Playoffs Structure & Matchups
2023 NPSL Golden Gate Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the winner of the West Region Semifinal between the two Golden Gate Conference teams remaining in the playoffs
- Top 8 teams qualify
- Random draw will take place at the conclusion of the conference’s regular season matches
- Top 4 teams will be placed into Pot A, bottom 4 teams will be placed into Pot B
- Pot A teams will be randomly drawn against Pot B teams into Game 1, 2, 3, and 4; Pot A teams host the Conference Quarterfinal round
- Winners of Games 1 & 3 will host the Conference Semifinal round, known as Games 5 & 6
- The winners of Games 5 & 6 will advance to the West Region Semifinal round, and remaining teams will be seeded #1 & #2 based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL Golden Gate Conference Quarterfinals – July 1: Host team listed first
Game 1: San Ramon FC 0-2 FC Davis
Game 2: El Farolito 3-1 Sonoma County Sol FC
Game 3: Oakland SC 1-2 Oakland Stompers
Game 4: Napa Valley 1839 FC 3-1 Sacramento Gold FC
2023 NPSL Golden Gate Conference Semifinals – July 8: Host team listed first
Game 5: FC Davis 2-4 El Farolito
Game 6: Oakland Stompers 0-3 Napa Valley 1839 FC
2023 NPSL Northwest Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by regular season PPG
- Top team qualifies to the West Region Semifinal round
2023 NPSL Southwest Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the conference playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 2 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL Southwest Conference Final – July 8: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed FC Arizona 3-0 #2 seed California Odyssey SC
2023 NPSL West Region Playoffs
- 4 Teams qualify:
- 2 teams from Golden Gate Conference, remaining from Golden Gate Conference playoffs
- Northwest Conference Champion (determined by regular season PPG)
- Southwest Conference Champion (determined by conference playoffs)
2023 NPSL West Region Semifinals – July 15: Host team listed first
FC Arizona 1-2 Crossfire Red^
El Farolito 1-0 Napa Valley 1839 FC*
* seeding based on regular season PPG
^ International Portland Select FC does not quality for playoffs due to not playing enough regular season matches
2023 NPSL West Region Final – July 22: Hosted by El Farolito
El Farolito 2-3 Crossfire Red
2023 NPSL Gateway Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the conference playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 2 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL Gateway Conference Final – July 15: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Des Moines United FC 2-1 #2 seed FC Milwaukee Torrent
2023 NPSL Great Lakes Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the conference playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 3 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL Great Lakes Conference Semifinal – July 12: Hosted by higher seed
#2 seed Michigan Rangers FC 0-1 #3 seed Cleveland SC
2023 NPSL Great Lakes Conference Final – July 15: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Steel City FC 2-0 #3 seed Cleveland SC
2023 NPSL Heartland Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the conference playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL Heartland Conference Semifinals – July 12: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Tulsa Athletic 2-0 #4 seed Demize NPSL
#2 seed OKC 1889 FC 2-1 #3 seed Kansas City Sol
2023 NPSL Heartland Conference Final – July 15: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Tulsa Athletic 2-1 #2 seed OKC 1889 FC
2023 NPSL North Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the conference playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL North Conference Semifinals – July 12: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Duluth FC 5-1 #4 seed Minnesota TwinStars FC
#2 seed Dakota Fusion FC 0-2 #3 seed Med City FC
2023 NPSL North Conference Final – July 15: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Duluth FC 1-2 #3 seed Med City FC
2023 NPSL Midwest Region Playoffs
- 4 Teams qualify:
- Gateway Conference Champion (determined by conference playoffs)
- Great Lakes Conference Champion (determined by conference playoffs)
- Heartland Conference Champion (determined by conference playoffs)
- North Conference Champion (determined by conference playoffs)
- Teams are seeded 1-4 based on regular season PPG
- Semifinals and Final matches will be hosted at the same location. Host will be determined by a proposal, submitted by the participating teams, and reviewed by those teams, league Staff, and Board of Directors members from the Midwest Region. If there is no agreement on the hosting decision, it will be taken to a vote of those parties. If the vote is tied, the higher-seeded team breaks the tie.
2023 NPSL Midwest Region Semifinals – July 21: Hosted by Des Moines United FC
#1 seed Steel City FC (6) 0-0 (5) #4 seed Med City FC
#2 seed Des Moines United FC 3-4 #3 seed Tulsa Athletic
2023 NPSL Midwest Region Final – July 22: Hosted by Des Moines United FC
#1 seed Steel City FC 1-2 #3 seed Tulsa Athletic
2023 NPSL Gulf Coast Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the conference playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL Gulf Coast Conference Semifinals – July 12: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Southern States SC 3-2 #4 seed Tallahassee SC
#2 seed Jacksonville Armada FC U-23 0-3 #3 seed Pensacola FC
2023 NPSL Gulf Coast Conference Final – July 15: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Southern States SC 5-0 #3 seed Pensacola FC
2023 NPSL Lone Star Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the conference playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL Lone Star Conference Semifinals – July 11: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Lubbock Matadors 6-0 #4 seed Corinthians FC of San Antonio
#2 seed Brownsville NPSL 2-1 #3 seed West Texas FC
2023 NPSL Lone Star Conference Final – July 15: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Lubbock Matadors 0-1 #2 seed Brownsville NPSL
2023 NPSL Southeast Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the conference playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL Southeast Conference Semifinals – July 12: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Apotheos FC 4-1 #4 seed Charlottetowne Hops FC
#2 seed Appalachian FC 2-3 #3 seed Georgia Revolution FC
2023 NPSL Southeast Conference Final – July 15: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Apotheos FC 4-3 #3 seed Georgia Revolution FC
2023 NPSL Sunshine Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by regular season PPG
- Top team qualifies to the South Region Semifinal round
2023 NPSL South Region Playoffs
- 4 Teams qualify:
- Gulf Coast Conference Champion (determined by conference playoffs)
- Lone Star Conference Champion (determined by conference playoffs)
- Southeast Conference Champion (determined by conference playoffs)
- Sunshine Conference Champion (determined by regular season PPG)
- Teams are seeded 1-4 based on regular season PPG
- Semifinals and Final matches will be hosted at the same location, hosted by the #1 seed
- If the #1 seed is unable to host, the host opportunity moves to the next highest seeded team
- If the host team is not the #1 seed, the host will assume the #1 seed and the remaining teams will be re-seeded
2023 NPSL South Region Semifinals – July 21: Hosted by #1 seed
#1 seed Naples United FC 0-1 #4 seed Apotheos FC
#2 seed Southern States SC 2-0 #3 seed Brownsville NPSL
2023 NPSL South Region Final – July 22: Hosted by #1 seed
#2 seed Southern States SC 1-2 #4 seed Apotheos FC
2023 NPSL Keystone East Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the conference playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 2 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL Keystone East Conference Final – July 15: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed FC Motown 3-0 #2 seed Atlantic City FC
2023 NPSL Keystone West Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the conference playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 2 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL Keystone West Conference Final – July 15: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed West Chester United SC 2-1 #2 seed Hershey FC
2023 NPSL Mid-Atlantic Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the conference playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL Mid-Atlantic Conference Semifinals – July 12: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Annapolis Blues FC 4-1 #4 seed Grove United
#2 seed Greenville United (3) 0-0 (5) #3 seed Alexandria Reds
2023 NPSL Mid-Atlantic Conference Final – July 15: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Annapolis Blues FC (4) 2-2 (2) #3 seed Alexandria Reds
2023 NPSL North Atlantic Conference Playoffs
- Conference champion is determined by the conference playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 3 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
2023 NPSL North Atlantic Conference Semifinal – July 12: Hosted by higher seed
#2 seed Hartford City FC 2-1 #3 seed New York Shockers
2023 NPSL North Atlantic Conference Final – July 15: Hosted by higher seed
#1 seed Kingston Stockade FC 1-2 #2 seed Hartford City FC
2023 NPSL East Region Playoffs
- 4 Teams qualify:
- Keystone East Conference Champion (determined by conference playoffs)
- Keystone West Conference Champion (determined by conference playoffs)
- Mid-Atlantic Conference Champion (determined by conference playoffs)
- North Atlantic Conference Champion (determined by conference playoffs)
- Teams are seeded 1-4 based on regular season PPG
- Semifinals and Final matches will be hosted at the same location, hosted by the #1 seed
- If the #1 seed is unable to host, the host opportunity moves to the next highest seeded team
- If the host team is not the #1 seed, the host will assume the #1 seed and the remaining teams will be re-seeded
2023 NPSL East Region Semifinals – July 21: Hosted by #1 seed
#1 seed FC Motown 4-2 #4 seed Hartford City FC
#2 seed Annapolis Blues FC 0-4 #3 seed West Chester United SC
2023 NPSL East Region Final – July 22: Hosted by #1 seed
#1 seed FC Motown 1-4 #3 seed West Chester United SC
2023 NPSL National Semifinals & Championship
2023 NPSL National Semifinals – July 29: Each game hosted by higher seed
#1 seed West Chester United SC 1-3 #4 seed Apotheos FC
#2 seed Tulsa Athletic 4-0 #3 seed Crossfire Red
2023 NPSL National Championship – August 5: Hosted by higher seed
#2 seed Tulsa Athletic (8) 1-1 (7) #4 seed Apotheos FC
Tiebreakers
Tiebreakers between 2 teams:
- Head-to-head results
- Goal difference in head-to-head matchups
- Most wins in conference competition
- Goal difference in conference competition
- Fewest losses in conference competition
- Coin toss
Tiebreakers between 3 or more teams:
A mini table involving only the tied teams shall be used. If there is a 2-team tie in the mini table, the 2-team tiebreakers listed above will apply. If there is a tie for points between 3 or more teams, the following tiebreakers will apply:
- Most wins in conference competition
- Goal difference in conference competition
- Fewest losses in conference competition
- Coin toss
- Regular season average points per game
- Regular season average goal difference per game
- Regular season average goals scored per game
- Coin toss