2016 Playoffs: What Comes Next For Tacoma

by Brett Gleason

The 2016 Major Arena Soccer League playoffs continue for the Tacoma Stars on Sunday, as they head down to San Diego for the second leg of their opening round playoff series.

The Stars and Sockers opened the series Wednesday night, with San Diego coming away victorious by a score of 8-7 in double overtime.

Before the two clubs take the field on Sunday, let us cover all the possible scenarios.

Unlike many professional soccer leagues, MASL playoff series do not function on aggregate scoring – so a victory for the Stars this weekend, regardless of the score, would force a deciding 15-minute mini game. The winner of that mini game would win the series, and advance to play Soles De Sonora in the division finals.

If everything is still tied at the end of the 15-minute mini game, additional 10-minute sudden-victory periods will be added until a winner has been crowned.

Tacoma played in San Diego once this season, losing 5-4 after a furious fourth-quarter comeback attempt fell just short.

Advancing to the division finals would mean a matchup with division-winning Sonora, who compiled a record of 17-3 in the regular season, on Thursday, Mar. 10 at 7:35 p.m. at the ShoWare Center.

A live webcast of the Stars match in San Diego on Sunday, Mar. 6 at 5:05 p.m. can be found online at www.golivesportscast.com. Additionally, live stats will be provided on www.maslsoccer.com