Playoffs Structure & Matchups
Gateway Conference
- Conference champion is determined by the playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
- Host team is listed first
Semifinals – July 10:
#1 seed Gio’s Lions SC Chicago 0-1 #4 seed FC Milwaukee Torrent
#2 seed Kansas City Sol 1-5 #3 seed Des Moines United FC
Final – July 13:
#3 seed Des Moines United FC 2-0 #4 seed FC Milwaukee Torrent
Golden Gate Conference
- Conference champion is determined by the playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
- Host team is listed first
Semifinals – June 29:
#1 seed El Farolito 4-2 #4 seed Sacramento Gold FC
#2 seed Napa Valley 1839 FC 2-1 #3 seed San Ramon FC
Final – July 13:
#1 seed El Farolito 3-2 #2 seed Napa Valley 1839 FC
Great Lakes Conference
- Conference champion is determined by the playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
- Host team is listed first
Semifinals – July 10:
#1 seed Steel City FC 3-2 #4 seed Flower City Union
#2 seed Akron City FC 4-2 #3 seed Michigan Rangers FC
Final – July 13:
#1 seed Steel City FC 2-0 #2 seed Akron City FC
Gulf Coast Sunshine Conference
- Conference champion is determined by the playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Conference is split into two groups, with the top 3 teams qualifying from each group
- Seeding based on regular season PPG from all regular season games
- Group A:
- Global Soccer Pathways
- Jacksonville Armada FC U-23
- Miami Dutch Lions FC
- Naples United FC
- Group B:
- Columbus United FC
- New Orleans Jesters
- Pensacola FC
- Tallahassee SC
- Host team is listed first
Quarterfinals – July 6:
Group A #2 seed Jacksonville Armada FC U-23 vs Group A #3 seed Miami Dutch Lions FC
Group B #2 seed Columbus United FC vs Group B #3 seed Tallahassee SC
Semifinals – July 10:
Group A #1 seed Naples United FC 0-2 Group A #2 seed Jacksonville Armada FC U-23
Group B #1 seed Pensacola FC 1-2 Group B #2 seed Columbus United FC
Final – July 13:
Group A #2 seed Jacksonville Armada FC 1-3 Group B #2 seed Columbus United FC
Heartland Conference
- Conference champion is determined by regular season PPG
- Top team based on regular season PPG wins the conference
OKC 1889 FC wins conference
Keystone East Conference
- Conference champion is determined by the playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 2 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
- Host team is listed first
Final – July 13:
#1 seed FC Motown 4-1 #2 seed Jackson Lions FC
Keystone West Conference
- Conference champion is determined by the playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 2 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
- Host team is listed first
Final – July 13:
#1 seed West Chester United SC 4-0 #2 seed Electric City Shock SC
Lone Star Conference
- Conference champion is determined by the playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
- Host team is listed first
Semifinals – July 10:
#1 seed West Texas FC 5-1 #4 seed Laredo Heat SC
#2 seed FC Brownsville 2-3 #3 seed Denton Diablos FC
Final – July 13:
#1 seed West Texas FC 4-1 #3 seed Denton Diablos FC
Mid-Atlantic Conference
- Conference champion is determined by the playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
- Host team is listed first
Semifinals – July 10:
#1 seed Annapolis Blues FC 5-0 #4 seed FC Frederick
#2 seed Alexandria Reds 2-3 #3 seed Virginia Dream FC
Final – July 13:
#1 seed Annapolis Blues FC 0-2 #3 seed Virginia Dream FC
North Conference
- Conference champion is determined by the playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
- Host team is listed first
Semifinals – July 10:
#1 seed Dakota Fusion FC 2-1 #4 seed Joy St. Louis Park
#2 seed Duluth FC 2-0 #3 seed Minnesota TwinStars FC
Final – July 13:
#1 seed Dakota Fusion FC 0-1 #2 seed Duluth FC
North Atlantic Conference
- Conference champion is determined by the playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 3 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
- Host team is listed first
Semifinal – July 10:
#2 seed Hartford City FC (4) 2-2 (3) #3 seed New Jersey United AC
Final – July 13:
#1 seed New York Shockers (5) 1-1 (4) #2 seed Hartford City FC
Southeast Conference
- Conference champion is determined by the playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 4 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
- Host team is listed first
Semifinals – July 10:
#1 seed Appalachian FC 2-0 #4 seed Charlottetowne Hops FC
#2 seed Hickory FC 2-1 #3 seed Apotheos FC
Final – July 13:
#1 seed Appalachian FC 0-3 #2 seed Hickory FC
Southwest Conference
- Conference champion is determined by the playoff below, not regular season PPG
- Top 2 teams qualify; seeding based on regular season PPG
- Host team is listed first
Final – July 13:
#1 seed Las Vegas Legends FC vs #2 seed FC Arizona *
* FC Arizona advances to next round. Please see https://www.npsl.com/22999/ for more information.
West Region
- 2 teams qualify:
- Golden Gate Conference champion
- Southwest Conference champion
Final – July 20:
El Farolito (Golden Gate) 4-1 FC Arizona (Southwest)
hosted by team with higher regular season PPG
Midwest Region
- 3 teams qualify:
- Gateway Conference champion
- Great Lakes Conference champion
- North Conference champion
- Teams are seeded 1-3 based on regular season PPG
Semifinal – July 17:
#2 seed Des Moines United FC (Gateway) 0-2 #3 seed Duluth FC (North)
hosted by team with higher regular season PPG
Final – July 20:
#1 seed Steel City FC (Great Lakes) 2-3 #3 seed Duluth FC (North)
hosted by #1 seed
South Region
- 4 teams qualify:
- Gulf Coast Sunshine Conference champion
- Heartland Conference champion
- Lone Star Conference champion
- Southeast Conference champion
Semifinals – July 17:
West Texas FC (Lone Star) 4-1 OKC 1889 FC (Heartland)
hosted by team with higher regular season PPG
Hickory FC (Southeast) 2-3 Columbus United FC (Gulf Coast Sunshine)
hosted by team with higher regular season PPG
Final – July 20:
West Texas FC (Lone Star) 3-4 Columbus United FC (Gulf Coast Sunshine)
hosted by team with higher regular season PPG
East Region
- 4 teams qualify:
- Keystone East Conference champion
- Keystone West Conference champion
- Mid-Atlantic Conference champion
- North Atlantic Conference champion
Semifinals – July 17:
FC Motown (Keystone East) 1-0 Virginia Dream (Mid-Atlantic)
hosted by team with higher regular season PPG
West Chester United SC (Keystone West) 2-3 New York Shockers (North Atlantic)
hosted by team with higher regular season PPG
Final – July 20:
FC Motown (Keystone East) 5-0 New York Shockers (North Atlantic)
hosted by team with higher regular season PPG
- 4 teams qualify:
- West Region champion
- Midwest Region champion
- South Region champion
- East Region champion
- Matchups to be decided by NPSL Board of Directors, once each participating semifinalist is known
Semifinals – July 27:
FC Motown 2-0 Columbus United FC
hosted by team with higher regular season PPG
El Farolito 3-0 Duluth FC
hosted by team with higher regular season PPG
National Championship – August 3:
FC Motown 1-2 El Farolito
hosted by team with higher regular season PPG
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