Four more games are a part of history and the playoff spots are still mostly undetermined. FC Edinburgh Bullet Birds got a critical win in Group A when they beat Real TK 3-2 to improve to 9 points. Luigi Terlizzi did his best Maradona imitation, weaving through the entire Bullet Birds defense to score one in the 2nd minute but Edinburgh owned most of the game. Walker Rowena scored twice and Evan Ashby bent it like Becker in the 46th in what proved to be the game-winning goal. Terlizzi scored another one late but it wasn't enough. Edinburgh is in decent shape and can punch their ticket with a Kiki United loss or tie.

Not Very United picked up a road win in Group C, beating FC Trojans of SC 3-1. United scored all of their goals in the first 18 minutes, highlighted by a pair of goals by Brazilian Toro do Nascimento. The lone goal for the Trojans came in the 25th when Billy Quadrado converted a corner kick into a score. Other than that, the Trojans offense was fairly quiet. United moved into a tie for first with 5 points and the Trojans temporarily fell to third place. FC Not Very Athletic recovered from their 5-0 drubbing in their last outing to win 2-0 on the road against Halle Côte d'Or in Group E. Athletic outshot The Golden Slope 14-6 and converted twice on Regan Holian efforts in the 44th and 65th minutes. Unfortunately for both teams, their goal differentials are bad and they have a combined 1-6 record. These two probably need to win out to have a chance to advance.

Lastly, an update wouldn't be complete without explaining how a Group B team jumped a couple of spots in the standings. This time, Swamp City Dragons went from 4th to 2nd after beating Wolfsburg Dynamit 2-0. Canadians Uriel Evan and Jajuan Poivse scored for the Dragons and Wolfsburg ended their own comeback hopes when Mahoney Dixie was red carded in the 71st. All three teams are within three points with two more games to go.

Five games tomorrow as we are now past the halfway mark in Group Stage play.

A couple of games have been entered into the standings from this morning's games. Group D continues to produce very close results, the latest being a 2-1 road win by North Polar Dragons FC over group leader FC Stolpen Steamroller. Both teams scored within the first 7 minutes but the difference was an unassisted play from Hannes Carli who created a little bit of room for himself and places a perfect ball into the corner past a diving Steamroller goalie Estevon Zabaleta. Steamroller had a bunch of chances to tie, the best being a strike by Montay Compean that bounced off the crossbar but were unable to get back to level. All four teams are still well positioned for a transfer spot.

Group A now has a tie for the 2nd transfer spot after Kiki United trounced Real TK 6-2 in their final group game. Needing a big win to make up the differential, they got it with home cooking and a pair of goals by both Charlie Rummell and Donato Uribe. Luigi Terlizzi, the lone premium scorer for Real TK, scored again but it was not nearly enough. The win temporarily gives Kiki the 2nd transfer spot on the goals scored 4th tiebreaker, since both Kiki and FC Edinburgh Bullet Birds are even in points, goal differential and away goals. Edinburgh can take 2nd outright with a win or tie against the crutchanators of soccer in the groups final matchup but will be relegated to 3rd, and possibly out of the playoffs, if they lose the contest.

I will grab the other three games today this evening after 7pm.

Two of the three games this evening involved Bordeaux Fighting Bovines, who came into the day sitting with 1 point in three games. Needing a good stretch, they got it and gave themselves some hope for advancing. The first game was against a former Champion, Rushmore FC. Uncharacteristically, Rushmore did not look good, getting smashed 7-3 in a game that quickly turned into a blowout. What did look good was Mexican forward Macerio Mena, who scored an amazing five (5) goals in a 39 minute span. I mean, what else can you say about that. That's one Cattle player who would win the blue ribbon at the state fair. Rushmore did get a pair of goals from Ty Evan and they tallied 3 away goals but they can't absorb another loss like that.

The 2nd game for Bordeaux was a 2-2 draw against Brighton AFC as the French side had to jump on a plane and fly to the states right after the whistle blew on the Rushmore game. Mena scored an unheard of 6th goal on the day to give the Cattle a 2-1 lead in the first half. However, Brighton would not be denied a splitting of the points when Reagan Newdegate painted the corner in the middle of the 2nd half to draw level. The four point day gets Bordeaux back into the 2nd transfer spot, although they probably need to win their last game to have a chance. Brighton still sits atop the Group G standings.

The other game was out of Group E, where FC Not Very Athletic saved their tournament with a 1-0 win over Halle Côte d'Or. The entirety of the scoring happened in the first minute when a long free kick after a quick yellow card found Delon Ray, who quickly converted it into a score when he beat Golden Slope goalie Jelle Swerts. Neither team could muster any more offense...and Athletic needed to score as much as possible to erase their still bad goal differential. The loss effectively eliminates Halle and Athletic needs to win their last game, and by a quite a few, to have a shot at the playoffs.

Tomorrow there are four games, with the Group B matchup probably determining a playoff spot.

We started from the bottom, now we here. 10 points 3 wins 1 draw with the slate complete. Will it be enough? Negative goal differential is bad.

OK, so if you are new to the Cup, check out Group D. That is amazing, with all four teams within a point. Two of this morning's games were out of that group and the wins by Merchiston FC and Bolton Wanderers, the clubs that were in 3rd and 4th place, has now caused a logjam. FC Stolpen Steamroller could have punched their ticket to the playoffs with a win on the road but Bolton was an unkind host in Japan and just crushed them. Alvaro Bownell and Prince Pinter scored twice for Bolton as they built up a 6-1 lead before Rodrigo Moregón scored a goal late to end the game 6-2 in favor of the Wanderers. The loss upended Steamroller's goal differential and they are locked in with 7 points and a -2 GD.

The other Group D game was a road win by Merchiston over North Polar Dragons FC by a score of 4-2. Blanco Amaro added two more to his Golden Toe tally and veteran Dutch teammate (veteran as in 60 years old) Thomas-VanLuijk De Meyer got his 1st score of the tourney. The Dragons didn't play a bad game and limited the damage with a Zakary Walls shot in the 80th minute but the result put Merchiston on top of the standings via tiebreaker and sent North Polar down to the bottom, also via tiebreakers. There are scenarios where each of the four teams can advance. With all remaining games involving Bolton, they are the team in the driver's seat.

The Group B standings became a lot clearer today when FC Cackalacky won it's 2nd straight 3-2 game and became the 5th team to clinch a playoff spot after their victory over Swamp City Dragons. Uriel Evan opened up the scoring for Swamp City when his 5th minute shot deflected off Cackalacky goalie Georges Müller and in. After that, Cackalacky responded with three straight, capped off by Pedro Delfs' blast in the 66th. The game was a must win for Cackalacky and they took care of business, sitting at 10 points, something that did not look possible after their opening 6-2 loss. Since Wolfsburg Dynamit can only get to 9 and Old Field Ospreys are already locked at 9 points as well, Cackalacky is good to go. The question is will they be 1st or 2nd in the group?

One final note about the Cackalacky/Swamp City game, 110 year old Arley Movsisyan scored his first goal of the tournament when he leapt above all of the defenders one quarter of his age and sent a perfect ball into the corner for a score. The man was born as WWI began. There must be something in the water in his hometown in Canada.

One more game today that I'll update at 7pm.

I'm so thrilled for our first advance to the knockout rounds! ... and yes it looked bad after we lost our first match by 4.

The lone game this afternoon came out of Group G where Rushmore FC recovered from a very bad opening game to win at home 3-2 against SwampDragons United. Dougal Ridgewell scored the first two goals of the game, the first one coming off some nifty bit of skill where he controlled a corner kick, brought it to his feet and snapped off a clean winner that easily beat Swamp U goalie Jaxon Hebert. After Malcolm Green scored right before halftime to give Rushmore a 3-0 lead, Swamp U did make a respectable showing of it in the 2nd half, getting two back off goals by Devion Astley and Devere Morris. Fitzgerald Marten almost tied the game when his 75th minute shot hit the side iron but Rushmore grabbed all three points. Every team in the group is still very much alive with a handful of games left to play.

Six more tomorrow, including the effective play-in game between Wolfsburg Dynamit and Swamp City Dragons out of Group B. Both teams control their own destiny and will clinch a playoff spot with a win. Old Field Ospreys is hoping for a tie so that they would advance. There is a possibility that Group B could get three teams in, other results depending.

Group B has (mostly) been decided after the final game this morning. With both Wolfsburg Dynamit and Swamp City Dragons able to clinch a playoff spot with a win, the stakes could not have been higher. Swamp City scored first when Lyle Lensky knocked in a header off a Tre Ackworth corner kick but Hernan Bordonaba answered several minutes before halftime to send the game into the locker room tied at 1-1, the very result Old Field Ospreys was looking for to assure their own knockout round invitation. Arley Movsisyan scored in his 2nd straight game as the centenarian showed off his leaping skills to give the Dragons a 2-1 advantage but Wolfsburg was again able to answer with Mahoney Dixie's goal in the 71st. The contest was finally decided by back-to-back goals, which doomed the Dragons tournament and seriously dented the Ospreys chances. Hernan Bordonaba scored again and Teague Guildford followed it up a minute later as Wolfsburg takes the 4-2 win and the 2nd transfer spot out of the group. The loss eliminates Swamp City in a rare group stage exit and the Ospreys will need to see if their 9 points are good enough to claim one of the two 3rd place spots.

A couple of games out of Group C resulted in draws, which didn't help any of the teams. The first game was a 2-2 draw between VB Hibernian and Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi, playing their first game of the tournament. The other contest was also a 2-2 draw between Not Very United and FC Trojans of SC. The results changed the standings not at all and actually hurt the chances of this group sending a third team to the playoffs. Four out of the seven games have ended in a tie, resulting in all of the teams being bunched and still alive.

Bolton Wanderers got a key 3-2 road win in Group D as they zoom to the top of the standings at the expense of North Polar Dragons FC. Over 44,000 watched North Polar fall behind early when Prince Pinter's diving header found the netting in the 7th minute. After Dany Rohr knocked one in off the goal post in the 19th to tie the game, Itzik Widawier put Bolton up by a goal again with his tally in the 25th as momentum went back and forth throughout the entire game. North Polar drew level for a 2nd time early after the break when Daavid Kaurismäki scored off a perfectly weighted cross but Bolton would not be denied. Prince Pinter scored his second of the game midway through the second half and the Wanderers find themselves in excellent shape for a playoff spot. North Polar, on the other hand, is in a must win situation for their last game. The result also brings FC Stolpen Steamroller to the brink of elimination as they need all sorts of help.

Finally, FC Kingston went home to play the return game against FC Not Very Athletic, thinking they would run through Athletic again as they did in the first matchup between the clubs. This time, the game was very different than the 5-0 drubbing Kingston administered. Athletic got the game's only goal when Dermot Rushe found himself wide open in the middle of the penalty area and hit one home. The Athletic defense then shut down the Kingston attack and preserved the 1-0 shutout. Athletic finishes their group play with 9 points and a bad differential as they now watch the remaining Group E games to see if they did enough.

One lone game this afternoon...

Brighton AFC became the 7th team to get the blue highlighting when they defeated Rushmore FC 2-1 in Group G. The first half was an even affair as both teams scored to send the game to the break tied at 1-1. The draw continued midway through the 2nd half until Rushmore's Hadwyn MacAuliffe slammed his opponent to the ground, getting red carded and forcing Rushmore to play a man down for the rest of the game. It didn't take long for Brighton to capitalize as Melorran McKeough went through the undermanned defense and powered a shot through Rushmore goalie Guilio Cannavaro to give Brighton all the points. With 11 stage points in the bag, Brighton clinches one transfer spot as the other three teams will fight it out for the other. Despite the loss, Rushmore has two games in hand and is in the best position.

There are four games tomorrow as we hit the home stretch

Two games completed overnight, both of which had heavy playoff implications. Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi seriously damaged FC Trojans of SC and their chances of advancing out of Group C. The game featured the first penalty kick of Cup XV when José Valdés knocked it home from the spot after Oswaldo Guerrero committed a foul inside the area during the 2nd half. Even without the penalty, Cotopaxi was very much in control of the contest. Weyland Watkins scored a hat trick and the Ecuadorian side was never under pressure from the Trojans. The loss drops the Trojans to a -7 goal differential and forces them to win their last game and then pray. Cotopaxi, still in 3rd place, has four games remaining and is in a very good position.

Bordeaux Fighting Bovines hit the road and got a 3-1 win against Rushmore FC in Group G action. Hadwyn MacAuliffe scored in the 13th minute to open the scoring and give Rushmore the temporary 1-0 lead but the Cattle reeled off three straight, with Gasper Bizzarri's goal in the 30th minute proving to be the game winner. The victory locks Bordeaux in at 8 points and in a decent position to advance. Rushmore must win out to get to 9 points and SwampDragons United must win their last game and overcome a six goal differential.

Two more games this afternoon...

Another team has advanced to the playoffs, this time out of Group D. Bolton Wanderers earned their blue highlighting and 1st place in the group after their 3-1 win over Merchiston FC in Japan. Alvaro Bownell weaved his way through the Merchiston defensive line and knocked one past goalie Rae MacCutcheon in the 15th minute and teammate Jaimenacho Helder struck one in right as the halftime whistle blew in what ended up being the game winner. Merchiston was able to get back in the game when Blanco Amaro scored his 9th goal of the tourney, making him tied for the individual L'Orteil D'or honor but, as a team, Merchiston couldn't come all the way back. The loss locks Merchiston into 7 points as all eyes look to the final group game between Bolton and North Polar Dragons FC. If North Polar wins, they advance. If North Polar draws or loses, Merchiston will gain the 2nd transfer spot. FC Stolpen Steamroller, who was needing a larger Merchiston loss to stay alive, has been eliminated from the competition.

The other game this afternoon saw Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V. improve their seeding as they win their 5th in a row, this time a 4-0 shutout over FC Kingston in Group E play. 23 year old phenom German striker Garrin Schilling scored a hat trick as Cologne is surging at the right time. Kingston only managed three shots on goal at home but still has a decent goal differential and is looking to tally 6 points in their last three games in order to move on to the knockouts. FC Not Very Athletic currently holds down the 2nd transfer spot having completed their group play already.

The last big day of the group stage is tomorrow, where 6 of the final 11 games remaining will be decided.

I have a silly Doctor appointment and won't be able to update the morning games until I get back around lunchtime. Be back soon.

FC Edinburgh Bullet Birds becomes the 9th team to play their way into the knockouts when they easily handled the crutchanators of soccer 4-0 in the final game out of Group A. Edinburgh was sitting behind Kiki United based on tiebreakers and needed a point to assure their advancement...and they did it with surprising ease. The home crowd of 39,696 was delighted throughout, as Edinburgh controlled the game from the early going when Stewart Cassy headed one in in the 9th minute. From there, they poured it on and crutchanators, who had aleardy clinched the top spot in the group, didn't look interested in contesting the outcome. A red card to defender Reino Kivikoski put a bow on it as the Scottish team cruised into the playoffs. Kiki is still in decent shape for one of the two 3rd place spots but will need to wait till the end to see if their tournament continues or has ended.

Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V. completes a clean sweep of Group E after their 2-0 win over FC Kingston. Ellery Weinberger's 20th minute goal was all Cologne needed to finish group play at 6-0 and the #1 seed going into the knockouts. Kingston now is in a must win situation for their last two games, since they sit at three points and two 3rd place teams are already at the 9 point mark.

There are four more games this afternoon which I'll grab at 7pm.

It was decision time in Group D when Bolton Wanderers and North Polar Dragons FC played the final game with the 2nd transfer spot on the line. North Polar controlled their own destiny as a win would get them in and anything else would send Merchiston FC to the knockouts. The Dragons came out with a purpose and immediately took the lead when Daavid Kaurismäki hit a perfect header to the far left corner in the second minute to give North Polar all they needed in the game. The question was could they hold it. The group's 2nd playoff team was decided in a three minute span between the 36th and 39th minutes. Bolton first tied the game when Alvaro Bownell redirected a ball past North Polar goalie Aderet Schar. A few minutes later, center midfielder Isdel Rosas pushed Bolton defender Jaymes Noel to the ground and the referee gave Rosas a straight red card, leaving North Polar down a man and out of luck. Unable to find the winning goal with only 10 men, Merchiston makes the knockouts, winning a three-way tiebreaker at 7 points based on goal differential.

Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi inflicts another massive road win on a 2nd straight Group C competitor, this time a 7-2 thrashing of Not Very United. Maeyken Bastin and Weyland Watkins each scored twice for Cotopaxi as they now have an amazing 16 away goals in three games, pretty much assuring them any tiebreaker advantage in that category. The win vaults the Ecuadorians to the top of the standings and drops United to 3rd place based on goal differential. The other transfer spot will go to the team that plays Cotopaxi the best, since all three remaining games involve the clear group favorites.

Rushmore FC was eliminated from the competition when they dropped a close 4-3 home loss to Brighton AFC in Group G. Rushmore held a 3-1 lead after Ty Evan scored his 2nd of the game but they couldn't hold the lead against the group winners, who got a hat trick from Kyler Cargill and the game winner from Jamil Ambrose, who scored despite Brighton having just gone a man down. The result makes the final game between SwampDragons United and Rushmore the deciding match, as Swamp U will need to win by 7 goals in order to overcome Bordeaux Fighting Bovines for the 2nd playoff spot.

That Dragons/Rushmore game is at 7pm and I'll update it shortly after.

SwampDragons United held their fate in their own hands as they needed a 7 goal win to extend their tournament...and the result wasn't even close to what they needed. Rushmore FC, having just been eliminated, relished the role of spoiler and hit the road to Canada and beat Swamp U 3-2 to dash what little hopes the Dragons had. The home team did hold a 2-1 edge at halftime when Elliston Blundell handled a corner kick and buried it in the 24th minute but Rushmore owned the 2nd half, with Kevin Ningard's goal midway through the 2nd being the game winner. The loss sends Bordeaux Fighting Bovines through as the 2nd place team out of Group G as we are now up to 11 out of the 16 spots being spoken for.

There are three games tomorrow, one on the 25th and one on the 26th to determine those last 5 slots.