With a helping hand from South Florida, Sporting Club Jacksonville women’s soccer has punched a playoff ticket in its inaugural Gainbridge Super League season with more than a month to spare.
Sporting Jax clinched a top-four finish in the league on April 6, when Fort Lauderdale United defeated DC Power FC 3-1 in a rare Monday night game.
Laveni Vaka, sister of Sporting Jax defender Daviana Vaka, started in Fort Lauderdale’s victory, which mathematically ensures that fifth-place DC Power can no longer amass enough points to overtake first-place Sporting Jax and its 44 points. DC Power has 26 points with only five games left.
Sporting Jax still has six matches remaining in the regular season, four on the road, beginning April 11 at Fort Lauderdale. The team’s two home games left are April 25 against Lexington SC and May 3 against Brooklyn FC.
What is the Gainbridge Super League playoff format?
While the seeds aren’t yet locked in, Sporting Jax has the inside track on home playoff soccer for one game and potentially two.
Under league rules, the No. 1 seed plays the No. 4 seed in one semifinal, while No. 2 meets No. 3 in the other semifinal. Both semifinals are single matches played at the home of the superior seed. The final is also a single match, again played on the home field of the top remaining seed.
Currently, Sporting Jax holds a four-point edge on second-place Lexington, with third-place Carolina a further four points behind Lexington.
The league has yet to announce dates for the semifinals or the final. The regular season finale for the club is May 16.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sporting Jax women’s soccer clinches playoff berth in inaugural season
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
