BEFORE THE WHISTLE | Down To The Wire

For a few clubs, Week 17 of the Fall Season could mean edging one step closer to a spot in The Championship, the league's four-team postseason tournament. For others, it's even more simple: win or go home. 

Here are some of the key storylines to watch for as Week 17 of the Fall Season continues:

Right At Home: The Cosmos (12W-5D-3L, 41 points Fall; 18-5-7, 59 Combined) and the Eleven (10-4-6, 34 Fall; 14-10-6, 52 Combined), the two teams that will host semifinal games in The Championship on Nov. 5, can each close out the 2016 NASL regular season with unblemished home records if they win or tie on Saturday night. New York (vs. Miami FC) and Indy (vs. Puerto Rico FC) have each gone 15 home games without a loss -- the Cosmos are 13-2-0 at Shuart Stadium and the Eleven is 12-3-0 at Carroll Stadium. New York could set a league record if it extends its overall home streak to 19 games.

Beyond Michel: Rayo OKC is certainly one of the hottest teams in the NASL as the regular season winds down. And coach Gerard Nus has had the luxury of writing in the names of three starters in each and every game since he took over in the beginning of August. In fact, veteran defenders Futty Danso and Kosuke Kimura, and goalkeeper Daniel Fernandes have played every minute of the club’s 30 games so far. Two other players in the league - Matt Pickens (Tampa Bay) and Daniel Vega (Miami) - also have not missed a minute.

Goal Men: Michel has scored in three straight games to catapult Rayo OKC into the postseason race. Juan Arango has scored in consecutive games and his two free kicks for scores against Jacksonville enabled the Cosmos to clinch the Fall Season title and the No. 1 seed in The Championship. Ottawa’s Giuseppe Gentile has scored four in his last six games.

Leaking Goals Late: More than half of NASL teams have allowed double-digit goals scored in the final 15 minutes of games, a list that includes two (New York and Minnesota) of the top four teams in the Combined Standings. Puerto Rico (44% of all goals against), Miami FC (32%), and Minnesota (34%) lead the group with 12 each. The Cosmos (38%), Jacksonville (25%), and Carolina (24%) have each allowed 11. Ottawa (25%) has allowed 10. FC Edmonton has given up only one goal in the final 15 minutes, best in the league.

Strikers Giving Back: Fort Lauderdale (6-5-9, 23 Fall; 10-8-12, 38 Combined), which faces a crucial game against visiting Rayo OKC (7-8-5, 29 Fall; 10-11-9, 41 Combined) on Saturday, has been making important charitable contributions off the field. To start, the Strikers have been wearing attractive pink jerseys during October as part of the #DrivePink campaign in the fight against breast cancer. In addition, the club’s two Haitian players - Pascal Millien and Jean-Marc Alexandre - have spearheaded a relief effort for the Caribbean island, which was recently ravaged by Hurricane Matthew. The club directed an effort that resulted in the collection of two vans full of relief goods for Haiti.