D2 East Playoff Predictions – Round 2

After one round of playoffs, the D2 playoff pool has now shrunk from 16 to 8 teams. There were plenty of great matchups in Round 1, with a few unexpected shocks along the way. Let’s take a look at the Initial 16 teams in the playoffs:

D2A:

1A – OG Sports, Eliminated

2A – Olympique, Beat Dojo FC 5-1

3A – New Era FC, Eliminated

4A – Chronic Crew, Eliminated

5A – Lacritas, Eliminated

6A – No Name XI, Beat Deportivo Lara 2-1

7A – NB Rovers FC, Eliminated

8A – S.I.N., Eliminated

D2B:

1B – Buona Notte, Beat S.I.N. 2-1

2B – Cougars SC, Beat NB Rovers 3-3, 11-10 on penalties

3B – Deportivo Lara, Eliminated

4B – San Sharti CF, Beat Lacritas 4-1

5B – GG United, Beat Chronic Crew 5-1

6B – DANZ FC, Beat New Era FC 3-2

7B – Dojo FC, Eliminated

8B – Collective FC – Beat OG Sports 7-1

Most Shocking Result: OG Sports losing to Collective 7-1 on aggregate

This is one of the most shocking upsets in D2 History, with Collective FC obliterating the top overall seed 7-1 aggregate. This was predicted that Collective FC would lose handily, but I was well wrong there.

Biggest Question(s):

There’s two here really. After performing so well in the regular season, Buona Notte and Cougars SC limped through the first round of the playoffs, getting taken to the wire by S.I.N and NB Rovers, respectively. Their matchups do not get any easier with San Sharti, who breezed past Lacritas, and No Name, who impressively beat the 3rd placed Deportivo Lara. Can these teams kick it into gear and get one step closer to that D2 Promotion?

Favorite Matchup:

DANZ FC vs New Era was my favorite matchup last round and delivered a 3-2 hard-fought win to DANZ. This time, they come up against powerhouses, Olympique, who should be feeling good after a 5-1 win over Dojo. It will be extremely interesting to see who comes out on top of this heavyweight fight.

Predictions:

8A Collective FC vs 5B GG United

Both teams should be feeling incredibly confident after handily winning against their opposition. Collective seemed to have brought it all together in that matchup, with their attack coming to life, while GG United found their early season form. I expect this game to be close most of the way.

Prediction: Collective FC wins 4-2 on aggregate

6B DANZ FC vs 2A Olympique

My favorite matchup of the D2 playoff slate for this round. DANZ took a crucial step closer back to D1 with a win over New Era, while Olympique showed they were legitimate with a win over Dojo. Both teams have potent attacks and a lot of goals should be scored here.

Prediction: Olympique wins 6-4 on aggregate

2B Cougars SC vs 6A No Name XI

A tale of two different feelings heading into this game. Cougars SC should feel a little worried after just scraping by NB Rovers, while No Name should feel confident after taking down Deportivo Lara. I think Cougars wakes up and takes the next big step to D1 on this one.

Prediction: Cougars SC wins 5-2 on aggregate

4B San Sharti CF vs 1B Buona Notte

San Sharti handled Lacritas with no issues, while Buona Notte narrowly defeated 8th place S.I.N. San Sharti is better than their seed suggests, and could catch out Buona Notte if they start slow. This game has serious upset potential.

Prediction: San Sharti wins 3-2 on aggregate