records the Whitecaps broke this weekend: most goals scored in a game (32), most breaks in a game (21), most goals by an individual (13), and most points by an individual (15). Both individual records were made by Tannor Johnson in only his second game of the season. He is primed to be the next budding star in Boston following Brandon Malecek, Jeff Graham, and Josh Markette. There was little to go wrong for the Whitecaps at all in this game. Twenty points in the second half which their opponents only reached twice in an entire game on the season.
#4 Seattle Rainmakers: 7-3
Last Week: #4 Change: +0
Good news for Seattle? This game had no affect on their season finish, it was a loss without Khalif El-Salaam, they only played 18 players, and they lost three against Portland last year before winning the conference championship. The bad news? This is the fewest points the team has EVER scored in their franchise history, the Stags did whatever they wanted to do against the Rainmakers, and it ended a seven game winning streak. Seattle failed to record a single break in this match, with only seven blocks for the team. Without El-Salaam and Henry Phan playing they lost their two primary handlers and it prevented the team from quick scoring opportunities at key points in the game.
#5 Washington D.C. Current: 3-7
Last Week: #5 Change: +0
The Current were rolling early and were in control for two and a half quarters against Philadelphia. In the end though it was their offense that was the demise of the team. In the fourth quarter the O-line only scored twice when given five chances, continuing their fourth quarter issue from the entire season. This match was a perfect reflection of the entire season, the team was so close yet again. Easily this could have been a 7-3 team on the season. Unfortunately they will be losing one of their new young talent they acquired with the massive turnover this year. Antoine Davis played his final game in a Current uniform.
#6 New York Rumble: 2-8
Last Week: #6 Change: +0
Many were expecting a loss, even Rumble players were expecting a loss but no one was expecting this. Boston may be just getting into their peak performance and New York was the unfortunate victim. It was another game though that the team found another star, John Irvine, to compliment Sean Mott, Marques Brownlee, and Matt Weintraub on the offensive line. That line struggled to have strong possessions, turning it over on the first or second throws. Just the intimidation alone by the Whitecaps gave the Rumble no chance. It will be another offseason with a lot of optimism for this team.
#7 San Francisco Dogfish: 2-8
Last Week: #8 Change: +1
The Dogfish needed a near perfect fourth quarter to comeback against the Vancouver Nighthawks on Saturday. San Francisco fell behind 8-4 in the opening quarter and used the rest of the game to comeback. The offense straightened up and only allowed two breaks for the remaining of the game and the defense helped the Dogfish go on a 5-1 run in the final quarter. Throughout the entire game San Francisco forced Vancouver to turn the disc over 72 percent of the their possessions. In addition to Gabe Saunkeah's performance, Taylor Cascino racked up five assists with both of those players getting time on offense and defense. This win ends the team's eight game losing streak.
#8 Vancouver Nighthawks: 1-9
Last Week: #7 Change: -1
The Nighthawks used this week to improve on their chemistry and system rather than to focus on winning. In doing so they had one of their best offensive performances of the season with a 57 percent offensive scoring efficiency. The team converted on 12 holds and also was able to get six breaks. Some different faces, David Whitney-Brown (1A, 1B, 23/24 throws) and Victor Cheng (2G, 3A, 22/26 throws), became the primary handlers for the game instead of Sasha Lo (1G, 13/14 throws) and Erik Hunter (1G, 1A, 10/17 throws). In a full rebuilding season this team has probably accomplished more than any other team.
Final Thoughts
Many teams are trending upward heading into this offseason with a lot for their franchise to look forward to. Especially trending upward are the four teams that seasons are not done yet. This week there will be two rematches from last year's playoffs with both the Spinners and Stags primed to get some pay back. The Western Conference Championship will be Saturday at 9:00 ET (6:00 PT) and the Eastern Conference Championship will be on Sunday at 3:00 ET (12:00 PT). Both playoff matches can be watched on MLULive.com. Come back later in the week for our previews of both games.