Not long ago, the MASL welcomed a new franchise from Cedar Rapids, Iowa into the league. With the addition of Cedar Rapids, the league now had 24 total teams which would be evenly split up into four divisions, each containing six teams close in proximity. That was less than a month ago. Tuesday, it all fell apart. With the loss of Rochester, the league is back to 23 teams. Last season, the league had three divisions containing six teams while the East Division had five teams. With Rochester out, the East Division is down to four teams; Baltimore, Detroit, Harrisburg, and Syracuse. This leaves the league with the problem of filling the missing spot or rearranging divisions.
Let's focus in on the Knights now. Since the MISL was established, the Knights and Lancers were fierce rivals, like all the other Syracuse/Rochester sports teams are. It wasn't uncommon to see a lot of Lancer supports filling up parts of the War Memorial and Knights supporters traveling to the Blue Cross to cheer on the Knights. This was good for both teams since more tickets were being bought, which filled up both arenas on a regular basis. It also kept the travel costs down for both teams, since Syracuse and Rochester are only a couple hours apart. Now, Rochester is gone, leaving Syracuse all by itself. Instead of having at least 6 games involving staying home or just traveling a couple hours down I-90, the Knights will find themselves having to travel longer distances for matches, thus costing the team more money. For example, here are the distances the team would have to travel to face opponents in the current East Division:
Harrisburg, PA: 253 miles, about 4 hours
Baltimore, MD: 332 miles, about 5 hours
Detroit, MI: 402 miles, about 6.5 hours
Obviously, Rochester being in the MASL and in the East Division was a great advantage for both the Knights and the Lancers.
Now, there is some good news! The MASL has one new franchise and three potential franchises for this coming season, with two located in the northeast. The new franchises are Hartford City FC (Connecticut,) Youngstown Nighthawks (Ohio,) Cedar Rapids (Iowa,) and Sonora Suns (Mexico.) This means at least one of those teams will be placed in the East Division. Obviously, the top choice has to be Hartford City FC with Youngstown being second in line. However, if all the franchises do end up joining the league, then this would mean the MASL would have a total of 25 teams with the great possibility of having three divisions of six teams and one seven team division. Here is how I believe the league would look.
Eastern Conference:
East Division: Syracuse, Detroit, Harrisburg, Baltimore, Youngstown, Hartford
Central Division: Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, Missouri, Cedar Rapids, Wichita, Tulsa
Western Conference:
South Division: Dallas, Oxford City, Brownsville, Monterrey, Sonora, Saltillo
Pacific Division: Sacramento, San Diego, Ontario, Turlock, Tacoma, Las Vegas
Playoffs:
Top three teams from each division qualify for postseason, top team from each division gets 1st Round Bye.
1st Round: Second and Third Place teams play, winners advance to Division Championships.
2nd Round: Winners from 1st Round play First Place teams for Divisional Titles. Winners advance to Conference Finals.
3rd Round: Conference Finals. East Champion vs. Central Champion. South Champion vs. Pacific Champion. Winners advance to Finals.
Finals: Eastern Champion vs. Western Champion.
Overall, this layout would make the most geographical sense and allow for optimal travel within divisions. For the Knights, none of the teams would be as close as the Lancers were, but at least they wouldn't have to worry about leaving the northeast on a constant basis. You never know, maybe a new rival will bloom from all of this. In the end, the competition is going to be fierce. So, is losing the Rochester Lancers sad? Yes. Is it somewhat inconvenient for the Silver Knights? Yes. Is it the end of the world? Absolutely not.
Summer Updates:
This past weekend, Greater Binghamton FC clinched a birth in the NPSL Playoffs with a 3-3 tie and 2-1 victory over Buxmont Torch FC. Silver Knight Bo Jelovac had goals in both games for GBFC. Meanwhile in the USL, the Rochester Rhinos remain unbeaten with ties against Charleston, Montreal Impact II, and FC Toronto II this month. The Rhinos, with Silver Knight Kenardo Forbes, host Charlotte this Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 7pm. Up in Canada, Sinisa Ubiparipovic has logged one assist in 617 minutes of action for Ottawa Fury FC in the NASL. Finally, Antonio Manfut has one goal this season playing for AFC Cleveland in the NPSL.
Thanks/Credits:
syracusesilverknights.com
MASL at paslsoccer.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Arena_Soccer_League
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/sports/soccer/2015/07/06/insurance-premiums-lead-rochester-lancers-fold/29793869/
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/troubleshooters/Professional-Soccer-Coming-to-Hartford-309549991.html
http://wytv.com/2015/01/29/pro-soccer-youngstown-nighthawks-coming-to-the-valley/
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/05/prweb12749597.htm
http://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/pro-indoor-soccer-team-being-formed-in-cedar-rapids-20150611
http://greaterbinghamtonfc.com/latest_vipnews.asp?action=view_newsdetail&id=218
http://rhinossoccer.com/schedule/
http://www.ottawafuryfc.com/stats
http://www.nationalpremiersoccerleague.com/teams/74882107/58649151-74882196/TEAM.html
https://www.google.com/maps