5 THINGS | Top To Bottom, A Race To The Championship Is On After Week 8 Of Fall Season

As the Fall Season continues, the race to The Championship only becomes more thrilling. Currently in the Combined Standings, fourth place to the bottom of the table is only separated by six points.

Here are the five key things from Week 8 of the Fall Season:

1. Combined Madness: Click over to the NASL’s Combined Standings for a hint at the genius of the league’s split-season format. With a bushel full of points still on the table, all 11 teams are alive in the race for a spot in The Championship, the NASL’s four-team postseason tournament. The Cosmos, winners of the Spring Season, already have locked down a berth and currently sit at No. 1 overall, with the other three semifinalists still to be determined. But only 10 points separate second-place Ottawa Fury FC and defending league champion San Antonio.

2. Four On 15 Points: FC Edmonton’s failure to pick up points on Sunday leaves a logjam near the top of the Fall Season Standings with four teams on 15 points – Minnesota United, FC Edmonton, New York Cosmos, and Atlanta Silverbacks. The Eddies and the Silverbacks each have played 10 matches; the Loons nine and the Cosmos eight. Goal differential is the first tiebreaker -- Minnesota, Edmonton, and New York are all plus-5; Atlanta is plus-2; the next tiebreaker is goals scored, which technically means the Loons (20) are second, followed by the Eddies (15) and Cosmos (14). But there’s a long way to go.

3. Cosmos Being Cosmos: New York (4-3-1,15 points) honed its role as a sleeping giant as a goal by Leo Fernandes, his team-leading seventh of the season, provided the wake-up call and began a three-goal onslaught in the first 11 minutes of the second half in Saturday’s 3-1 win at Carolina. It was the Cosmos’ first victory over the RailHawks at WakeMed Soccer Park. The win upped the Cosmos’ unbeaten streak to six games ahead of Wednesday’s marquee match at first-place Ottawa Fury FC on NASL Wednesday Night Soccer on ONE World Sports.

4. STEF-AN-O: Don’t look now, but after a two-game losing streak, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (3-4-2, 13 points), a finalist last season, are unbeaten in three games on the strength of Stefano Pinho’s two goals at FC Edmonton on Sunday afternoon. Pinho is now one goal behind San Antonio’s Omar Cummings (10) among the league’s top goalscorers.

5. Nice for Minnesota: For the first time since July 4, a Minnesota United scoresheet did not include the name of Christian Ramirez. The scoring streak of CR21 ended at seven games, one short of tying the Modern Era league record, but the Loons found other answers in their victory at Tampa Bay on Saturday night. After spotting the Rowdies a goal, Ibson, Justin Davis, and Daniel Mendes provided the firepower as Minnesota (4-3-2, 15 points) won its second straight and is now unbeaten in three games.