Cordia Domestic Sports Newswire

by **The Cordian Isles** » Fri Jun 10, 2022 4:39 pm

May - MDs 6-10 + CC Q2

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brenville Blue               10    8   1   1    25    8  +17    25
 2 Jutland Cannons              10    7   2   1    23    7  +16    23
 3 Danvirk FC                   10    6   3   1    25   15  +10    21
 4 Meadow Ridge Maples          10    6   3   1    25   16   +9    21
 5 Jutland FC                   10    6   1   3    16    7   +9    19
 6 White River FC               10    6   0   4    10   10    0    18
 7 Gilded City Dragons          10    5   1   4    10   10    0    16
 8 Vikings FC                   10    4   3   3     9    7   +2    15
 9 Cordasfjord FC               10    4   2   4    17   13   +4    14
10 Creston Wolves               10    4   2   4    22   21   +1    14
11 Eriksson Icecaps             10    4   2   4    20   21   −1    14
12 Thor's Rest Storm            10    3   4   3    16   14   +2    13
13 Valley Fold Vanquishers      10    3   4   3    12   14   −2    13
14 Westwall Stand               10    3   2   5    15   20   −5    11
15 East Fjord FC                10    3   2   5    11   19   −8    11
16 Skalton Harpers              10    2   2   6    13   17   −4     8
17 Shelter Cove Captains        10    2   2   6    15   21   −6     8
18 Lakeshore Hersir             10    2   2   6     8   15   −7     8
19 Icecliff Pack FC             10    1   4   5     9   15   −6     7
20 Red Hill Smithers            10    0   0  10     3   34  −31     0

Last 5                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 White River FC             5    4   0   1     5    1   +4    12
 2 Valley Fold Vanquishers    5    3   2   0    10    6   +4    11
 3 Jutland Cannons            5    3   1   1    10    4   +6    10
 4 Brenville Blue             5    3   1   1    10    5   +5    10
 5 Gilded City Dragons        5    3   1   1     6    1   +5    10
 6 Meadow Ridge Maples        5    3   1   1    11    7   +4    10
 7 Danvirk FC                 5    2   3   0    12    9   +3     9
 8 Eriksson Icecaps           5    2   2   1     9    7   +2     8
 9 Cordasfjord FC             5    2   2   1     6    6    0     8
10 East Fjord FC              5    2   2   1     4    4    0     8
11 Jutland FC                 5    2   1   2     7    5   +2     7
12 Creston Wolves             5    2   0   3     6    9   −3     6
13 Thor's Rest Storm          5    1   2   2     4    4    0     5
14 Vikings FC                 5    1   2   2     5    6   −1     5
15 Westwall Stand             5    1   2   2     7    9   −2     5
16 Icecliff Pack FC           5    0   4   1     6    8   −2     4
17 Skalton Harpers            5    0   2   3     8   11   −3     2
18 Lakeshore Hersir           5    0   2   3     2    7   −5     2
19 Shelter Cove Captains      5    0   2   3     7   13   −6     2
20 Red Hill Smithers          5    0   0   5     1   14  −13     0

Best Performers:

White River FC
Yes, they had a relatively soft schedule in May. But going 4-0-1 over five matches as a promoted club is absolutely an accomplishment to take note of. Also notable is their defense over this stretch, which has managed to allow just one goal, in a loss to Valley Fold. White River now sits at sixth in the league; while it’s unlikely that they’ll maintain this level of play, they’re well out of the relegation zone, with a large cushion even if they do fall down.

Valley Fold Vanquishers
Valley Fold opened May sitting at nineteenth in the league, having gone winless in the opening month of the season. Their first two matches of the month were draws. They then ramped things up, pulling off a thrilling victory at home against Shelter Cove, 5-4, then clutching up on defense to take a 1-0 victory at White River, who at the time were on a five-match winning streak. They finished the month off with a pretty easy and uneventful win against Thor’s Rest.

Gilded City Dragons
Gilded City has returned to doing what they’re supposed to do: shutting their opponents down. Outscoring the opposition 6-1, they took three wins and a draw over May’s five matches and rocketed up to seventh in the league with sixteen points.

Worst Performers:

Jutland FC
The Dreadnoughts continue to disappoint. Sure, their losses were to Meadow Ridge and then Brenville, but for a club that’s consistently expected to be among the top five in the league, dropping those points is not acceptable, especially when the difference-maker against Brenville was a screwed-up coverage of Sebastian Voll, something that simply should not be happening when going up against a top playmaker like that.

Red Hill Smithers
OH GOD. IT GOT WORSE.

Icecliff Pack FC
Icecliff is consistently failing to turn draws into victories, so while they’ve kept things close, they’re still not doing well. Many expected the Pack to be well into the midtable or even the top half of the league, but things certainly aren’t heading in that direction for this club. If they can’t turn things around soon, they could easily end up relegated.

May Best XI:
ST: Evelina Danielsen - Valley Fold Vanquishers
ST: Ard Donders - Meadow Ridge Maples
MF: Andre Vandendriessche (BRO) - Jutland Cannons
MF: Harald Breiner - White River FC
MF: Sparkling Ingrid (EVM) - Gilded City Dragons
MF: Annemie Driel - Danvirk FC
DF: Lucia Verkerk - Gilded City Dragons
DF: Paula Vinter - East Fjord FC
DF: Redvin Chase - Jutland Cannons
DF: Herbert Schaik - Thor’s Rest Storm
GK: John Gildea (FVA) - Gilded City Dragons

Derby Watch:

Fjords Cup [MD 8]
East Fjord FC 1–0 Skalton Harpers
East Fjord isn’t doing that well overall, but the victory over Skalton puts them on top of the Fjords Cup standings with two wins and a +2 GD. It would be Josef Jonsson delivering in the 73rd minute, sprinting in and cleaning up a rebound to give East Fjord a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Siege (MD 10)
Westwall Stand 1–2 Danvirk FC
Danvirk was looking to stay on top, while Westwall needed the win to pull themselves out of the bottom tier. Early on, it was not looking good for Westwall, as Markus Schroder scored in the very first minute to quiet the home crowd, and Danvirk held that lead until halftime. In the 60th minute, it was Schroder again, taking a pass from Kang Goo-Seong and firing it into the open net to give Danvirk the 2-0 lead. Three minutes later, Esa Hagen of Westwall responded with an absolute blast from high to make things interesting, but Danvirk managed to hold on to the win and will play the second leg of the Siege at home with a one-goal advantage.

Southeast Derby (MD 10)
Meadow Ridge Maples 1–4 Brenville Blue
With a victory for either side, the victor would stand alone on top of the table. Brenville visited Meadow Ridge on a bit of a rougher stretch, having gone 2-1-1 in May, while the Maples remained the only undefeated club in the league. Early on, it looked like that story would continue as Meadow Ridge opened the scoring, Ard Donders netting a goal in the thirteenth minute. But Brenville went on the attack and let off a barrage in the last ten minutes of the first half, netting three goals to enter the break up 3-1. Maples, demoralized, failed to put in a big push in the second half. Brenville secured their spot on top of the league and will play for the Derby victory at home, up by three goals.

Cordia Cup Qualifying 2
North Bay FC 1-0 Southbeach Sailors
Timber FC 1-0 Seewatch Club
Northmark Admirals 1-1 Riverborne Raiders (1-1 AET, 2-3 PKs)
Woods Elite FC 1-2 Bay Yards (1-2 agg)
FC Whitebridge 1-1 FC Industrial (1-2 AET)
West Vik Valkyries 1-0 Threshers FC
Highlands 2-0 West Viksee
South Bay FC 0-1 South Point
Shining Lake FC 1-0 East Vik FC
South Beach FC 3-0 Volsung Lake Club
Canby Crescent 4-1 Chesterfield Club
Salmon Lake FC 2-1 Blaora Township
Briarville AFC 3-1 Marble Heights Ascent
Ice Fields 1-0 Silver Club
Lake Hervor FC 2-0 Fireport Flames
Standard Creston 1-1 East Jutland FC (2-2 AET, 2-1 PKs)

by **The Cordian Isles** » Fri Jun 10, 2022 4:43 pm

June - MDs 11-15 + CC FQ

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brenville Blue               15   12   1   2    34   13  +21    37
 2 Jutland Cannons              15   10   4   1    31   11  +20    34
 3 Danvirk FC                   15   10   3   2    39   21  +18    33
 4 Meadow Ridge Maples          15    9   4   2    36   23  +13    31
 5 Gilded City Dragons          15    8   1   6    16   14   +2    25
 6 Cordasfjord FC               15    7   3   5    25   18   +7    24
 7 Jutland FC                   15    7   2   6    23   16   +7    23
 8 White River FC               15    7   1   7    16   15   +1    22
 9 Eriksson Icecaps             15    6   3   6    30   29   +1    21
10 Valley Fold Vanquishers      15    5   6   4    24   27   −3    21
11 Thor's Rest Storm            15    5   5   5    24   23   +1    20
12 Westwall Stand               15    6   2   7    24   30   −6    20
13 Icecliff Pack FC             15    4   6   5    23   22   +1    18
14 Vikings FC                   15    5   3   7    14   17   −3    18
15 Creston Wolves               15    5   2   8    27   32   −5    17
16 Skalton Harpers              15    4   4   7    18   22   −4    16
17 East Fjord FC                15    4   4   7    18   30  −12    16
18 Shelter Cove Captains        15    3   3   9    23   32   −9    12
19 Lakeshore Hersir             15    2   2  11    11   25  −14     8
20 Red Hill Smithers            15    1   1  13     8   44  −36     4

Last 5                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
 1 Danvirk FC                 5    4   0   1    14    6   +8    12
 2 Brenville Blue             5    4   0   1     9    5   +4    12
 3 Icecliff Pack FC           5    3   2   0    14    7   +7    11
 4 Jutland Cannons            5    3   2   0     8    4   +4    11
 5 Meadow Ridge Maples        5    3   1   1    11    7   +4    10
 6 Cordasfjord FC             5    3   1   1     8    5   +3    10
 7 Gilded City Dragons        5    3   0   2     6    4   +2     9
 8 Westwall Stand             5    3   0   2     9   10   −1     9
 9 Skalton Harpers            5    2   2   1     5    5    0     8
10 Valley Fold Vanquishers    5    2   2   1    12   13   −1     8
11 Eriksson Icecaps           5    2   1   2    10    8   +2     7
12 Thor's Rest Storm          5    2   1   2     8    9   −1     7
13 East Fjord FC              5    1   2   2     7   11   −4     5
14 White River FC             5    1   1   3     6    5   +1     4
15 Jutland FC                 5    1   1   3     7    9   −2     4
16 Shelter Cove Captains      5    1   1   3     8   11   −3     4
17 Red Hill Smithers          5    1   1   3     5   10   −5     4
18 Vikings FC                 5    1   0   4     5   10   −5     3
19 Creston Wolves             5    1   0   4     5   11   −6     3
20 Lakeshore Hersir           5    0   0   5     3   10   −7     0

Best Performers:

Danvirk FC
Despite a very tough schedule for June that included both Jutland clubs, Cordasfjord, and Meadow Ridge, Danvirk posted the league’s best record for the month, with four victories and one loss. Their first match was a close contest with Cannons that saw Danvirk unable to come back from a 0-1 halftime deficit. However, they took an easy win in their next match against Red Hill and that seemed to renew the team’s energy as they won three straight over Cordasfjord, Jutland FC, and Meadow Ridge to put them up to third in the league.

Icecliff Pack FC
Icecliff’s schedule certainly wasn’t the hardest, but with three wins and two draws against similarly-ranked clubs, the Pack have left the relegation zone behind, at least for now. Opening with a draw against Valley Fold, they managed to hold on to a lead at Eriksson and followed up with a 4-1 victory at home against East Fjord. With some late goals in a closely-contested match against Westwall to take the win, they were riding high coming into a home game against Cannons. In one of the league’s more exciting matches so far, Cannons jumped out to a 3-0 lead at the half, only for Icecliff to score three unanswered by the 75th minute. Desperately trying to avoid a draw, Cannons’ Reza Medvedev fired what appeared to be the winner in the 86th. But a minute into stoppage time, Ssehdo Kadfuss of Icecliff knotted the score back up for the draw.

Brenville Blue
Brenville took four victories to widen their lead on top of the standings. For once, though, it wasn’t their goal-scoring prowess that put them there; the month saw them put up a solid display on the defensive side of the ball, too. Brenville, legendary for abandoning the defense entirely, currently boasts one of the league’s stingiest defenses at thirteen goals allowed in fifteen matches.

Worst Performers:

Lakeshore Hersir
Just not a good month for the Hersir. In five matches, they failed to secure a single point, while scoring only three goals and allowing ten. There’s a lot for Lakeshore to clean up, especially as they enter Cordia Cup play in Final Qualifying. Their worst match was without a doubt the 1-3 loss to Eriksson that saw them go up 1-0 fifteen minutes into the second half, before giving up three unanswered goals, at home no less, for the loss.

Creston Wolves
The champions of the CIFA’s second season have fallen off since then, and nothing exemplifies this more than the past month. Their only win came against Lakeshore, the league’s worst performer in June, while the Wolves also saw massive losses to Vikings (2-4) and Meadow Ridge (1-4). The former champions now sit at fifteenth three months into the season, and they have their work cut out for them if they want to accomplish anything of significance this year.

Jutland FC
Jutland FC did have a high point in June: A 4-1 domination of Vikings on MD 12. But it that was the peak in a month that saw the Dreadnoughts fall to Shelter Cove, Danvirk, and Gilded City, allowing two or more goals in each of those. Nine of Jutland’s sixteen goals allowed came from the last five matches alone. The good news is that this club has shown that it can be competitive when playing at its best, as seen in the first month of the season where they went 4-0-1, and in their match against Vikings where they absolutely flattened the visitors. Granted, Vikings aren’t a very good club, but 4-1 is a pretty good mark against them.

June Best XI:
ST: Ssehdo Kadfuss (EFK) - Icecliff Pack FC
ST: Markus Schroder (ZRH) - Danvirk FC
MF: Erik Pratt - Jutland Cannons
MF: Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve (QUE) - Cordasfjord FC
MF: Kalfat’ Kakedo (EFK) - Brenville Blue
MF: Kang Goo-Seong (QUE) - Danvirk FC
DF: Lucia Verkerk - Gilded City Dragons
DF: Taimi Pocock - Jutland Cannons
DF: Knut Abel - White River FC
DF: Yefim Stepnaov (CMT) - Cordasfjord FC
GK: Charlie Barrett (SYL) - Skalton Harpers

Derby Watch:

Fjords Cup (MD 12)
Cordasfjord FC 2–0 Skalton Harpers
Cordasfjord defeated Skalton to move into second in Fjords Cup standings. Cordasfjord took the lead with back-to-back goals in the first half. Elias Isaksen converted a penalty in the 32nd minute to give Cordasfjord the lead, and four minutes later, Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve fired a perfect shot into the top-left corner to give Cordasfjord the cushion. Though Skalton pushed hard and Charlie Barrett was able to keep the ball out of the net, the Harpers failed to make up the difference.

Mountaineers Cup (MD 13)
Valley Fold Vanquishers 2–6 Eriksson Icecaps
Valley Fold entered MD 13 three points ahead of Eriksson. That was short-lived, as the Icecaps gave the Vanquishers a thrashing in the opening match of the Mountaineers Cup. Up 4-0 by the end of the first half, Icecaps subbed in three members of the second team and held back to rest, but still scored twice to secure the victory.

Cordia Cup Final Qualifying
Riverborne Raiders 1-1 Highlands (1-1 AET, 2-3 PKs)
Northshore FC 3-0 Lake Hervor FC
South Shore Athletic 3-1 West Vik Valkyries
South Point 1-0 Salmon Lake FC
West Skalton Notes 1-1 Valley Fold Vanquishers (2-2 AET, 2-3 PKs)
Norport FC 0-3 Red Hill Smithers
Ice Fields 2-1 North Bay FC
East Fjord FC 2-0 FC Industrial
Timber FC 1-1 Canby Crescent (1-1 AET, 3-1 PKs)
Channel Point FC 3-0 Mountainview FC
Shining Lake FC 0-3 Courvale Kings FC
South Beach FC 0-2 Thetford FC
AFC Korda 0-0 Standard Creston (1-0 AET)
Castle Hill Courage 0-1 Southmont Hawks FC
Bay Yards 0-2 Lakeshore Hersir
Briarville AFC 1-2 North Courvale FC

Fan favorites Northshore FC advance to the Cup proper with a resounding 3-0 victory over Lake Hervor. Meanwhile, Valley Fold struggled against West Skalton, coming from behind to knot the score in extra time before finally prevailing on penalties.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Fri Jun 10, 2022 4:48 pm

July - MDs 16-20 + CC 32

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brenville Blue               20   15   1   4    47   25  +22    46
 2 Jutland Cannons              20   12   4   4    37   16  +21    40
 3 Meadow Ridge Maples          20   12   4   4    45   32  +13    40
 4 Danvirk FC                   20   12   3   5    49   33  +16    39
 5 Cordasfjord FC               20   10   4   6    33   23  +10    34
 6 Gilded City Dragons          20   10   3   7    24   21   +3    33
 7 Jutland FC                   20   10   2   8    30   23   +7    32
 8 Creston Wolves               20    9   3   8    38   35   +3    30
 9 White River FC               20    9   2   9    27   24   +3    29
10 Valley Fold Vanquishers      20    7   6   7    30   35   −5    27
11 Thor's Rest Storm            20    7   5   8    34   34    0    26
12 Icecliff Pack FC             20    6   7   7    29   27   +2    25
13 Eriksson Icecaps             20    7   4   9    36   39   −3    25
14 East Fjord FC                20    7   4   9    26   35   −9    25
15 Westwall Stand               20    7   4   9    29   39  −10    25
16 Vikings FC                   20    6   6   8    24   25   −1    24
17 Skalton Harpers              20    6   5   9    26   32   −6    23
18 Shelter Cove Captains        20    4   4  12    30   42  −12    16
19 Lakeshore Hersir             20    4   3  13    15   31  −16    15
20 Red Hill Smithers            20    2   2  16    13   51  −38     8

Last 5                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
 1 Creston Wolves             5    4   1   0    11    3   +8    13
 2 Cordasfjord FC             5    3   1   1     8    5   +3    10
 3 East Fjord FC              5    3   0   2     8    5   +3     9
 4 Brenville Blue             5    3   0   2    13   12   +1     9
 5 Meadow Ridge Maples        5    3   0   2     9    9    0     9
 6 Jutland FC                 5    3   0   2     7    7    0     9
 7 Gilded City Dragons        5    2   2   1     8    7   +1     8
 8 White River FC             5    2   1   2    11    9   +2     7
 9 Icecliff Pack FC           5    2   1   2     6    5   +1     7
10 Skalton Harpers            5    2   1   2     8   10   −2     7
11 Lakeshore Hersir           5    2   1   2     4    6   −2     7
12 Vikings FC                 5    1   3   1    10    8   +2     6
13 Jutland Cannons            5    2   0   3     6    5   +1     6
14 Thor's Rest Storm          5    2   0   3    10   11   −1     6
15 Danvirk FC                 5    2   0   3    10   12   −2     6
16 Valley Fold Vanquishers    5    2   0   3     6    8   −2     6
17 Westwall Stand             5    1   2   2     5    9   −4     5
18 Red Hill Smithers          5    1   1   3     5    7   −2     4
19 Shelter Cove Captains      5    1   1   3     7   10   −3     4
20 Eriksson Icecaps           5    1   1   3     6   10   −4     4

Best Performers:

Creston Wolves
Quite the turnaround for the Wolves from June to July. The Wolves scored eleven goals and allowed just three this month while recording four victories and no losses. Their biggest win was a 3-0 shutout of a Thor’s Rest club that’s actually been playing pretty well this year. Weathering a few grade-A opportunities for the Storm in the beginning, the Wolves scored twice in quick succession to quiet the stadium going into halftime. Creston locked down for the second half, and Thor’s Rest got desperate late in the match, allowing Creston to take advantage for a counterattack goal. The 3-0 away victory was the cherry on top of a great month.

Thor’s Rest Storm
On paper, Thor’s Rest is absolutely not deserving of a place on the best performers list. 2-0-3 is decent, but not good. But when you consider more of the context, the Storm start looking pretty good. They opened the month with upset victories over Cordasfjord FC and Jutland FC, two of the league’s better clubs. And rather than just defeating Jutland, they genuinely outplayed them, winning 3-0. After beating Jutland, they went up against Meadow Ridge, losing a close 3-2 decision that could have gone either way. As if the schedule couldn’t get any harder - and having faced three of the top seven clubs in the league - Thor’s Rest hosted Brenville and stayed competitive in yet another close match, in which they got into a shootout and actually came very close to coming out of it with points, something that doesn’t happen very often when the Brenville Blue get into a shootout. To round everything out, the Storm lost 3-0 at home to Creston, but they were understandably

There weren’t very many other options this month with regard to top performers. Many clubs had easy schedules, and many of those with harder schedules didn’t do well.

Worst Performers:

Red Hill Smithers
Just another brutal month in a brutal season for Red Hill. The Smithers came close to earning points from several losses but an inability to convert chances left the Red Hill side wanting. They did take a victory, though, 2-1 over Valley Fold, as well as a 1-1 draw with Westwall. But there was potential for them to do so much more, which is why Red Hill lands in the Worst Performers section despite netting their second victory of the season.

Westwall Stand
Yes, Westwall did record a victory over Cannons. But they also drew with Eriksson and Red Hill, and received a shellacking at the hands of East Fjord that saw all four goals come in the second half as the Stand went through a defensive breakdown following a first half that saw them control play and put a lot of pressure on their opposition. The loss was painful for even East Fjord fans to watch as defensive mistakes on the side of the opposition left them wincing. Though Westwall made it up to their fans to some extent as they defeated Cannons two matchdays later, the damage was already done.

Title Watch:
Brenville currently sits on top of the league, leading by six points over Cannons and Maples, but there’s plenty of time for those teams to catch up. Danvirk is in the mix for a Challengers Cup spot, sitting a point behind Cannons and Maples. Cordasfjord, Gilded City, and Jutland FC have formed a chasing pack at 34, 33, and 32 points, respectively, sitting well behind Danvirk (39) but, with eighteen matches remaining on the schedule, there’s plenty of time to make up that ground.

On the opposite side of the table, Red Hill is on track to be the worst team in League A history based on total points. The catch? In previous seasons, teams played ten fewer matches. That pretty much speaks for itself. The other bottom feeders are Lakeshore and Shelter Cove. Shelter Cove sits seven points back of Skalton, with Lakeshore a point behind them. There’s still time to make those points up, but matches are getting progressively more urgent for those sides (Red Hill has already given up).

July Best XI:
ST: Sebastian Voll - Brenville Blue
ST: Anton Osterholt - Gilded City Dragons
MF: Haydn Schwartz (ZRH) - Creston Wolves
MF: Niall Kuol (CYI) - Thor’s Rest Storm
MF: Harald Breiner - White River FC
MF: Jarkko Salonen - East Fjord FC
DF: Yefim Stepnaov (CMT) - Cordasfjord FC
DF: Lucia Verkerk - Gilded City Dragons
DF: Redvin Chase - Jutland Cannons
DF: Sacha Koopman - Icecliff Pack FC
GK: Jordi Jongen - Creston Wolves

Derby Watch:

Mountaineers Cup (MD 17)
Valley Fold Vanquishers 1–2 Red Hill Smithers
Red Hill takes a surprising victory over Valley Fold to send the former to the cellar of the Mountaineers Cup standings and set up the MD 18 battle between Red Hill and Eriksson. David Davidsen got the Smithers out to a solid start with a nice shot off a Rakel Ranta pass in the 19th. Evelina Danielsen was the scorer for Valley Fold, sliding into the center from the right side to let off a powerful short-side shot to knot the score at 1-1 in the 42nd. That wouldn’t be the end of it, as Red Hill’s Helena Tjader drew a foul in the box from Ain Ljungren in the 83rd and took the penalty herself, firing the ball high and to the left with authority, or at least as much authority as a 2-2-16 record can give you.

Mountaineers Cup (MD 18)
Red Hill Smithers 1–2 Eriksson Icecaps
A floundering Eriksson takes their only win of the month in their easiest match, but it was a battle to the finish as Red Hill refused to give up their place in the Mountaineers Cup standings. Eriksson got off to a bad start defensively and Red Hill took advantage early off a Helena Tjader tap-in. However, the Icecaps got their feet back under them and it wasn’t long before they returned the favor, with a Huub Kraan strike silencing the home crowd in the 25th to tie the match at one. Eriksson struck again just six minutes later, Filip Anderson driving home a pass from Teppo Ljungborg to give the Icecaps the lead. That would turn out to be the difference, as Red Hill floundered offensively in the second half and never really had a good shot to score despite boatloads of pressure.

West Vik Derby (MD 19)
Shelter Cove Captains 0–1 Gilded City Dragons
A classic defensive display from Gilded City grants them a much-needed victory after a rocky start to the month. Despite pressure early in the second half, John Gildea kept a clean sheet and Anton Osterholt got the needed goal off a beautiful dribble play in the 58th minute to get the Dragons over the line. Gilded City now looks to defend the one-goal lead on the final day of the season as Shelter Cove continues to go nowhere in its attempt to avoid relegation.

Fjords Cup (MD 20)
East Fjord FC 1–2 Cordasfjord FC
It’s revenge for Cordasfjord and they would not be stopped, though East Fjord did manage to put up a good fight and keep the match interesting, it was Cordasfjord putting pressure on them the entire match with only two goals to show for it. An early defensive slip-up by the away side gave East Fjord the lead eleven minutes into the match, but from then on it was all Cordasfjord, with Nicholas Eriksen’s finish in the sixty-fifth delivering the needed second goal to live Cordasfjord to the victory.

Cordia Cup Round of 32
Danvirk FC 5-1 Creston Wolves
Brenville Blue 1-1 Eriksson Icecaps (1-1 AET, 3-1 PKs)
South Point 1-2 Vikings FC
Thor's Rest Storm 3-0 Thetford FC
White River FC 2-1 Jutland Cannons
South Shore Athletic 1-1 Westwall Stand (1-2 AET)
Valley Fold Vanquishers 0-0 Jutland FC (0-1 AET)
Shelter Cove Captains 1-0 East Fjord FC
Meadow Ridge Maples 2-0 AFC Korda
Courvale Kings FC 0-1 Lakeshore Hersir
Channel Point FC 3-0 Ice Fields
Cordasfjord FC 2-1 Red Hill Smithers
Timber FC 0-3 Icecliff Pack FC
Skalton Harpers 1-0 Gilded City Dragons
Northshore FC 2-2 Highlands (2-3 AET)
North Courvale FC 0-2 Southmont Hawks FC

All of the League A teams entered the fray for the Round of 32, and things started to get interesting. Danvirk brutalized Creston to advance, 5-1. Brenville escaped a disappointing loss at Eriksson by winning 3-1 on PKs. Jutland Cannons visited White River only to see their Cup hopes end by a score of 1-2. Westwall barely escaped from South Shore with a victory after Maxwell Gorev’s finish AET, and Jutland FC did the same against Valley Fold, Moniek Wassink scoring the eventual winner just two minutes into extra time. Cordasfjord endured something of a scare against Red Hill as the Smithers got out to a fast start with a goal in the fifth but managed to come back and avoid losing to far and away the worst team in the League A. Also, Northshore FC was eliminated by Highlands 3-2 in extra time.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Jun 11, 2022 10:40 am

August - MDs 21-25 + CC 16

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brenville Blue               25   19   1   5    59   32  +27    58
 2 Jutland Cannons              25   15   5   5    45   19  +26    50
 3 Meadow Ridge Maples          25   15   5   5    58   38  +20    50
 4 Danvirk FC                   25   15   4   6    58   39  +19    49
 5 Creston Wolves               25   14   3   8    53   41  +12    45
 6 Cordasfjord FC               25   13   5   7    51   31  +20    44
 7 Gilded City Dragons          25   12   4   9    32   27   +5    40
 8 Vikings FC                   25   11   6   8    34   26   +8    39
 9 Jutland FC                   25   12   2  11    35   29   +6    38
10 White River FC               25   12   2  11    34   34    0    38
11 Valley Fold Vanquishers      25   10   6   9    36   39   −3    36
12 Thor's Rest Storm            25    9   6  10    40   41   −1    33
13 East Fjord FC                25    9   4  12    33   45  −12    31
14 Skalton Harpers              25    8   5  12    30   37   −7    29
15 Westwall Stand               25    8   5  12    42   55  −13    29
16 Icecliff Pack FC             25    6   8  11    33   36   −3    26
17 Eriksson Icecaps             25    7   4  14    41   54  −13    25
18 Shelter Cove Captains        25    5   4  16    38   51  −13    19
19 Lakeshore Hersir             25    5   4  16    16   38  −22    19
20 Red Hill Smithers            25    2   3  20    16   72  −56     9

Last 5                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
 1 Creston Wolves             5    5   0   0    15    6   +9    15
 2 Vikings FC                 5    5   0   0    10    1   +9    15
 3 Brenville Blue             5    4   0   1    12    7   +5    12
 4 Cordasfjord FC             5    3   1   1    18    8  +10    10
 5 Meadow Ridge Maples        5    3   1   1    13    6   +7    10
 6 Jutland Cannons            5    3   1   1     8    3   +5    10
 7 Danvirk FC                 5    3   1   1     9    6   +3    10
 8 Valley Fold Vanquishers    5    3   0   2     6    4   +2     9
 9 White River FC             5    3   0   2     7   10   −3     9
10 Gilded City Dragons        5    2   1   2     8    6   +2     7
11 Thor's Rest Storm          5    2   1   2     6    7   −1     7
12 Jutland FC                 5    2   0   3     5    6   −1     6
13 Skalton Harpers            5    2   0   3     4    5   −1     6
14 East Fjord FC              5    2   0   3     7   10   −3     6
15 Westwall Stand             5    1   1   3    13   16   −3     4
16 Lakeshore Hersir           5    1   1   3     1    7   −6     4
17 Shelter Cove Captains      5    1   0   4     8    9   −1     3
18 Icecliff Pack FC           5    0   1   4     4    9   −5     1
19 Red Hill Smithers          5    0   1   4     3   21  −18     1
20 Eriksson Icecaps           5    0   0   5     5   15  −10     0

Best Performers:

Creston Wolves
An undefeated month is an undefeated month, no matter how easy the schedule was. However, the Wolves’ schedule was ridiculously easy, featuring three bottom five sides and none inside the top ten, with Valley Fold the highest-ranking at eleventh. Again, though, there’s a reason undefeated months don’t happen every day, and the Wolves deserve congratulations on the accomplishment. The best match was MD 25 against Westwall, an entertaining back and forth that saw Creston pull away at the end for the victory with a pair of goals from Ine Dijck.

Vikings FC
Another pretty easy schedule and we see Vikings again among the top performers. Similar to Creston, they didn’t face any top sides, but they did manage the impressive accomplishment of allowing just one goal in five matches while scoring ten. Consequentially, there weren’t very many exciting games for them in August, but the month overall was a defensive masterclass from Vikings. Adding to that, they secured a spot in the Cordia Cup Quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory over Thor’s Rest, their second matchup and second clean sheet against the Storm in August.

Brenville Blue
Brenville receives this spot almost entirely due to their MD 25 victory over Jutland Cannons. In a first vs. second matchup with significant implications for the title race, the Blue got off to a fast start as an early strike from Sebastian Voll set the pace. But late in the first half, it was Jorie Rounds off a Reza Medvedev cross to knot the score at one apiece. The match was a back-and-forth for much of the second half until Brenville tightened things up and began putting pressure on the Cannons. Brividi Farfalle scored the winner in the 83rd, taking a Hilmar Heikkinen pass and launching a shot high and on net to give Brenville the lead and eventually the win to extend their lead in first to eight points.

Worst Performers:

Eriksson Icecaps
The Icecaps did have to face a tough schedule, yes. But getting precisely zero points of fifteen possible is just not something they can afford, especially sitting so close to the relegation zone. Even Red Hill, who had a -18 goal differential and 21 goals against, managed to scrape a point. Eriksson did come close to pulling off a victory over Creston, taking a lead into halftime only to see it break down under pressure from the Wolves.

Red Hill Smithers
Red Hill has reached new lows. They started the month with an 0-4 beating against Cannons, then managed a scoreless draw at Lakeshore. It went downhill from there as the Smithers found themselves on the receiving end of a 10-2 smackdown against Cordasfjord, where one of their “goals” was an own goal they had very little to do with. They followed that up by giving Jutland FC one hell of a scare, going down 2-1 only after a late goal from Moniek Wassink saved the latter. After that, they returned to standard form in a 5-0 loss to Meadow Ridge.

Lakeshore Hersir
A decent four-point effort from Lakeshore was marred by their inability to get a win out of an otherwise helpless Red Hill, as well as an overall inability to score goals, as the Hersir put the ball in the back of the net just once in August. They did manage to advance to the Cordia Cup Quarterfinals but even then failed to score normally - they won in penalties against Meadow Ridge.

Title Watch:
With a victory over Cannons, Brenville extended their lead on top of the table to eight points, with 58. Cannons and Meadow Ridge both sit at 50, with Danvirk a point behind at 49. Creston made the jump from eighth to fifth with an undefeated month and now sit at 45, remaining in competition for an IFCF slot. Just behind them is Cordasfjord, who are staying about level, six points behind the IFCF cutoff. Gilded City has begun to lose touch with the top, now sitting at 40 points, and a bad month for Jutland FC saw them fall pretty much entirely out of IFCF competition, twelve points behind the cutoff.

On the other side of the table, a pointless month for Eriksson allowed Shelter Cove and Lakeshore each a bit of hope as they gained a bit of ground on the Icecaps in the race to avoid relegation. Red Hill had a comically bad month and now has allowed 72 goals in just 25 matches, a stunningly terrible total.

Best XI:
ST: Minna Rundstrom - Cordasfjord FC
ST: Ine Dijck - Creston Wolves
MF: Nicholas Eriksen - Cordasfjord FC
MF: Haydn Schwartz (ZRH) - Creston Wolves
MF: Henry Smits - Vikings FC
MF: Ada Baan - Meadow Ridge Maples
DF: Charlotte Aquilina (ASU) - Vikings FC
DF: Redvin Chase - Jutland Cannons
DF: Jean Admiraal - Valley Fold Vanquishers
DF: Steven Slotboom - Meadow Ridge Maples
GK: Tue Berntsen - Vikings FC

Derby Watch:

Northside Derby (MD 21)
Creston Wolves 2–0 Icecliff Pack FC (6-2 agg.)
In the first derby final of the season, Creston wins it at home with goals in each half. In the first, it was a nice Haydn Schwartz shot from inside the box high and right in the 33rd that Cindy Joosten couldn’t reach. In the second, Schwartz sent a pass to Bram Horst, who quickly corraled the ball to launch it over a diving Joosten in the 78th to give Creston the 2-0 lead and all but secure the derby for Creston.

Jutland Derby (MD 23)
Jutland FC 0–1 Jutland Cannons (0-2 agg.)
With Cannons only up by a goal coming into the Jutland Derby’s second leg, it was anybody’s to win. Despite a few close calls, a tense first half went scoreless and Cannons maintained the Derby lead heading into halftime. The second half saw Jorie Rounds net an out-of-nowhere goal early on, in the 58th, giving Cannons the lead. It was a lead they would maintain under massive pressure from a usually-conservative FC side with some solid stops from Kristin Bergstrin and a stiff back line.

Cordia Cup Round of 16
Danvirk FC 0-1 Brenville Blue
Vikings FC 1-0 Thor's Rest Storm
White River FC 0-2 Westwall Stand
Jutland FC 1-0 Shelter Cove Captains
Meadow Ridge Maples 0-0 Lakeshore Hersir (0-0 AET, 3-5 PKs)
Channel Point FC 0-1 Cordasfjord FC
Icecliff Pack FC 3-0 Skalton Harpers
Highlands 2-1 Southmont Hawks FC

In a matchup of high-ranked sides, Brenville defeated Danvirk 1-0. Vikings moved on with a 1-0 win over Thor’s Rest. Westwall visited White River and exploded for two goals in the first ten minutes to win and advance to the quarters. Jutland FC cruised to an easy 1-0 win over Shelter Cove where the Captains rarely threatened. Lakeshore delivered a win and quarterfinal berth in an epic penalty shootout over third-placed Meadow Ridge in a big upset. Cordasfjord took an easy win over Channel Point. Icecliff dominated Skalton in the second half, scoring three times in the space of fifteen minutes to move on. Highlands became the lowest-ranking side remaining with a 2-1 victory over Southmont.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Jun 11, 2022 10:44 am

September - MDs 26-30 + CC QF

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brenville Blue               30   22   1   7    72   42  +30    67
 2 Danvirk FC                   30   19   4   7    73   46  +27    61
 3 Cordasfjord FC               30   18   5   7    63   36  +27    59
 4 Creston Wolves               30   18   3   9    63   47  +16    57
 5 Meadow Ridge Maples          30   17   5   8    66   49  +17    56
 6 Jutland Cannons              30   16   7   7    46   21  +25    55
 7 Gilded City Dragons          30   15   5  10    41   30  +11    50
 8 Vikings FC                   30   13   8   9    40   29  +11    47
 9 Jutland FC                   30   14   2  14    40   34   +6    44
10 White River FC               30   13   4  13    38   39   −1    43
11 Skalton Harpers              30   12   6  12    42   38   +4    42
12 Thor's Rest Storm            30   11   8  11    47   47    0    41
13 Valley Fold Vanquishers      30   10   8  12    39   48   −9    38
14 East Fjord FC                30   10   6  14    38   54  −16    36
15 Icecliff Pack FC             30    7   9  14    36   42   −6    30
16 Westwall Stand               30    8   6  16    45   68  −23    30
17 Eriksson Icecaps             30    8   5  17    45   61  −16    29
18 Shelter Cove Captains        30    7   7  16    45   56  −11    28
19 Lakeshore Hersir             30    7   4  19    19   42  −23    25
20 Red Hill Smithers            30    2   3  25    18   87  −69     9

Last 5                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
 1 Cordasfjord FC             5    5   0   0    12    5   +7    15
 2 Skalton Harpers            5    4   1   0    12    1  +11    13
 3 Danvirk FC                 5    4   0   1    15    7   +8    12
 4 Creston Wolves             5    4   0   1    10    6   +4    12
 5 Gilded City Dragons        5    3   1   1     9    3   +6    10
 6 Brenville Blue             5    3   0   2    13   10   +3     9
 7 Shelter Cove Captains      5    2   3   0     7    5   +2     9
 8 Vikings FC                 5    2   2   1     6    3   +3     8
 9 Thor's Rest Storm          5    2   2   1     7    6   +1     8
10 Jutland FC                 5    2   0   3     5    5    0     6
11 Lakeshore Hersir           5    2   0   3     3    4   −1     6
12 Meadow Ridge Maples        5    2   0   3     8   11   −3     6
13 White River FC             5    1   2   2     4    5   −1     5
14 Jutland Cannons            5    1   2   2     1    2   −1     5
15 East Fjord FC              5    1   2   2     5    9   −4     5
16 Eriksson Icecaps           5    1   1   3     4    7   −3     4
17 Icecliff Pack FC           5    1   1   3     3    6   −3     4
18 Valley Fold Vanquishers    5    0   2   3     3    9   −6     2
19 Westwall Stand             5    0   1   4     3   13  −10     1
20 Red Hill Smithers          5    0   0   5     2   15  −13     0

Best Performers:

Cordasfjord FC
Cordasfjord had probably one of the league’s hardest schedules for September, facing five of the eight best sides in the league, and one of the other three is them. They opened against Meadow Ridge, where a goal in stoppage of the first half from Nicholas Eriksen sent Cordasfjord to a victory. They then traveled over to Brenville, where they faced off against the league-leading Blue. It was a shootout from the start, with four goals in the first twenty minutes. In the end, Cordasfjord left victorious with a massive win under their belt. They followed that up with a 3-1 victory at home over Creston, then played by Gilded City’s rules at Gilded City - and came out with a 1-0 victory. They finished off the month with a 3-1 victory over Vikings to give them a full fifteen points in five matches.

Skalton Harpers
Skalton has been stagnant for a while, and needed wins to get a move on. Their schedule for September was no cakewalk, featuring Cannons and a few other sides that presented challenges for the Harpers. They opened with a 1-1 draw to Eriksson, the only goal they would allow for the full month, but quickly followed up by smashing East Fjord, scoring four goals while keeping a clean sheet. They then visited Westwall, coming away with a 1-0 victory. Then, they hosted Cannons in the biggest game of their month, a slow-moving match between two very defensive sides. It would be Marieke Spaan with the winning goal in the 72nd, giving Skalton a pretty massive upset victory. It was downhill from there, as Skalton scored five on Red Hill for an easy end to the month.

Creston Wolves
Creston opened on a high note with a single-goal win over Cannons. They followed that up with a short weak stretch, barely escaping Red Hill with a 1-0 win before losing 3-1 at a dominant Cordasfjord. However, they did clean their act up for the last few matchdays, against Jutland FC and Meadow Ridge. Despite going down 1-0 early, the Wolves never lost hope and fought to a 2-1 victory. Then they got off incredibly at Meadow Ridge, with three goals in the first twenty and a 5-0 first half. A lackluster second half hurt and gave the Maples two goals to balance out the scoreboard a bit, but the five goals were easily enough to give the Wolves the victory.

Worst Performers:

Red Hill Smithers
Just another terrible month for Red Hill, scoring two goals and allowing fifteen as they barrel closer to a full hundred goals allowed. Worst matches were the 1-4 loss to Gilded City and the 0-5 loss to Skalton. Both were at home against highly defensive clubs, yet some of the league’s worst offenses found ways to pile up the goals. It’s clear by now that Red Hill will set records for badness that will stand for a very long time.

Westwall Stand
With one point from five matches, September was one of Westwall’s worst months when they need to be kicking into gear. They lost 1-4 to Gilded Cty, then 4-0 to Vikings for a painful 1-8 score to start off the month. A 1-0 loss to a Skalton side that is kicking into gear at the right time followed, one that hurt most because it could have gone either way. A 3-1 loss to Danvirk in the Siege was the low point of the month despite everything else, as Westwall needed a victory to take back the Siege Cup and to break their losing streak. With the loss, their losing streak continued and they lost the Siege, 5-2. They finished off September with a draw against Shelter Cove. Finally, in Cordia Cup play, they shocked Jutland FC with a 1-0 victory to advance to the semifinals for the first time in team history, but that wasn’t enough to erase the month behind them.

Jutland Cannons
Cannons were up at second at the end of August, needing wins to chase down Brenville. However, September didn’t go anywhere near the way they needed it to go. They opened with a loss to Creston, allowing a late goal, then went scoreless for a second consecutive match against Gilded City, though they did keep the clean sheet for a 0-0 draw. They then hosted Vikings, in a match where they went without scoring for a third time for a second consecutive 0-0 draw, with Jorie Rounds again unable to convert a few solid chances.

Title Watch:
Brenville was very lucky that Brenville had on off month, as the Blue only took three wins from five matches and saw their lead begin to close. They still have a six-point buffer with eight matches to go and remain a title favorite. Six points behind is Danvirk, with a 12-point month allowing the Rooks to gain some ground. The news of the month was easily Cordasfjord winning five of five with one of the toughest monthly schedules we’ve seen this year. The wins push Cordasfjord from sixth all the way to third, within easy striking range of second and maybe even first, especially if Cordasfjord can maintain this level of play. Following them are Creston, Meadow Ridge, and Cannons, all within striking distance of IFCF play. Cannons had their worst month of the season, with five points from five, dropping down from second to sixth. Meadow Ridge had been sitting in third with fifty points, but another bad month saw them take six points and drop to fifth, while Creston had a decent month to move up from fifth.

Red Hill still sucks, down at the bottom with nine points having taken zero in September. Lakeshore and Shelter Cove both had solid months and have begun to reel in a struggling Eriksson. Just above Eriksson are Westwall and Icecliff. Westwall took one point in September, a miserable total that drops them into relegation contention. Icecliff took a lackluster four. As of right now, it’s a four-way race between Shelter Cove, Eriksson, Westwall, and Icecliff to avoid the third relegation spot, and Lakeshore isn’t far behind.

Best XI:
ST: Markus Schroder (ZRH) - Danvirk FC
ST: Sebastian Voll - Brenville Blue
MF: Annemie Driel - Danvirk FC
MF: Nicholas Eriksen - Cordasfjord FC
MF: Sparkling Ingrid (EVM) - Gilded City Dragons
MF: Haydn Schwartz (ZRH) - Creston Wolves
DF: Sigrid Altena - Skalton Harpers
DF: Lucia Verkerk - Gilded City Dragons
DF: Elvar Lehtonen - Vikings FC
DF: Redvin Chase - Jutland Cannons
GK: Charlie Barrett (SYL) - Skalton Harpers

Derby Watch:

Fjords Cup (MD 27)
Skalton Harpers 4–0 East Fjord FC
Just starting a run to take them entirely out of the relegation conversation, Skalton really got things going with a 4-0 victory over East Fjord that doubles as a revenge match and a Fjords Cup match. It was a big one too, with Skalton needing the win to stay in contention for the coveted cup. They got it and then some, the 4-0 victory likely giving them a boost in the goal differential tiebreaker if they can beat Cordasfjord on MD 31 to give everybody two wins.

Southeast Derby (MD 29)
Brenville Blue 4–3 Meadow Ridge Maples (8-4 agg.)
Needing a win to buffer their lead in the title race, Brenville found themselves in a matchup with even more significance, the Southeast Derby. Despite having made it a little easier on themselves with a 4-1 victory when they visited Creston back on MD 10, Brenville didn’t let up and even increased the pressure, with two early goals making it obvious where this one was going. Until Meadow Ridge struck back with two of their own to knot up the score. The sides trades goals midway through the second half, but a Sebastian Voll strike with five remaining in regulation gave Brenville a lead they wouldn’t relinquish as the Blue took the victory.

The Siege (MD 29)
Danvirk FC 3–1 Westwall Stand (5-2 agg.)
With Danvirk in the midst of a good run and Westwall having a terrible one, the outcome felt determined before the match even started, and the outcome of the Siege felt even more certain, with Danvirk holding a one-goal lead. The Rooks got out quickly to a good start and entered the half up 3-0 with a pair of Markus Schroder goals. A goal from Westwall alte breathed some life back into the Stand, but it was too late.

Cordia Cup Quarterfinals
Brenville Blue 0-2 Vikings FC
Westwall Stand 1-0 Jutland FC
Lakeshore Hersir 0-1 Cordasfjord FC
Icecliff Pack FC 2-1 Highlands

Brenville elected to focus on the League and the result was a loss to Vikings with many of their subs starting. Westwall scored early against Jutland and held on against a withering attack to take the victory. Cordasfjord took the expected win over Lakeshore. Highlands gave Icecliff a scare, but the Pack did take the win with a Ssehdo Kadfuss goal in the 68th to give Icecliff the final lead of the match.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Jun 11, 2022 10:48 am

October - MDs 31-35 + CC SF

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cordasfjord FC               35   22   6   7    74   42  +32    72
 2 Brenville Blue               35   23   2  10    85   58  +27    71
 3 Danvirk FC                   35   22   4   9    89   57  +32    70
 4 Meadow Ridge Maples          35   20   7   8    78   55  +23    67
 5 Jutland Cannons              35   19   9   7    52   23  +29    66
 6 Creston Wolves               35   21   3  11    73   53  +20    66
 7 Gilded City Dragons          35   17   7  11    48   36  +12    58
 8 Vikings FC                   35   15   9  11    47   36  +11    54
 9 Jutland FC                   35   17   3  15    50   42   +8    54
10 Thor's Rest Storm            35   12  10  13    55   56   −1    46
11 White River FC               35   14   4  17    43   45   −2    46
12 Valley Fold Vanquishers      35   12   9  14    45   55  −10    45
13 Skalton Harpers              35   12   7  16    47   50   −3    43
14 Westwall Stand               35   12   6  17    54   74  −20    42
15 East Fjord FC                35   10   9  16    43   61  −18    39
16 Eriksson Icecaps             35   11   5  19    56   68  −12    38
17 Shelter Cove Captains        35    8  11  16    56   65   −9    35
18 Icecliff Pack FC             35    8  10  17    39   49  −10    34
19 Lakeshore Hersir             35    8   5  22    23   49  −26    29
20 Red Hill Smithers            35    2   4  29    25  108  −83    10

Last 5                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
 1 Cordasfjord FC             5    4   1   0    11    6   +5    13
 2 Westwall Stand             5    4   0   1     9    6   +3    12
 3 Meadow Ridge Maples        5    3   2   0    12    6   +6    11
 4 Jutland Cannons            5    3   2   0     6    2   +4    11
 5 Jutland FC                 5    3   1   1    10    8   +2    10
 6 Danvirk FC                 5    3   0   2    16   11   +5     9
 7 Eriksson Icecaps           5    3   0   2    11    7   +4     9
 8 Creston Wolves             5    3   0   2    10    6   +4     9
 9 Gilded City Dragons        5    2   2   1     7    6   +1     8
10 Shelter Cove Captains      5    1   4   0    11    9   +2     7
11 Vikings FC                 5    2   1   2     7    7    0     7
12 Valley Fold Vanquishers    5    2   1   2     6    7   −1     7
13 Thor's Rest Storm          5    1   2   2     8    9   −1     5
14 Brenville Blue             5    1   1   3    13   16   −3     4
15 Lakeshore Hersir           5    1   1   3     4    7   −3     4
16 Icecliff Pack FC           5    1   1   3     3    7   −4     4
17 White River FC             5    1   0   4     5    6   −1     3
18 East Fjord FC              5    0   3   2     5    7   −2     3
19 Skalton Harpers            5    0   1   4     5   12   −7     1
20 Red Hill Smithers          5    0   1   4     7   21  −14     1

Best Performers:

Cordasfjord FC
No, it wasn’t a very hard schedule for Cordasfjord in October. But that doesn’t mean that what they accomplished doesn’t matter. Going 4-1-0 and taking 13 points, Cordasfjord is now on top of League A, a point ahead of Brenville. Starting with a close win over Skalton to secure a victory in the Fjords Cup, they followed that up with a crucial 2-1 victory in the toughest match of the month for them, against Danvirk. Had they lost, it would be Danvirk on top of the league and Cordasfjord back in third. They fell off a bit against Shelter Cove with an unfortunate 2-2 draw that set them back a bit. But they rebounded to end the month with wins over White River and Thor’s Rest.

Westwall Stand
Sitting in the relegation conversation, Westwall needed a good stretch in order to keep themselves save for another season. They absolutely got that. They got off to a fast start with an opening win over White River, then followed that up with a 2-0 defeat of Thor’s Rest. A Maxwell Gorev goal two minutes into the second half sent the Stand to a 1-0 victory over Icecliff, then it was Kim Lindqvist with a goal in the 37th minute to give Westwall the lead over Valley Fold on MD 34. A final 5-3 loss to Eriksson followed by a 4-2 loss to Vikings in the Cordia Cup Semifinals soured the mood a bit, but Westwall’s main goal was to exit the relegation conversation, and that was accomplished.

Meadow Ridge Maples
The Maples didn’t have a perfect run, but it was good enough to gain some ground on the IFCF places. The month started interestingly, with a high-scoring 3-3 draw with Gilded City, something of a rarity for the Dragons. A win over Vikings (1-0) and another over Skalton (3-0) followed the draw. A nice 3-1 win over fellow title competitor Danvirk came after, with Ard Donders netting a late goal to add some padding to that lead. A 2-2 draw to Shelter Cove followed that was pretty sloppy and should have been a Maples win, which would have put them even closer to the IFCF and title, but it wasn’t to be.

Worst Performers:

Brenville Blue
Brenville is falling apart at the worst possible time. They went an unprecedented 1-1-3 in October, four meager points not enough to keep hold of first place. The month opened with an all-around miserable performance in a 6-3 loss to Creston. Sebastian Voll then scored a pair against Gilded City, and it looked like things might turn out alright. But the month took a dark turn for Brenville. The Blue lost in the final minute of stoppage at Vikings, Ann Kingma putting one past Cliff Rouge to give Vikings the win and rob Brenville of a needed point. Brenville then hosted Skalton, playing to a draw against one of the league’s worse sides, with errors and a penalty kick costing them massively. Brenville, now thoroughly demoralized but still holding on to the title by a thread, then limped to a 3-2 defeat at Danvirk, a valiant comeback effort falling short despite several chances in the closing minutes.

Skalton Harpers
With two points, Skalton could have permanently removed themselves from the dreaded relegation conversation. But instead, they went the hard route, managing one point from five matches. That said, their being relegated on 43 points is unlikely in the extreme. Skalton opened with a close loss to Cordasfjord that gave their rivals the Fjords Cup victory. They then visited West Jutland, taking a 2-1 loss in another close match where late chances just couldn’t go in. Following that, the Harpers hosted Meadow Ridge for a clinical 3-0 dismantling. Interestingly Skalton managed to follow that up with a solid accomplishment in a 2-2 draw with Brenville that could have very easily gone their way with a few lucky bounces. Finally, they ended their month with a 2-0 home loss to Creston, another clean sheet.

Icecliff Pack FC
Last month, Icecliff was sitting in 15th place, just out of relegation. With a four-point month, Icecliff has dropped down into the conversation and no longer control their own destiny. They started with an 0-3 loss to Eriksson, but for a little bit everything looked fine as they took a 1-0 win at East Fjord off a Hannah Van Vliet goal in the 59th. A 1-0 clean sheet loss to Westwall followed, then a second in a row against Cannons that was kind of expected. However, given a massive chance to stay out of the relegation zone against Red Hill on MD 35, the Pack fumbled it and nearly dropped it, forced to make a comeback from down 2-0 at the seventy-minute mark to even manage a draw and a point against easily the worst team in the league.

Title Watch:
In one of the closest finishes we’ve seen from the CIFA, there are six sides still vying for the title and IFCF places with three matchdays and nine points remaining on the schedule. Cordasfjord has knocked off Brenville in one of the least likely runs we’ve ever seen, collecting 28 points from the last 15 matches as Brenville has hit a snag. Danvirk remains in IFCF position, three points ahead of Meadow Ridge, but things are by no means certain right now.

On the other side of the table, only one side has confirmed relegation - Red Hill - with seven sides still potentially taking those two relegation spots. Lakeshore is likely a lost cause, sitting six points deep in the relegation zone with only nine points left to take, but they could still technically make it out if they win out. Icecliff is sitting one point inside and could definitely make it out with some wins and a bit of luck - it remains to be seen if they can pull that off. Shelter Cove is in the danger zone at just one point ahead, with Eriksson and East Fjord likely safe at four and five points ahead. Then there’s Skalton and Westwall, nine and eight points out and almost certainly safe unless something crazy happens.

Best XI:
ST: Markus Schroder (ZRH) - Danvirk FC
ST: Ard Donders - Meadow Ridge Maples
MF: Ada Baan - Meadow Ridge Maples
MF: Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve (QUE) - Cordasfjord FC
MF: Kang Goo-Seong (QUE) - Danvirk FC
MF: John Parkinson (EXT) - Creston Wolves
DF: Redvin Chase - Jutland Cannons
DF: Fayaz Nayar-Lehri (ZWZ) - Cordasfjord FC
DF: Eric Johnson - Creston Wolves
DF: Lucia Verkerk - Gilded City Dragons
GK: Kristin Bergstrin - Jutland Cannons

Derby Watch:

Fjords Cup (MD 31)
Skalton Harpers 2–3 Cordasfjord FC
This is the match that sparked a winning streak for Cordasfjord and a losing streak for Skalton that had major effects on the standings. The match itself saw Cordasfjord, visiting Skalton, steal a win from right under the Harpers’ noses. With a 2-1 win heading into the second half, Skalton made a few coverage errors that ended up hurting them as Cordasfjord turned up the pressure. With the win, Cordasfjord took the Fjords Cup while Skalton finished last in the standings - behind East Fjord.

Mountaineers Cup (MD 32)
Eriksson Icecaps 2–3 Valley Fold Vanquishers
Both teams traded goals all the way, first Valley Fold taking the lead then Eriksson knotting it up. Valley Fold’s Evelina Danielsen had two goals as the Vanquishers managed to take their first Mountaineers Cup victory. The win helped Valley Fold take themselves out of the relegation conversation, and it is now guaranteed that they won’t be relegated this season. The Icecaps, however, are still very much in the danger zoneand will need to finish the season with some solid play to stay in League A.

Cordia Cup Semifinals
Vikings FC 4-2 Westwall Stand
Cordasfjord FC 0-1 Icecliff Pack FC

Vikings managed a big upset on a Westwall side that was still riding a high from big wins in the league part of the month. Getting out to a 3-0 lead heading into the half, they stretched it out to 4-0 with an Ann Kingma goal fired off a Henry Smits pass. Westwall made it interesting at the end with a pair of goals as Vikings began to break down, but it wasn’t enough and it will be Vikings in the finals. The match between Cordasfjord and Icecliff was also pretty interesting. Ssehdo Kadfuss scored five minutes in and Icecliff held on for eighty-five intense minutes of football despite massive pressure from Cordasfjord, who were looking to set up a double with a chance at the title and the Cup.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Jun 11, 2022 10:58 am

November - The Final Stretch

Matchday 36
Lakeshore Hersir 0–1 Vikings FC
Gilded City Dragons 3–0 Skalton Harpers
Creston Wolves 0–1 Danvirk FC
Brenville Blue 4–4 Shelter Cove Captains
Meadow Ridge Maples 2–0 White River FC
Jutland FC 6–0 Thor's Rest Storm
Cordasfjord FC 3–3 Icecliff Pack FC
Red Hill Smithers 1–2 Valley Fold Vanquishers
Jutland Cannons 0–1 Eriksson Icecaps
Westwall Stand 1–1 East Fjord FC

Danvirk’s 1-0 win over Creston put them up at first and took the Wolves out of the title race as Cordasfjord nearly fell to Icecliff at home, ending up with a 3-3 draw, making for a tie in points at the top of the standings. The tragedy that is the last month for Brenville continued as the Blue took a 4-4 draw with Shelter Cove that should have been an easy victory, where a victory would have put them comfortably back into first and control of their own destiny. Meadow Ridge stayed in competition for the title with a win over White River, goals coming from Ada Baan and Ard Donders to put the Maples on top. Meanwhile, a Jutland Cannons loss to Eriksson made waves as Cannons are now out of the title race and barely in the IFCF conversation, while Eriksson have made themselves nearly untouchable in the relegation race.

On the flip side, East Fjord played Westwall to a draw that leaves them nearly untouchable in the relegation race. Lakeshore lost to Vikings, a match that ended their bid to stay up for good, as Shelter Cove, seven points ahead, now sits out of reach. Icecliff needed a win over Cordasfjord to alleviate some of the tension, but didn’t get the break they needed despite holding a lead until the last fifteen minutes. Shelter Cove managed to stay just ahead of Icecliff for the last relegation spot with a herculean draw against Brenville to take that critical point.

Mountaineers Cup (MD 36)
Red Hill Smithers 1–2 Valley Fold Vanquishers
This match carried no urgency or relevance other than being a rivalry match. Eriksson led the Mountaineers Cup standings coming into the match with two wins to one each for Red Hill and Valley Fold. This match in Red Hill carried more urgency for Valley Fold, for whom this is the last match of the competition. Valley Fold needed a win to maintain a chance for the Cup victory, while Red Hill could afford to lose, but needed a win the next week at Eriksson to keep things competitive. Red Hill’s Helena Tjader scored the opening goal in the 36th, and Red Hill entered the half with a lead. But Valley Fold came out guns blazing in the second half, and by the sixty minute mark had taken a lead they would maintain for the rest of the match. The win means Red Hill will need to upset Eriksson next week for either the Smithers or Vanquishers to win on the second tiebreaker, which is goal differential.

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Danvirk FC                   36   23   4   9    90   57  +33    73
 2 Cordasfjord FC               36   22   7   7    77   45  +32    73
 3 Brenville Blue               36   23   3  10    89   62  +27    72
 4 Meadow Ridge Maples          36   21   7   8    80   55  +25    70
 5 Jutland Cannons              36   19   9   8    52   24  +28    66
 6 Creston Wolves               36   21   3  12    73   54  +19    66
 7 Gilded City Dragons          36   18   7  11    51   36  +15    61
 8 Jutland FC                   36   18   3  15    56   42  +14    57
 9 Vikings FC                   36   16   9  11    48   36  +12    57
10 Valley Fold Vanquishers      36   13   9  14    47   56   −9    48
11 White River FC               36   14   4  18    43   47   −4    46
12 Thor's Rest Storm            36   12  10  14    55   62   −7    46
13 Skalton Harpers              36   12   7  17    47   53   −6    43
14 Westwall Stand               36   12   7  17    55   75  −20    43
15 Eriksson Icecaps             36   12   5  19    57   68  −11    41
16 East Fjord FC                36   10  10  16    44   62  −18    40
17 Shelter Cove Captains        36    8  12  16    60   69   −9    36
18 Icecliff Pack FC             36    8  11  17    42   52  −10    35
19 Lakeshore Hersir             36    8   5  23    23   50  −27    29
20 Red Hill Smithers            36    2   4  30    26  110  −84    10

Matchday 37
Westwall Stand 3–1 Lakeshore Hersir
East Fjord FC 1–3 Jutland Cannons
Eriksson Icecaps 1–2 Red Hill Smithers
Valley Fold Vanquishers 1–1 Cordasfjord FC
Icecliff Pack FC 0–2 Jutland FC
Thor's Rest Storm 3–3 Meadow Ridge Maples
White River FC 2–1 Brenville Blue
Shelter Cove Captains 0–0 Creston Wolves
Danvirk FC 1–2 Gilded City Dragons
Skalton Harpers 0–1 Vikings FC

It was another draw for Cordasfjord when a win would have been a massive relief, to a lackluster Valley Fold side with literally nothing left to play for. But due to some sort of divine providence or something, no other title-competitive side took a win either. Meadow Ridge drew a thriller at Thor’s Rest 3-3. Brenville lost another match that would’ve put them on top, 2-1 at White River, a side in a similar spot to Valley Fold. And Danvirk went down to Gilded City, Anton Osterholt able to find the back of the net to give Gilded City the victory and ruin the Rooks’ day. Cannons did take a win over East Fjord that keeps them in range of the IFCF in everything can go right on the final matchday.

East Fjord and Eriksson are officially staying up for another season with an Icecliff loss to Jutland FC. Icecliff had plenty of chances to take the lead in the first half but failed to convert, and it was all Jutland come the second half, the match slipping out of reach for the Pack. Shelter Cove managed to keep things scoreless against Creston to give them a little more of a buffer over Icecliff, ensuring that a draw won’t be enough for the Pack to stay up.

Mountaineers Cup (MD 37)
Eriksson Icecaps 1–2 Red Hill Smithers
Eriksson wanted the win to take the Cup outright and leave no doubt as to the relegation conversation. Instead, they locked in a battle with Red Hill, each side giving no quarter. The Smithers scored first, a nice strike from Rakel Ranta giving them the lead. But Eriksson came back, Huub Kraan knotting the score at one with a nice header off a Stig Ravn cross. The half came, and the score remained tied at one. It stayed that way for the full second half, and Icecaps fans got more and more excited as it looked like they’d take a draw - enough to win the Cup outright. But it wasn’t to be. A David Davidsen strike from range went off the crossbar in stoppage time, then Lage Andreassen cleaned up the rebound for the winner. The whistle to signal the end of the match blew seconds later. There was a brief discussion of the tiebreaker among CIFA officials before the Mountaineers Cup was presented to Eriksson - with a +3 goal differential. Second was Red Hill with a 0, then Valley Fold at -3.

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cordasfjord FC               37   22   8   7    78   46  +32    74
 2 Danvirk FC                   37   23   4  10    91   59  +32    73
 3 Brenville Blue               37   23   3  11    90   64  +26    72
 4 Meadow Ridge Maples          37   21   8   8    83   58  +25    71
 5 Jutland Cannons              37   20   9   8    55   25  +30    69
 6 Creston Wolves               37   21   4  12    73   54  +19    67
 7 Gilded City Dragons          37   19   7  11    53   37  +16    64
 8 Jutland FC                   37   19   3  15    58   42  +16    60
 9 Vikings FC                   37   17   9  11    49   36  +13    60
10 White River FC               37   15   4  18    45   48   −3    49
11 Valley Fold Vanquishers      37   13  10  14    48   57   −9    49
12 Thor's Rest Storm            37   12  11  14    58   65   −7    47
13 Westwall Stand               37   13   7  17    58   76  −18    46
14 Skalton Harpers              37   12   7  18    47   54   −7    43
15 Eriksson Icecaps             37   12   5  20    58   70  −12    41
16 East Fjord FC                37   10  10  17    45   65  −20    40
17 Shelter Cove Captains        37    8  13  16    60   69   −9    37
18 Icecliff Pack FC             37    8  11  18    42   54  −12    35
19 Lakeshore Hersir             37    8   5  24    24   53  −29    29
20 Red Hill Smithers            37    3   4  30    28  111  −83    13

The Title Race:
Cordasfjord could take the title with a win, or a draw or loss with Danvirk, Brenville, and Meadow Ridge all losing or drawing.
Danvirk could take the title with a win and a Cordasfjord draw or loss.
Brenville would take two in a row with a win and Danvirk and Cordasfjord draws or losses.
Meadow Ridge needs a win and everyone else to drop points (and Cordasfjord to lose) to have a chance at the title.

The Relegation Picture:
Shelter Cove avoids relegation with a win, and likely with a draw.
Icecliff needs a win and a Shelter Cove loss.

Matchday 38
Lakeshore Hersir 0–1 Skalton Harpers
Vikings FC 4–1 Danvirk FC
Gilded City Dragons 4–0 Shelter Cove Captains
Creston Wolves 3–0 White River FC
Brenville Blue 3–4 Thor's Rest Storm
Meadow Ridge Maples 0–0 Icecliff Pack FC
Jutland FC 2–1 Valley Fold Vanquishers
Cordasfjord FC 2–1 Eriksson Icecaps
Red Hill Smithers 2–2 East Fjord FC
Jutland Cannons 1–0 Westwall Stand

All matches were played simultaneously, per tradition.

Shelter Cove got demolished 4-0 by Gilded City, but Icecliff found themselves unable to score against Meadow Ridge despite plenty of chances, and they fell a point short of staying up. Video of the locker room showed a despondent Captains side enter the room - only to hear the news of Icecliff’s draw minutes later and sigh collectively in relief. Icecliff’s fans, meanwhile, were heavily disappointed by the result and relegation, but the side still has a chance at some silverware in the Cordia Cup Final.

The aforementioned draw for Meadow Ridge left them out of title range but still gave them a shot at the IFCF on tiebreakers. Brenville, needing points to guarantee an IFCF place, fumbled a 3-1 lead at half at home against Thor’s Rest, turning it into a 3-4 loss to end one of the least clutch finishes in CIFA history. Brenville has literally fallen apart this second half of the season after such an impressive first half. Cannons took a Jorie Rounds goal in the 24th and held that lead all the way against Westwall to lift them to 72 points - the same as Meadow Ridge and Brenville. But Cannons take the goal differential tiebreak, so it’ll be Cannons in third to qualify for the IFCF, one of the least likely occurrences we’ve seen in CIFA history - but not even the least likely thing we’ve seen happen this year. Meadow Ridge beats Brenville on the third tiebreaker - goal ratio - and will take fourth for a spot in the Vilitan Cove Invitational. Then there’s Danvirk. Despite getting ripped to shreds by Vikings, 4-1, Danvirk doesn’t drop in the standings and will take second, qualifying for the IFCF. Then, last but not least, is Cordasfjord. With a tense, hard-fought 2-1 victory over Eriksson, Cordasfjord rendered all other possibilities moot and didn’t need help from outside to claim their second League A title since the very first modern season.

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cordasfjord FC               38   23   8   7    80   47  +33    77   CHAMPIONS
 2 Danvirk FC                   38   23   4  11    92   63  +29    73   CHALLENGERS CUP
 3 Jutland Cannons              38   21   9   8    56   25  +31    72   CHALLENGERS CUP
 4 Meadow Ridge Maples          38   21   9   8    83   58  +25    72   VILITAN COVE INVITATIONAL
 5 Brenville Blue               38   23   3  12    93   68  +25    72
 6 Creston Wolves               38   22   4  12    76   54  +22    70
 7 Gilded City Dragons          38   20   7  11    57   37  +20    67
 8 Jutland FC                   38   20   3  15    60   43  +17    63
 9 Vikings FC                   38   18   9  11    53   37  +16    63
10 Thor's Rest Storm            38   13  11  14    62   68   −6    50
11 White River FC               38   15   4  19    45   51   −6    49
12 Valley Fold Vanquishers      38   13  10  15    49   59  −10    49
13 Skalton Harpers              38   13   7  18    48   54   −6    46
14 Westwall Stand               38   13   7  18    58   77  −19    46
15 Eriksson Icecaps             38   12   5  21    59   72  −13    41
16 East Fjord FC                38   10  11  17    47   67  −20    41
17 Shelter Cove Captains        38    8  13  17    60   73  −13    37
18 Icecliff Pack FC             38    8  12  18    42   54  −12    36   RELEGATED
19 Lakeshore Hersir             38    8   5  25    24   54  −30    29   RELEGATED
20 Red Hill Smithers            38    3   5  30    30  113  −83    14   RELEGATED

Cordia Cup Final
Vikings FC 0-0 Icecliff Pack FC (0-2 AET)

There’s just one match left to play. Vikings hosted Icecliff for the Cordia Cup Final. Vikings, sitting ninth, would like to earn some modern silverware and their first IFCF spot ever. Icecliff faces relegation and a season in League B, and would like IFCF play as a consolation prize. Damned nice consolation prize, that.

A highly defensive match and impressive play from both keepers kept the score level at zero through ninety minutes. But things started to open up in extra time. It was Ssehdo Kadfuss who scored first, taking a pass from Hannah Van Vliet six minutes in and burying it into the top-left corner. A few minutes later, it would be Van Vliet corralling an Orion Goldsmith pass and launching it into the top-right with authority. The win all but secured, the visiting Icecliff crowd broke into song despite the League B season hanging over their heads, for they knew they’d still get to play in two major international competitions despite that.

And with that, the final Best XI, representing the whole season.

ST: Sebastian Voll - Brenville Blue
Voll might not have gotten the desired result in league play, but he’s hardly slowing down with age and remains probably the best striker in the league, certainly the best Cordian. He also led Brenville to the CIFA’s first-ever appearance in the Challener’s Cup Group Stage.

ST: Markus Schroder (ZRH) - Danvirk FC
Schroder was absolutely crucial to the league’s second-best offense (one goal short of Brenville), and could be counted upon to score goals when needed for Danvirk, which has now qualified to the IFCF for the second time.

MF: Haydn Schwartz (ZRH) - Creston Wolves
Schwartz did a little bit of everything for Creston as one of the team’s top scorers, both setting up goals and netting plenty of his own while leading Creston to a respectable finish.

MF: Nicholas Eriksen - Cordasfjord FC
Eriksen is without a doubt Cordasfjord’s star player, with nearly as many goals as their strikers and plenty of assists to his name, Eriksen is one of the most valuable players in the league. His worth was proven as he led Cordasfjord on one of the best runs we’ve ever seen, from sixth place all the way to the league title in three months.

MF: Ada Baan - Meadow Ridge Maples
Baan played the traditional midfielder for Meadow Ridge, with great passing and awareness that made her a behind-the-scenes contributor to the Maples’ VCI qualification.

MF: Andre Vandendriessche (BRO) - Jutland Cannons
Vandendriessche is both a good attacker and defender for Cannons, filling in when Jorie Rounds is on a dry streak on offense and also hustling back and stealing passes.

DF: Redvin Chase - Jutland Cannons
Chase is an absolute force on defense and was certainly key to Cannons’ 25 goals against this season, by far a league best. Despite some foul trouble, Chase remains one of the hardest players to play against in the league.

DF: Lucia Verkerk - Gilded City Dragons
Another Cordian national teamer, Verkerk plays shutdown defense on Gilded City’s left side and is just very hard to get the ball around, exactly what you want to hear about a top defender.

DF: Yefim Stepnaov (CMT) - Cordasfjord FC
Something of a dark horse here, Stepnaov played a significant role in Cordasfjord’s championship despite the traditional focus on the midfield. It appears that the money spent on Cordasfjord’s backfield was money well-spent, as the champions featured one of the league’s better defenses.

DF: Sigrid Altena - Skalton Harpers
Altena played hard, but it wasn’t enough to make a big difference for Skalton, a side that really lacks offensive firepower, which hurts them a lot. That said, Altena deserves this spot due to her leadership of the club and overall individual play, which is top-notch.

GK: Kristin Bergstrin - Jutland Cannons
Bergstrin allowed just 25 goals in 38 matches this season and came up big when it was needed most. Not much more to say, other than that this is easily one of the league’s best keepers.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Jun 11, 2022 11:12 am

Cordian Lower and Youth Leagues

CIFA League B               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Mountainview FC           38   23   6   9   101   70  +31    75   PROMOTED
 2 Southmont Hawks FC        38   22   7   9    91   61  +30    73   PROMOTED
 3 Channel Point FC          38   21  10   7    90   61  +29    73   PROMOTED
 4 Norport FC                38   20   9   9    46   27  +19    69
 5 AFC Korda                 38   18  11   9    75   56  +19    65
 6 Thetford FC               38   19   6  13    73   56  +17    63
 7 South Bay FC              38   17   9  12    61   51  +10    60
 8 South Shore Athletic      38   16  11  11    65   53  +12    59
 9 Northshore FC             38   17   7  14    74   68   +6    58
10 West Vik Valkyries        38   17   7  14    55   54   +1    58
11 North Bay FC              38   16   8  14    53   35  +18    56
12 Canby Crescent            38   15  11  12    69   58  +11    56
13 Courvale Kings FC         38   15   9  14    66   61   +5    54
14 Castle Hill Courage       38   15   7  16    61   53   +8    52
15 North Courvale FC         38   10  11  17    67   79  −12    41
16 Highlands                 38   10   8  20    58   95  −37    38
17 South Beach FC            38    9   8  21    55   76  −21    35
18 West Skalton Notes        38    9   7  22    59   82  −23    34   RELEGATED
19 Standard Creston          38    5   6  27    54  105  −51    21   RELEGATED
20 Northmark Admirals        38    2  10  26    51  123  −72    16   RELEGATED

CIFA League C            Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 FC Industrial          38   20  13   5    60   33  +27    73   PROMOTED
 2 West Skalton FC        38   22   6  10    67   48  +19    72   PROMOTED
 3 Salmon Lake FC         38   19  12   7    75   43  +32    69   PROMOTED
 4 Volsung Lake Club      38   19  10   9    79   66  +13    67
 5 Bay Yards              38   18  12   8    54   33  +21    66
 6 Midvik Varangians      38   17   9  12    58   44  +14    60
 7 East Jutland FC        38   18   5  15    43   40   +3    59
 8 Briarville AFC         38   18   5  15    77   77    0    59
 9 East Vik FC            38   15  11  12    69   62   +7    56
10 Shining Lake FC        38   15  10  13    71   70   +1    55
11 Timber FC              38   14  11  13    52   48   +4    53
12 West Viksee            38   14   8  16    70   67   +3    50
13 North Valley FC        38   13  11  14    49   47   +2    50
14 South Point            38   13  11  14    45   52   −7    50
15 Woods Elite FC         38   13   8  17    53   56   −3    47
16 Silver Club            38   10  11  17    52   68  −16    41
17 Aella Eagles           38   10   6  22    35   53  −18    36
18 AFC Blackmill          38    8  10  20    22   50  −28    34   RELEGATED
19 Sporting Red Hill      38    6  12  20    46   72  −26    30   RELEGATED
20 Threshers FC           38    3   9  26    21   69  −48    18   RELEGATED

CIFA League D                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Fireport Flames            38   23   9   6    59   37  +22    78   PROMOTED
 2 Seewatch Club              38   22   8   8    39   18  +21    74   PROMOTED
 3 Middle Fjords              38   21   9   8    59   35  +24    72   PROMOTED
 4 Reya FC                    38   19  11   8    82   44  +38    68
 5 Doveport FC                38   20   7  11    77   47  +30    67
 6 East Cliff Cove FC         38   19   8  11    80   52  +28    65
 7 FC Whitebridge             38   19   4  15    59   46  +13    61
 8 Marble Heights Ascent      38   16   9  13    49   43   +6    57
 9 Belland FC                 38   14  12  12    48   55   −7    54
10 Lake Hervor FC             38   14  10  14    57   59   −2    52
11 Riverborne Raiders         38   14  10  14    44   48   −4    52
12 Ice Fields                 38   14   7  17    37   47  −10    49
13 Blaora Township            38   13   8  17    26   32   −6    47
14 AFC Greenbank              38   11  13  14    52   54   −2    46
15 Griffin Heights FC         38   13   6  19    44   59  −15    45
16 Thenesse FC                38   11  11  16    41   61  −20    44
17 Chesterfield Club          38    7  12  19    32   58  −26    33
18 Southbeach Sailors         38    8   8  22    34   63  −29    32
19 Brightway Stargazers       38    7   8  23    25   54  −29    29
20 Red Winter Club            38    6   8  24    23   55  −32    26

CIFA Y-League A          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Fjords U19             30   20   7   3    69   30  +39    67   RISING STARS CUP
 2 Skalton U19            30   15  10   5    62   35  +27    55
 3 South Bay U19          30   15   7   8    47   35  +12    52
 4 Meadow Ridge U19       30   13  10   7    56   45  +11    49
 5 Danvirk U19            30   14   7   9    42   33   +9    49
 6 Mountaineers U19       30   14   6  10    54   46   +8    48
 7 Jutland U19            30   12  11   7    48   34  +14    47
 8 White River U19        30   13   6  11    49   40   +9    45
 9 Eastside U19           30   10  10  10    52   53   −1    40
10 Lakeside U19           30   11   6  13    51   50   +1    39
11 Brenville U19          30   11   5  14    46   46    0    38
12 Oceanside U19          30    8   8  14    38   53  −15    32
13 Northwest U19          30    7  10  13    46   65  −19    31
14 North Vik U19          30    8   6  16    40   70  −30    30
15 Vik City U19           30    7   2  21    31   50  −19    23
16 Icewatch U19           30    5   3  22    40   86  −46    18

by **The Cordian Isles** » Tue Jul 19, 2022 12:28 pm

Cordian Isles Hockey League

With the removal of the minor season came an extension to the regular season for the CIHL: teams will now play twelve games against every other team in their division.

The regular season now no longer allows draws. Games will go to three-on-three overtime with 20-minute periods if a game is tied after 60 minutes of regulation. Playoffs overtime will be 5-on-5.

Playoff entry has been changed to allow lower-ranked sides to have a chance to qualify. The bottom two teams from AAA, the fifth-through-eighth-ranked sides from AA, and the top two finishers from A will compete in a three-day play-in event shortly after the regular season concludes, with the qualifiers occupying the bottom four seeds in the playoffs proper. The top eight finishers from AAA and top four from AA will qualify automatically and be seeded by finishing order.

In case one of the playoff finalists has already qualified for the CHL, additional entries will be awarded in the following order:

1. Playoffs 3rd Place
2. Regular Season 3rd Place
3. Playoffs 4th Place

CHL seeding will go as follows:

1. Playoffs 1st Place
2. Regular Season 1st Place
3. Playoffs 2nd Place
4. Regular Season 2nd Place
5. Playoffs 3rd Place
6. Regular Season 3rd Place
7. Playoffs 4th Place

Through 18 games...

CIHL AAA Division          Pld     W    L     GF    GA    GD    Win % 
 1 Jutland Riveters            18    13    5     59    42   +17    0.722
 2 Lakeshore Warriors          18    12    6     52    41   +11    0.667
 3 Gilded City Golden          18    11    7     62    52   +10    0.611
 4 Thor's Rest Thunder         18    10    8     48    45    +3    0.556
 5 East Fjord HC               18     9    9     43    41    +2    0.500
 6 Cordasfjord Crusaders       18     9    9     52    50    +2    0.500
 7 Creston Northmen            18     9    9     51    53    −2    0.500
 8 Jutland Whalers             18     7   11     52    61    −9    0.389
 9 Vikings HC                  18     6   12     45    62   −17    0.333
10 South Bay Berserkers        18     4   14     47    64   −17    0.222

Riveters in first, but only by one game, with Lakeshore and Gilded City still pretty close to the top here. South Bay is pretty clearly in last but Vikings are managing to stay close to - wait - Whalers? That's a big surprise. Cordasfjord sitting at sixth is also pretty huge. These teams are going to need to pick it up a lot if they want a chance at the title - or, for the Whalers, if they want to stay in AAA.

Through 54 games...

CIHL AAA Division          Pld     W    L     GF    GA    GD    Win % 
 1 Lakeshore Warriors          54    36   18    157   112   +45    0.667
 2 Cordasfjord Crusaders       54    31   23    159   142   +17    0.574
 3 Jutland Riveters            54    30   24    163   149   +14    0.556
 4 Gilded City Golden          54    30   24    180   157   +23    0.556
 5 Jutland Whalers             54    29   25    141   129   +12    0.537
 6 Thor's Rest Thunder         54    28   26    136   135    +1    0.519
 7 Creston Northmen            54    28   26    152   160    −8    0.519
 8 East Fjord HC               54    22   32    133   156   −23    0.407
 9 South Bay Berserkers        54    19   35    139   169   −30    0.352
10 Vikings HC                  54    17   37    153   204   −51    0.315

Lakeshore sits in first by a five-game margin, sitting on a +45 goal differential that's far and away the best in the league. Behind is Cordasfjord, then the Riveters, the Golden, the Whalers, the Thunder, and the Northmen all within a few games of each other. The Whalers have recovered from their early-season stutters and are pushing up in the standings, and Cordasfjord leads the chase pack having come up from sixth, but Lakeshore remains well ahead of them. On the lower side, East Fjord has come down from an early-season fifth place, sitting three games above a South Bay team that's recovered somewhat from a dreadful start, while Vikings now sit in the cellar.

CIHL AA Division           Pld     W    L     GF    GA    GD    Win % 
 1 North Bay Lightning         54    36   18    159   102   +57    0.667
 2 Red Hill Sappers            54    36   18    194   134   +60    0.667
 3 Valley Fold Vengeance       54    32   22    188   149   +39    0.593
 4 White River Eagles          54    31   23    162   144   +18    0.574
 5 Danvirk Wall                54    31   23    167   155   +12    0.574
 6 Brenville Raiders           54    25   29    151   160    −9    0.463
 7 Skalton Blues               54    20   34    149   202   −53    0.370
 8 Courvale Knights            54    20   34    131   194   −63    0.370
 9 Norport Tsunami             54    20   34    142   167   −25    0.370
10 Southmont Sky               54    19   35    140   176   −36    0.352

It's North Bay and Red Hill on top and fighting for first, with a lot of space behind. Valley Fold, White River, and Danvirk are all fighting for those automatic qualifying spots, while Skalton, Courvale, Norport, and Southmont are all within a game of each other and fighting tooth and nail to avoid relegation. That's a battle that could be fun to watch as the season enters the second half.

CIHL A Division              Pld     W    L     GF    GA    GD    Win % 
 1 Thetford Gulls                54    35   19    179   131   +48    0.648
 2 Mountainview Typhoon          54    33   21    184   140   +44    0.611
 3 HC Silver Lake                54    33   21    182   160   +22    0.611
 4 Icecliff Bears                54    31   23    159   137   +22    0.574
 5 Shelter Cove Pirates          54    29   25    171   162    +9    0.537
 6 Northshore Ravens             54    27   27    166   150   +16    0.500
 7 North Valley Elite            54    21   33    132   177   −45    0.389
 8 Dynamo Doveport               54    21   33    160   184   −24    0.389
 9 Channel Point Guardians       54    20   34    138   194   −56    0.370
10 Fireport Inferno              54    20   34    145   181   −36    0.370

This is a closer one than the above two. Thetford is clearly in the lead but it's not much of a cushion. Mountainview and Silver Lake are fighting for that second promotion slot, with the Bears not all that far behind. On the low side, North Valley, Doveport, the Guardians and the Inferno are all pretty close to each other, each fighting to avoid the shame of finishing in dead last.

Now with 18 games to go...

CIHL AAA Division          Pld     W    L     GF    GA    GD    Win % 
 1 Lakeshore Warriors          90    57   33    273   206   +67    0.633
 2 Cordasfjord Crusaders       90    57   33    287   239   +48    0.633
 3 Gilded City Golden          90    52   38    307   265   +42    0.578
 4 Jutland Riveters            90    51   39    289   246   +43    0.567
 5 Thor's Rest Thunder         90    48   42    256   242   +14    0.533
 6 Jutland Whalers             90    46   44    236   233    +3    0.511
 7 Creston Northmen            90    45   45    269   272    −3    0.500
 8 East Fjord HC               90    36   54    225   274   −49    0.400
 9 South Bay Berserkers        90    32   58    235   294   −59    0.356
10 Vikings HC                  90    26   64    225   331  −106    0.289

Lakeshore and Cordasfjord are still fighting it out and clearly on top, with a stellar defense from Lakeshore being the difference. Gilded City and the Riveters sit pretty close, with a shot at the title still, but not a big one. The Thunder, Whalers, and Northmen are bunched from fifth to seventh, something of a turnaround for Whalers, who are almost always in the top half but now sit two games out, in sixth. Behind, by nine games no less, in East Fjord, battling to avoid relegation. South Bay sits four games inside that line behind East Fjord and relegation looks very likely for the Berserkers. Vikings fans are already resigned to a trip down, ten games inside the relegation zone with eighteen to play.

CIHL AA Division           Pld     W    L     GF    GA    GD    Win % 
 1 Valley Fold Vengeance       90    58   32    308   236   +72    0.644
 2 Red Hill Sappers            90    56   34    304   228   +76    0.622
 3 North Bay Lightning         90    55   35    282   194   +88    0.611
 4 Danvirk Wall                90    52   38    276   250   +26    0.578
 5 White River Eagles          90    51   39    275   249   +26    0.567
 6 Brenville Raiders           90    44   46    257   263    −6    0.489
 7 Norport Tsunami             90    37   53    232   278   −46    0.411
 8 Courvale Knights            90    34   56    240   320   −80    0.378
 9 Skalton Blues               90    32   58    230   311   −81    0.356
10 Southmont Sky               90    31   59    225   300   −75    0.344

Valley Fold's gotten the upper hand with Red Hill and sits two games in first, with North Bay a very close third and still very much inside promotion range. Behind are Danvirk and White River, who are fighting it out for the automatic qualifying spots. Brenville is well behind White River and well ahead of the Tsunami, and are not likely to move from sixth. Courvale, Skalton, and Southmont are fighting it out to see who can avoid relegation and make the play-ins.

CIHL A Division              Pld     W    L     GF    GA    GD    Win % 
 1 Thetford Gulls                90    56   34    271   218   +53    0.622
 2 Icecliff Bears                90    55   35    278   220   +58    0.611
 3 Mountainview Typhoon          90    55   35    316   240   +76    0.611
 4 HC Silver Lake                90    54   36    287   248   +39    0.600
 5 Shelter Cove Pirates          90    48   42    287   269   +18    0.533
 6 Northshore Ravens             90    44   46    263   259    +4    0.489
 7 Channel Point Guardians       90    39   51    239   301   −62    0.433
 8 Dynamo Doveport               90    34   56    249   300   −51    0.378
 9 North Valley Elite            90    33   57    214   283   −69    0.367
10 Fireport Inferno              90    32   58    231   297   −66    0.356

Two teams will get promoted and advance to the play-ins, and four teams are battling it out, well in range of those two slots. Thetford holds a tentative grip on first, but the Bears and Typhoon are right on their heels and Silver Lake is still a threat, if a bit on the outside looking in.

Finishing up the regular season...

CIHL AAA Division             Pld     W    L     GF    GA    GD    Win %
 1 Cordasfjord Crusaders      108    71   37    338   269   +69    0.657   Champions Hockey League
 2 Lakeshore Warriors         108    65   43    324   259   +65    0.602   Champions Hockey League
 3 Jutland Riveters           108    62   46    350   293   +57    0.574
 4 Gilded City Golden         108    59   49    351   323   +28    0.546
 5 Jutland Whalers            108    58   50    306   284   +22    0.537
 6 Thor's Rest Thunder        108    56   52    312   307    +5    0.519
 7 Creston Northmen           108    55   53    318   322    −4    0.509
 8 East Fjord HC              108    42   66    272   338   −66    0.389
 9 South Bay Berserkers       108    40   68    288   351   −63    0.370   Relegated; CIHL Play-Ins
10 Vikings HC                 108    32   76    279   392  −113    0.296   Relegated; CIHL Play-Ins

God DAMN. The Crusaders win fourteen of eighteen to finish the season very strong, with a six-game lead over the Warriors, who were right with them until the last few games put Cordasfjord over the hump. Riveters finish a bit behind Lakeshore, Gilded City behind, and the Whalers sneak into the top half. The Thunder and Northmen stayed pretty steady the whole season and finish sixth and seventh. South Bay made it a very close race, but when they needed wins the most they just couldn't get them, and East Fjord escapes after taking six wins from eighteen. South Bay and Vikings will take the first and second seeds in the CIHL Play-Ins.

CIHL AA Division              Pld     W    L     GF    GA    GD    Win % 
 1 Valley Fold Vengeance      108    71   37    375   276   +99    0.657   Promoted
 2 Red Hill Sappers           108    69   39    369   270   +99    0.639   Promoted
 3 North Bay Lightning        108    66   42    322   240   +82    0.611   CIHL Playoffs
 4 Danvirk Wall               108    61   47    322   296   +26    0.565   CIHL Playoffs
 5 White River Eagles         108    58   50    321   297   +24    0.537   CIHL Play-Ins
 6 Brenville Raiders          108    56   52    318   316    +2    0.519   CIHL Play-Ins
 7 Norport Tsunami            108    46   62    292   331   −39    0.426   CIHL Play-Ins
 8 Southmont Sky              108    40   68    274   358   −84    0.370   CIHL Play-Ins
 9 Skalton Blues              108    37   71    269   365   −96    0.343   Relegated
10 Courvale Knights           108    36   72    277   390  −113    0.333   Relegated

Thirteen from eighteen gives Valley Fold the promotion. North Bay just couldn't get it done and Red Hill will take that second slot, but both teams make the playoffs proper, with Danvirk separating from White River to take the fourth and final automatic slot. White River, Brenville, Norport and Southmont will enter in the CIHL Play-Ins as the third through sixth seeds. It's a huge move for Southmont, who sat in last for much of the season but went 9-9 in the last eighteen to push to eighth.

CIHL A Division                 Pld     W    L     GF    GA    GD    Win % 
 1 Thetford Gulls               108    69   39    326   251   +75    0.639   Promoted; CIHL Play-Ins
 2 Mountainview Typhoon         108    68   40    388   295   +93    0.630   Promoted; CIHL Play-Ins
 3 Icecliff Bears               108    65   43    342   273   +69    0.602
 4 HC Silver Lake               108    60   48    332   308   +24    0.556
 5 Shelter Cove Pirates         108    58   50    338   318   +20    0.537
 6 Northshore Ravens            108    54   54    323   313   +10    0.500
 7 Channel Point Guardians      108    45   63    287   372   −85    0.417
 8 Dynamo Doveport              108    43   65    306   350   −44    0.398
 9 North Valley Elite           108    41   67    262   339   −77    0.380
10 Fireport Inferno             108    37   71    267   352   −85    0.343   Massive L

Icecliff falls off, going 10-8 in the last eighteen and missing their chance at qualifying, while Mountainview goes 13-5 to take the last Play-Ins spot. Silver Lake ended up a complete non-factor, going 6-12 to finish decidedly in fourth. Receiving the dubious distinction of finishing dead last is the Fireport Inferno, winning just over a third of their games.

The Postseason

The playoffs begin with the CIHL Play-Ins, featuring the bottom two finishers from AAA, 5 through 8 from AA, and the top two from A. The teams are seeded according to overall finish, with the AAA sides taking the top two, AA taking the next four, and A taking the bottom two. Each round is seeded so that the top-seeded team in each group will face the bottom-seeded team, the second-seeded team will face the second-worst team, etc. Each group will only consist of teams with the same number of wins, and two wins are required to qualify for the CIHL Playoffs. Two losses will eliminate a team.

All games were held at East Jutland Stadium, home to the Jutland Whalers, capacity 23,700.

Round 1
South Bay Berserkers (#1) 2–0 Mountainview Typhoon (#8)
Vikings HC (#2) 6–1 Thetford Gulls (#7)
White River Eagles (#3) 2–1 Southmont Sky (#6)
Brenville Raiders (#4) 3–4 Norport Tsunami (#5)

Round 2 - 1 Win
South Bay Berserkers (#1) 5–0 Norport Tsunami (#5)
South Bay to Playoffs
Vikings HC (#2) 1–5 White River Eagles (#3)
White River to Playoffs

Round 2 – 0 Wins
Brenville Raiders (#4) 4–1 Mountainview Typhoon (#8)
Mountainview eliminated
Southmont Sky (#6) 1–3 Thetford Gulls (#7)
Southmont eliminated

Round 3 - 1 Win
Vikings HC (#2) 4–1 Thetford Gulls (#7)
Vikings to Playoffs
Norport Tsunami (#5) 2–1 Brenville Raiders (#4)
Norport to Playoffs

White River's massive win over Vikings, who most assumed to have an easy path to qualification, was the biggest news of the event, though Vikings did manage to advance in the end with a win over Thetford Gulls, an A team that avoided elimination on the second day of the event by defeating AA's Southmont Sky.

CIHL Playoffs

Round 1

Literally no surprises here. The higher seed won every single game. The closest was the Thunder vs. the Lightning, which went to overtime, though Thor's Rest scored pretty early on to advance.

Round 2

East Fjord upsets Cordasfjord 7-6, with huge implications for the rest of the tournament with the #1 seed sitting in the losers' bracket. The Whalers defeat the Golden in a game that was very close until a late empty-netter. The Northmen upset Lakeshore in a similar fashion, while the Riveters help keep hopes of an all-Jutland rivalry game alive with a win over Thor's Rest.

Losers' Bracket Round 1

The biggest surprise was AA side Red Hill absolutely sticking it to AAA's Vikings with a resounding 8-3 victory. Other than that, there were no surprises to be found here.

Losers' Bracket Round 2

No big surprises here, as all the higher seeds manage to advance.

Quarterfinals

The Whalers and the Riveters each dominate their opposition, and the Winners' Semifinal will feature only Jutland sides in what is expected to be a major rivalry game.

Losers' Bracket Round 3

The Thunder take on the Warriors, and actually manage the upset in a very close 5-4 game. The loss ends Lakeshore's campaign for the title. On the other side, it was close, but Cordasfjord took the victory over Gilded City with a late goal.

Losers' Bracket Round 4

East Fjord, dropping down from the Quarterfinals, manages a 1-0 victory over Thor's Rest, a game with plenty of chances but one in which the goalies were on point and kept the fans on the edge of their seats. Cordasfjord continued their run with a victory over Creston, 3-2, coming back from a one-goal deficit heading into the third period to advance yet again.

Winners' Semifinal

The Riveters took a three-goal lead in the first period and managed to hold on despite taking a pounding from the Whalers, securing their first finals appearance after a heartbreaking loss in the Losers' Semifinal last season.

Losers' Quarterfinal

A rematch of the round two game that sent Cordasfjord to the Losers' Bracket, and it goes to overtime. The game is physical and sees plenty of penalties on each side, but Cordasfjord emerges the victory after overtime with a goal late in the fourth period/first overtime.

Losers' Semifinal

The Whalers look to make it to the final to take revenge on the Riveters, but the Crusaders take yet another one-goal game and advance to the finals. The Crusaders are tired, having played seven games to the Riveters' four, but a title is on the line and they're expected to play some of their best hockey yet to take it.

The Final

Game 1
It's playoff hockey at its finest. A defensive masterpiece with every player at their best, and the goalies playing incredibly. Cordasfjord scores late in the second to take the lead, which they defended all through the third to put the teams on equal footing for game two.

Game 2
It was all Cordasfjord from the start, with the Crusaders up 4-0 by the halfway mark. Late Riveters goals made it look close, but the Crusaders dominated from end to end and earn the title, having won seven elimination games, five of them by one goal, and played the absolute maximum number of games possible in this format: nine. The Crusaders take the double and will receive the #1 Cordian seed in the upcoming season of the Hockey Champions League.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Fri Sep 02, 2022 2:44 pm

CIFA Previews - Season 5

Yes, the preview is shouting. No, I don't feel like working on it anymore.

Location: Brenville
Last Season: 5th
Stadium: Brenville Community Stadium (45,000)
Nicknames: “Royal Lions” when feeling spiffy, mostly just the Blue
Trophies: 1x CIFA Champions, 1x CIFA Runners-Up
Style: Highly aggressive both defensively and offensively
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Manager: Toril Jarvinen
Key Players: S Sebastian Voll, GK Cliff Rouge

Brenville is one of the best teams in the CIFA by far, and has made the IFCF every year since the league began entering clubs. They’re also always one of the most exciting clubs in the league and sure to engage in many of the CIFA’s high-scoring matches in any given season. Cliff Rouge has developed admirably (as he needs to, as he can expect to be bombarded constantly with shots) and has been named to a reserve slot on the Qasden national team, and of course, star striker Sebastian Voll plays for the Cordian national team.
It was a little slow of a transfer window for the CIFA as a whole, and for a Brenville team in particular known for making big moves over the offseason. The Blue elected to sell off Laura Kensington, the Starsian not having done much for the club, and actually added a solid back in Tumbra’s Mark Kristoff. Not a star, but a boost for sure for the Blue’s notoriously leaky back line.
Brenville fans don’t want to talk about last season. At all. Ever. Just look at the last 8 MDs and you’ll get why.

Location: Channel Point
Last Season: 3rd in League B
Stadium: The Lighthouse (8,500)
Nicknames: Keepers
Style: Aggressive with a lot of ball movement.
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Manager: Ardalian Skov
Key Player: ST Carita Breiner

Channel Point plays attacking football, but with a lack of star strikers, or even good strikers, that just doesn’t work very well for them when they reach the League A. At the top level, Channel Point will focus on ball movement and opening up chances that way. The Keepers are the oldest club along the White River and the rivalry between the two sides is the stuff of legend along the river. With both teams in the League A this season, this is a year that promises to be an exciting one for fans of the two clubs.
Last season for Channel Point was stressful, if a success, for the Keepers. A win on the last day secured promotion over Norport, which wasn’t certain before then. Coming after the previous season where the Keepers placed 7th of 15 when five teams went to the League A, the promotion and return to the League A is a success, but Channel Point’s ability to remain here is up for debate, so we’ll see what happens.

Location: Cordasfjord
Last Season: 1st
Stadium: Cordasfjord Colusseum (60,000)
Nicknames: Red Tide
Trophies: 2x CIFA Champions, 2x Cordia Cup Champions, 1x Cordia Cup Runners-Up
Style: Balanced, emphasis on passing
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Nils Makela
Key Players: LM Nicholas Eriksen, CM Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve

Cordasfjord FC is known mostly for one thing, and one thing only: an incredible midfield. That’s a legacy that’s stuck with the club since its founding, and it’s a characterization that still holds true today. The Cordasfjord midfield features its two best players: Nicholas Eriksen, who has made quite the impression as a starter on the Cordian NT, and Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve, a high-caliber Quebecois still in her teens.
It wasn’t a very big transfer window for Cordasfjord, whose only move was to sell off Gunnvor Nieminen, a move that very well may have been a big mistake for Cordasfjord, as Nieminen received a reserve spot on the national team and appears likely to share the starting spot with Hannah Andersen in the future after
Last season saw a pretty clean finish from Cordasfjord and a window of opportunity in the form of Brenville vomiting all over their record in epic fashion grant the Red Tide a second CIFA title. In IFCF play, they managed to become the second CIFA side to advance to the CHC Group Stage, but ultimately failed to advance from there. Overall, Cordasfjord fans are happy with the club and want to see more of the same.

Location: Creston
Last Season: 6th
Stadium: Creston Community Stadium (25,000)
Nicknames: Wolves. Duh.
Trophies: 1x CIFA Champions, 1x Cordia Cup Runners-Up
Style: Balanced; fast and dangerous counterattack
Formation: 4-1-2-1-2
Manager: Marje Losnedahl
Key Players: S Ine Dijck, AM Mirko Kosic

The Wolves are one of the younger clubs in the league, formed when, well before internationalization, the CIFA began expanding out of the Vik regions - where you can find some of the oldest clubs - and into the windswept oceanside region of the West Island. The Wolves are always a dark horse: most of the time, they’re not expected to do all that much, but every once in a while, they get a head full of steam and charge into a top place in some competition. The championship and the Season 1 Cup run are perfect examples of this.
An interesting window for Creston. They sold off Fried Rossum and Haydn Schwartz, but added a very good contributor to replace Schwartz in Mytanija’s Mirko Kosic and a solid DM in Zwangzug’s Everett Lune-Byers, who is used to success with that nation’s Engdahl Institute and is a powerful, competitive player.
Sixth place last season was a pretty solid result for the Wolves, and they were in the IFCF hunt up until the second-to-last matchday, so nothing to complain about there. Getting knocked out in the first round of the Cordia Cup by Danvirk, 5-1 no less, is something to complain about, though, and the Wolves will very much want to make a deeper run in the Cup this time around.

Location: Danvirk
Last Season: 2nd
Stadium: The Castle (80,000)
Nicknames: Guardians, Rooks
Trophies: 1x CIFA Runners-Up
Style: Balanced; slow attacks build up to dangerous chances
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Ella Solberg
Key Players: ST Markus Schroder, RB Vladimir Demov, GK Mo Kacceo

Danvirk has hung around the League A for a while, occasionally challenging for a top spot or being threatened with relegation, but generally staying in the midtable. Taking inspiration from the legendary Danvirk Castle (the real one, not the stadium) and the stand of its garrison against the Kordan aggressors in the War of Unification, Danvirk fans expect their club to be “stalwarts” and “stand tall”. Whatever that means.
Nothing huge from Danvirk in the transfer window, in keeping with much of the CIFA. A solid addition in Cassadaigua’s Caitlyn Renwick helps shore up the midfield, which is pretty solid already. No big roster moves otherwise; not much to see here.
Has Danvirk arrived? We think so. Not that we’re expecting another second-place finish, but that performance certainly heralds the maturing of Danvirk’s strong foreign youth group - Mo Kacceo, Klara Fernandina, and Kang Goo-Seong. With those three beginning to reach their full potential, very good things are ahead for the Rooks.

Location: East Fjord
Last Season: 16th
Stadium: East Fjord Sports Center (14,000)
Nicknames: Gold-and-Blacks
Style: A fairly balanced 4-4-2, nothing all that special.
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Lukas Iversen
Key Players: CB Paula Vinter, RM Jarkko Salonen

One of the older clubs, which fell into lower-league play soon after promotion/relegation was added due to a lack of funding. East Fjord has a healthy, if lopsided, rivalry with Skalton and Cordasfjord and can be expected to play the hardest against those clubs.
East Fjord added a solid back to beef up their defense in David Harris, who will be one of their better players but nothing great in the grand scheme of the league.
East Fjord avoided relegation, which was the goal coming off promotion, and will be looking to defend that this season. By placing 16th, they managed to get the last bye into the Cordia Cup proper for next season and will be looking to take full advantage of that. Other than that, the goal for East Fjord is just to stay up for another season, and then maybe they’ll start thinking bigger. (Bottom 4 finishers must compete in Final Qualifying)

Location: Eriksson
Last Season: 15th
Stadium: Eriksson Watchtower (15,000)
Nicknames: Mountaineers
Style: A rather open playstyle focused on moving the ball quickly, with players rarely holding on to possession for long.
Formation: 4-3-2-1
Manager: Joni Larsen
Key Players: RM Stig Ravn, CB Ukko Pajari

Eriksson are one of the league’s oldest clubs, but they also tend to yo-yo around. That’s probably because they have trouble attracting talent over in Eriksson; there’s not a ton of money floating around there, and the area is nowhere near good enough to justify taking a pay cut to move there. That said, Eriksson does have a nice home advantage in the fact that it’s in the mountains and exceptionally cold, even by Cordian standards. Opposing clubs will have a hard time getting used to the temperature.
A very, very interesting signing from Eriksson in former Zete Rekan NTer Achim Hofsetter at striker. He won’t win them a title, but he’ll definitely help with their offense and bring them up a solid few places. Keep an eye on Eriksson after that.
Fifteenth was the result for the Icecaps last season. They were still in the relegation conversation for a while; their fans will want to avoid that this season and it looks like they will with Hofsetter joining the team. We’ll see how far up they go this year, but they should stay in the League A for a while to come.

Location: Gilded City
Last Season: 7th
Stadium: Goldenhill (15,000)
Nicknames: Firebreathers
Style: Very, very defensive with a wide midfield. Focus on stopping attacks high, before they get close to the net.
Formation: 4-4-1-1
Manager: Tuula Albertsson
Key Players: LB Lucia Verkerk, GK John Gildea

Gilded City is a newer club, funded by the money of the city whose name it bears. Regarded as a bit of a glitzy, star-buying team by the rest of the league, the moniker is probably deserved as the team upgraded its roster in between seasons one and two, and saw immediate results. Perhaps a bit surprising, though, is the Dragons’ strategy. The club plays post-football, the style perfected by Ko-oren and Audioslavia, going by the motto “if they can’t score, they can’t win.” Not exactly the style you’d expect from a club in a place like Gilded City, but hey, it works for them.
Oh God. The worst has happened for Gilded City. The absolute nightmare scenario. Anton Osterholt is gone. Say goodbye to any sort of scoring prowess for Gilded City. Good for him, though, honestly. Alnio will treat him a lot better. They did sign a new center back in Chromatika’s Ding Huo, he won’t be near enough to balance out the pain of losing Osterholt.
The Dragons never really got going last year and finished seventh, never really in the IFCF conversation. The expectation this year is… significantly worse, with Osterholt gone. Bad news for the Dragons all around.

Location: Jutland (East)
Last Season: 3rd
Stadium: Jutland City Stadium (45,000)
Nicknames: Bombardiers
Trophies: 1x CIFA Runners-Up
Style: Decidedly defensive, though a bit squishy. The Cannons will allow shots - they can afford it with Bergstrin - but they focus on not allowing good ones.
Formation: 4-5-1
Manager: Alexander Hanssen
Key Players: LCM Andre Vandendriessche, RB Redvin Chase, GK Kristin Bergstrin

Cannons is a younger, smaller club than Jutland FC. But it’s also, for the moment at least, a better club. The thing the Cannons have done best is creating an identity of tough, defensive football, especially in the box. The fans have embraced this, and this identity brings in some solid talent, too: Kristin Bergstrin wouldn’t be here if she didn’t want some extra help in front, and Redvin Chase wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t heard of the Cannons’ physical style, a style he now contributes to as one of the league’s top card-earners.
Cannons didn’t buy, and didn’t sell. They’re relying on a team that is already very good, and this shows faith from the front office in the team they’ve built, but an improvement wouldn’t have hurt.
Cannons achieved third place last season, which is alright, but nothing special, really. They failed to take advantage of the late opportunity that was Brenville’s bad form, which cost them a title, but there’s not too much for their fans to be disappointed about last season. However, despite being one of the league’s best teams for several years, the Cannons remain in the hunt for a title, having failed to win even one so far. Is this the season?

Location: Jutland (West)
Last Season: 8th
Stadium: West Jutland Stadium (25,000)
Nicknames: Shipyards, Dreadnoughts
Trophies: 1x CIFA Runners-Up
Style: A pretty defensive 4-4-2 that looks to press high and turn an opponent’s attack into its own.
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Evin Goshik (PFA)
Key Players: LM Lucas Oers, CB Frederick Johnson

Jutland FC is an older, storied club, its prestige dating back to the founding of the CIFA well before the sporting internationalization process. More so than the Cannons, this is very much a working-class club. Whereas most cities in Cordia have fewer clubs, and everyone supports the same club, Jutland has several, and the difference between them is class. Jutland FC is based near the shipyards, where it derives its nicknames and where many of its supporters have connections. West Jutland is, overall, not a wealthy area, with much of its population working in factories and the like. While Jutland Cannons derive their identity from their play on the field, FC derives their identity from where they come from, and who supports them.
Larissa Wijk is gone from striker, but the Dreadnoughts signed multinational Gunnar Martikainen, of Kelssek and Farfadillis at midfield and he should help to shore up that side of things as an above-average player, but hardly an impact player.
Jutland FC fell back down to 8th, and fans are getting pissed off by the apparent carelessness in the front office of JFC. The next season and transfer window had better be good, or they’ll have a very unhappy fanbase and be at risk of looking weak compared to Cannons, who have surged in the last few seasons and qualified to IFCF in each.

Location: Meadow Ridge
Last Season: 4th
Stadium: Southeast Maple Center (10,000)
Nicknames: Foresters, Tappers
Trophies: 1x Cordia Cup Runners-Up
Style: Very fluid formation-wise, probably the most so in the CIFA. The only real rule is that at least three players will hang back, but to the front of them is chaos.
Formation: 4-4-1-1
Manager: Marianna Adamsen
Key Players: S Ard Donders, CM Ada Baan

The Maples were formed a few years after the CIFA was founded when the new league began to expand. From there, the Maples were a reasonably successful club, sometimes dropping to League B but also taking home some silverware. When the internationalization process ended, Meadow Ridge found themselves in League B as a result of a surprising relegation, and for a while, it looked like they might stay there, as they faced injury trouble. But if there’s one thing we found out from watching Meadow Ridge in the first modern CIFA season, it’s that these maple farmers from the ridge have no quit in them. They hung on to that third promotion spot, and the rest is history. Or, not really. It wasn’t that long ago.
Meadow Ridge made no moves, and continues to be among the very few clubs to maintain an all-Cordian starting XI since the sports Internationalization process.
Meadow Ridge is still exceeding expectations on a grand scale, last season finishing 4th to qualify for the VCI, where they made it to the round of 16 - not perfect by any means, but pretty solid. Meadow Ridge again fails to fix a roster that isn’t broken, just very solid all-around though lacking any real star players, and there aren’t any holes either. However, signing a star might take the Maples from very good to title-contending, and there is a feeling that the last few seasons may have been a big streak of luck. It seems like the Maples will always have to be proving themselves.

Location: Mountainview (North of Cordasfjord)
Last Season: 1st in League B
Stadium: Mountainview Community Field (7,500)
Nicknames: Centaurs
Style: An aggressive midfield looks to contain the ball in the attacking half and do damage with a sustained attack.
Formation: 3-5-2
Manager: Olesya Novikov
Key Player: LCM Jorgen Aberg

Mountainview is an older club located in the well-off Cordasfjord suburb. It’s struggled with support and relevance of late due to the success of the much better-known Cordasfjord FC, which has reached its tendrils of support into Mountainview’s territory and has done a lot of damage to the club’s support and funding. The Community Field looks out on the Holmgren Forest Nature Preserve across from the entrance, with the two grandstands on each side. The spectacular view also provides the Centaurs’ nickname: the creature was said to populate that forest by the Kordans of times gone by.
A very strong season from Mountainview saw them take first in the League B with 101 goals, an absolutely brutal attack that may come back to bite them in the League A with a weak back line. The loyal fans are excited at the prospect of top-tier football, which they’ve already gotten a taste of when the Community Field hosted five matches as part of the Centaurs’ 10-match campaign in the LBCT that took them all the way to the group stage, a first for Cordian clubs in that tournament.

Location: Shelter Cove
Last Season: 17th
Stadium: Cove Center (12,000)
Nicknames: Pirates
Style: Aggressive, focus on getting balls into the box, and not shooting from outside.
Formation: 4-3-3
Manager: Heino Oster
Key Players: RM Sander Riven, LW Urban Henriksen, CM Jens Simonssen

*yo-yos majestically*
^ the entire history of Shelter Cove summarized
Since relegation/promotion between League A and League B was introduced some 40-odd years ago, the Shelter Cove Captains have never stayed in the same league for more than three years. Nobody knows why; some people think their stadium was built on cursed land and that that’s the reason. We’ll never know for sure, for obvious reasons, but there’s a shot that Shelter Cove can break the curse over the next few seasons.
An interesting signing for the Captains comes in Nephara’s Sander Riven. Playing at midfield, he’ll be a boost to Shelter Cove’s offense. Last season saw him take Team of the Year honors in Pyazhnaya, and while he doesn’t seem poised to do the same in Cordia, he could be something of a star for a team lacking in them.
Captains fans breathed a collective sigh of relief as the season ended with them one point out of relegation. Overall they were very happy with the relatively low-key offseason, and Sander Riven’s play is much-anticipated among the fanbase.

Location: Skalton
Last Season: 13th
Stadium: Cordian Orchestra Stadium (40,000)
Nicknames: Golden Notes
Style: A slow attack focusing on building pressure and finding the perfect opportunity to shoot.
Formation: 4-3-2-1
Manager: Susanna Lind
Key Players: CB Sigrid Altena, GK Charlie Barrett

Skalton is home to just about every famous musician in Cordian history, and that culture makes its way into the club, with its logo featuring the harp and its stadium sponsored by the Cordian Orchestra. The stadium itself has some of the best acoustics in the isles (of course), and plays music at just around every remotely logical occasion, a personal favorite being The Box by Roddy Ricch for fouls in the box. Fans will also sing chants with varying degrees of vulgarity depending on how much they hate the opposition, with the most biting insults reserved for Cordasfjord.
A pretty interesting signing for Skalton in Jennifer Westermarck helps to shore up the Harpers’ back line. She likely won’t make Best XI or even get close, but will still be a very good starter, though without much offensive output.
A pretty unremarkable 13th-placed finish stands to be improved on, and the Skalton base kind of expected that kind of finish… so not much to say here.

Location: Southmont (West Isle, in the mountains, south of Valley Fold)
Last Season: 2nd in League B
Stadium: Ljungren Field (5,000)
Nicknames: Guards
Style: A slow pace with an emphasis for slow-developing attacks.
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Rustik Ruoho
Key Player: CM Mattis Johansen

Southmont is a smallish city in the south of the West Isle’s mountains which plays host to the Hawks of the CIFA. Founded by local multimillionaire Henry Ljungren right around twenty years ago, their home stadium, the smallest in the League A, bears his name. As the smallest side in Cordia’s top division in just about every measure - funding, fanbase, size of the city, and so on - Southmont fans are among the league’s most hostile and maintain an “us against the world” mentality that can be seen and heard at home matches. Combined with one of the coldest climes to be found in any League A club’s home city - Valley Fold excepted - Ljungren Field looks to rank among the hardest stadiums for away sides this season, something the Hawks will need to squeeze every ounce out of if they want to remain here.
Taking second in the League B by a single goal was Southmont last season. Not much more to say than that, they were already a few points up and away on the final matchday and so avoided the drama that Channel Point put themselves through. An opening foray into high-level football didn’t go so well when the Hawks lost 2-1, then 3-0 to Spacious FC of Boring Paradise, not exactly a powerhouse, making for an inauspicious start with room for improvement.

Location: Thor’s Rest
Last Season: 10th
Stadium: The Hand of Thor (45,000)
Nicknames: Thor’s Will
Style: A workhorse midfield will fill in both on offense and defense.
Formation: 3-4-3
Manager: Vaino Thorn
Key Players: RW Graham Nicholas, CM Yesfir Borg

Thor’s Rest is an older club that used to be among the league’s best. However, a string of deteriorating performances dating back to pre-internationalization, with modern season one excepted, has led to decreasing support and funding. The Thunder are now nowhere near as good as they used to be, and they’re getting worse.
Thor’s Rest has a new star player, Flavovespia’s Graham Nicholas. This makes them an offensive threat for the first time in a very long time, and the Storm could actually… be acceptably decent, maybe, for the first time in a while.
The Storm got their act together. Finishing tenth, actually inside the top half, and adding Nicholas, this team could be fringe IFCF contenders, even, which is something we never expected to say about Thor’s Rest this season. Keep an eye on the Storm, they very well might surprise this year.

Location: Valley Fold
Last Season: 12th
Stadium: Valley Fold Community Stadium (10,000)
Nicknames: The Valley Fold Regional Spelling Bee
Style: A focus on taking possession and advancing the ball quickly so as to get it out of the defensive half.
Formation: 4-2-2-2
Manager: Thor Aalto
Key Players: S Evelina Danielsen, RB Jean Admiraal

Another club predating the CIFA, Valley Fold’s red-and-gold colors are worn by small but extremely loyal following in the Valley. Their fanbase can be expected to shout, cheer, and sing through the entirety of matches in well-below-freezing Valley Fold weather. With that kind of support behind them, it’s no wonder that among those who can bear the climate, Valley Fold players stay with the club for so long.
A very interesting signing for the Vanquishers is Xochitl Barros of Gortolekua, who hadn’t been getting the needed starting time back home and will start for the Vanquishers, hoping to impress and potentially make the Gortolekuan NT.
Jean Admiraal is the perfect example of the above. A NT-caliber back, she elected to stick with the Vanquishers even when they were sent back down to League B and has been instrumental in their recovery. Valley Fold also has several intriguing youth prospects on its roster that could make an impact in future years. Last season saw more freezing weather for Valley Fold, and more draws, though the Vanquishers pulled off a 12th-place finish in their most recent League A season. Expect the same or better from the Vanquishers as they move into their second season.

Location: Vik City
Last Season: 9th
Stadium: Vik City Stadium (35,000)
Nicknames: Raiders
Style: Very stationary, with an emphasis on stretch passes.
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Ebba Saarinen
Key Players: CM Henry Smits, RM Angela Bouw, GK Tue Berntsen

Vikings are part of the multisport organization known as Viksport. Viksport owns teams in every major professional sports league in Cordia, all under the Vikings name. The organization and the team were founded around twenty years ago by Cordian billionaire Richard Carlsen, so it’s overall a pretty new club. However, Carlsen hasn’t put much money into the club so far, preferring to allow it to take its own course as a test of what it would be capable of. That might be due to change soon, if Carlsen is willing to put his fortune into making his clubs successful, starting at the transfer window.
Vikings sold off two of their top young prospects for significant sums of money, and signed absolutely nobody. Needless to say, nobody really liked that decision.
9th was a pretty good finish for Vikings and right about where they’re supposed to be. But the odd offseason has fans pissed and expectations are pretty low this season. Maybe they can make things interesting, but Vikings don’t look near as good this year as last.

Location: Westwall
Last Season: 14th
Stadium: The Wall (20,000)
Nicknames: Steadfast
Style: Team-oriented yet decidedly aggressive, with individuals retaining very little possession and few individual plays made.
Formation: 3-3-3-1
Manager: Simon Simonsen
Key Players: RDM Tahvo Simonsen, CAM Maxwell Gorev

Westwall is another old club that has never really been great. Founded in Westwall, a small city/big town to the west of Danvirk, on the spit of land between the rest of the East Island and the Finger, Stand never really had a big player pool or a ton of money, so they’ve always been one of the better League B teams or worse League A teams. Westwall, similarly to Danvirk, is well known for resisting the Kordan invaders in the War of Unification, thus the club’s name, Stand.
No transfers from Westwall this window.
A decent season, finishing in 14th, saw the Stand never really threatened with relegation, but they didn’t accomplish much. With the inactive window, hopes of them actually doing better aren’t high, and another lackluster or potentially worse season can be expected from Westwall.

Location: White River
Last Season: 11th
Stadium: Riverwatch Field (20,000)
Nicknames: Rivermen
Style: Decidedly individualistic with a few very solid players and fewer passes than most teams.
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Anika Carstensen
Key Players: CM Harald Breiner, CB Knut Abel

White River is a relatively newer side, with crossriver rivals Channel Point drawing most of the money and attention for a while. But with both sides being yo-yo clubs, often the balance is about equal, and with last season’s League B Championship, it’s White River who’s the better of the two sides. Riverwatch Field is open at the south end, featuring majestic views of the White River and the area beyond.
White River didn’t have any transfers this year.
A very, very good 11th place finish from White River coming off promotion has set them up to stay awhile, and if they can avoid falling apart this season they can start thinking bigger and making big transfers. This year, they elected not to fix what isn’t broken and are hoping the same squad can take the club to a similar finish, or maybe even the top half.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Fri Sep 02, 2022 3:01 pm

April / May - MDs 1-10 - CC Q1 / CC Q2

April                          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Meadow Ridge Maples           5    4   1   0     8    2   +6    13
 2 East Fjord FC                 5    4   0   1    11    3   +8    12
 3 Cordasfjord FC                5    4   0   1    17   11   +6    12
 4 Jutland Cannons               5    4   0   1     8    4   +4    12
 5 Eriksson Icecaps              5    4   0   1    14   10   +4    12
 6 Thor's Rest Storm             5    4   0   1    10    7   +3    12
 7 Channel Point FC              5    3   1   1    12    6   +6    10
 8 Westwall Stand                5    3   0   2     8   10   −2     9
 9 Creston Wolves                5    2   1   2    10    9   +1     7
10 Gilded City Dragons           5    2   1   2     5    5    0     7
11 Danvirk FC                    5    2   0   3     9    9    0     6
12 White River FC                5    2   0   3    10   13   −3     6
13 Jutland FC                    5    1   2   2     5    6   −1     5
14 Mountainview FC               5    1   1   3     8   11   −3     4
15 Brenville Blue                5    1   1   3     8   12   −4     4
   Shelter Cove Captains         5    1   1   3     8   12   −4     4
17 Valley Fold Vanquishers       5    1   1   3     3    9   −6     4
18 Skalton Harpers               5    1   0   4     4    7   −3     3
19 Vikings FC                    5    0   1   4     3    9   −6     1
20 Southmont Hawks FC            5    0   1   4     4   10   −6     1

May                         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Meadow Ridge Maples        5    5   0   0    22   11  +11    15
 2 Shelter Cove Captains      5    4   1   0    12    5   +7    13
 3 Jutland Cannons            5    4   1   0     5    1   +4    13
 4 Danvirk FC                 5    3   1   1    10    5   +5    10
 5 Southmont Hawks FC         5    3   0   2     8   11   −3     9
 6 Creston Wolves             5    2   2   1     9    7   +2     8
 7 Cordasfjord FC             5    2   2   1     5    3   +2     8
 8 Brenville Blue             5    2   1   2     9    5   +4     7
 9 Skalton Harpers            5    2   1   2     8    5   +3     7
10 Gilded City Dragons        5    2   1   2     5    4   +1     7
11 Jutland FC                 5    2   0   3     2    3   −1     6
12 Mountainview FC            5    2   0   3     6    9   −3     6
13 Valley Fold Vanquishers    5    2   0   3     4    8   −4     6
14 Westwall Stand             5    1   1   3     8    9   −1     4
15 Thor's Rest Storm          5    1   1   3     8   10   −2     4
16 East Fjord FC              5    1   1   3     5   10   −5     4
17 Vikings FC                 5    1   1   3     4    9   −5     4
18 White River FC             5    1   1   3     5   11   −6     4
19 Eriksson Icecaps           5    0   3   2     5    8   −3     3
20 Channel Point FC           5    0   2   3     4   10   −6     2

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Meadow Ridge Maples          10    9   1   0    30   13  +17    28
 2 Jutland Cannons              10    8   1   1    13    5   +8    25
 3 Cordasfjord FC               10    6   2   2    22   14   +8    20
 4 Shelter Cove Captains        10    5   2   3    20   17   +3    17
 5 Danvirk FC                   10    5   1   4    19   14   +5    16
 6 East Fjord FC                10    5   1   4    16   13   +3    16
 7 Thor's Rest Storm            10    5   1   4    18   17   +1    16
 8 Creston Wolves               10    4   3   3    19   16   +3    15
 9 Eriksson Icecaps             10    4   3   3    19   18   +1    15
10 Gilded City Dragons          10    4   2   4    10    9   +1    14
11 Westwall Stand               10    4   1   5    16   19   −3    13
12 Channel Point FC             10    3   3   4    16   16    0    12
13 Brenville Blue               10    3   2   5    17   17    0    11
14 Jutland FC                   10    3   2   5     7    9   −2    11
15 Skalton Harpers              10    3   1   6    12   12    0    10
16 Mountainview FC              10    3   1   6    14   20   −6    10
17 Southmont Hawks FC           10    3   1   6    12   21   −9    10
18 White River FC               10    3   1   6    15   24   −9    10
19 Valley Fold Vanquishers      10    3   1   6     7   17  −10    10
20 Vikings FC                   10    1   2   7     7   18  −11     5

April Best XI
FW: Graham Nicholas (Thor’s Rest Storm)
FW: Achim Hofsetter (Eriksson Icecaps)
MF: Jarkko Salonen (East Fjord FC)
MF: Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve (Cordasfjord FC)
MF: Ada Baan (Meadow Ridge Maples)
MF: Miriam Schwetz (Channel Point FC)
DF: Steven Slotboom (Meadow Ridge Maples)
DF: David Harris (East Fjord FC)
DF: Redvin Chase (Jutland Cannons)
DF: Ding Huo (Gilded City Dragons)
GK: Marie Lier (Meadow Ridge Maples)

May Best XI
FW: Ard Donders (Meadow Ridge Maples)
FW: Urban Henriksen (Shelter Cove Captains)
MF: Sander Riven (Shelter Cove Captains)
MF: Mathilde Lemmens (Meadow Ridge Maples)
MF: Kang Goo-Seong (Danvirk FC)
MF: Hilmar Heikkinen (Brenville Blue)
DF: Redvin Chase (Jutland Cannons)
DF: Yefim Stepnaov (Cordasfjord FC)
DF: Frederick Johnson (Jutland FC)
DF: Lucia Verkerk (Gilded City Dragons)
GK: Kristin Bergstrin (Jutland Cannons)

Best Performers

Meadow Ridge Maples
The Maples sit a very impressive 9-1-0 ten MDs into the season, three ahead of second-place Cannons and eight (!) ahead of third-place Cordasfjord. Granted, they haven’t had the hardest of schedules, but have defeated sides like Thor’s Rest and Shelter Cove that have put up impressive numbers so far. Most impressive was a 6-2 win at Southmont, notoriously one of the hardest away stadiums to play in despite the hosting side not being one of the best. Up 5-0 at halftime, including a hat trick from Ard Donders that put him in the May Best XI with authority, the Maples put in a few backups and played much more conservatively in the second half. The difference could have been much bigger. Also notable is an absolutely stupid 22-goal total in May, powered by three 5+ goal matches, that also saw the Maples go five wins for five in one of the most dominant stretches we’ve seen.

Shelter Cove Captains
The Captains started slow, taking four points from five, but a very strong undefeated May puts them a decidedly unexpected fourth in the league with the third-most productive offense behind powerhouses Meadow Ridge and Cordasfjord. On MD 10 the Captains had one of their more convincing victories, putting up three goals in the first half against Valley Fold, with that side’s notoriously stingy defense. Two came from Urban Henriksen and another from Sander Riven, performances that contributed to each man making the May Best XI. Henriksen appears poised for a big season with Sander Riven supporting in the middle and helping enable the big plays that are supposed to be the hallmarks of the Captains’ offense.

Thor’s Rest Storm
Thor’s Rest opened the season about as strong as you can get - a 2-1 away defeat of Danvirk that only boosted the hype that’s been buzzing around the side since they signed Graham Nicholas, and the winger’s game-winning contribution in that match certainly didn’t hurt. A 2-0 loss to East Fjord at home damped that down a bit. But then? The Storm went on what can only be described as an absolute fucking rampage. Icecaps? Down. Gilded City? Down. Cannons? Down. JFC? Down. Four wins in a row, three against very, very good sides and the first serving as the only loss in the Icecaps’ opening month. Now, May was pretty rough for the Storm, no doubt about it, but considering that they faced Meadow Ridge (losing by one goal in a very aggressive shootout) and a surging Captains side as well as Mountainview and Skalton, it’s more regression towards the mean than any sort of apocalyptic downturn and the Storm still sit seventh in the league.

Worst Performers

Brenville Blue
If the Blue want to win another title, a start like this was not the way to do it. Sitting thirteenth on eleven points, the Blue are only even on goal differential because they took out their frustration on East Fjord for a 6-1 victory, before proceeding to score a total of three goals for the rest of May. Brenville has a lot to fix if they want to be competitive to make the postseason this year and already ten matches in, they’re starting to run out room to do so, with a lot of space to make up.

Headlines from around the Isles

Top Half Surprises - Meadow Ridge, Shelter Cove, Thor’s Rest

Channel Point Was Good For An Instant

Cordasfjord Title Defense Starting Slow

East Fjord An Intriguing Bet - Sitting 6th 10 MDs into Second League A Season

Cordia Cup

With 80 clubs in the Cordian system, there are three rounds of qualifying - 1, 2, and Final. The 80 teams are divided into five groups of sixteen based on their finish in the previous season. The bottom 32 teams enter the Cup in Qualifying 1, the next 16 in Qualifying 2, the next 16 in Final Qualifying, and finally the top 16 enter in the Cordia Cup proper, once the field has been reduced to 32 teams. In each round, teams are reseeded with no protections, so teams that enter in the same round can play each other, making for the occasional League A-on-League A matchup as early as Final Qualifying. Some teams protest this as unfair, but most fans support it and agree that it's exciting.

Qualifying 1 (after MD5)
Shining Lake FC 1–1 FC Whitebridge (1–2 AET)
Silver Club 2–3 AFC Blackmill
Reya FC 1–0 Seewatch Club
Marble Heights Ascent 1–1 Timber FC (1–2 AET)
Middle Fjords 7–2 Southbeach Sailors
Threshers FC 1–0 Lake Hervor FC
Blaora Township 0–0 East Vik FC (0–0 AET) (4–2 pen.)
Chesterfield Club 4–5 East Cliff Cove FC
Brightway Stargazers 2–2 Woods Elite FC (2–3 AET)
South Point 0–2 North Valley FC
Aella Eagles 4–0 Thenesse FC
Ice Fields 0–0 Riverborne Raiders (0–1 AET)
Red Winter Club 0–0 Doveport FC (0–0 AET) (2–3 pen.)
West Viksee 2–3 AFC Greenbank
Sporting Red Hill 3–0 Fireport Flames
Belland FC 2–4 Griffin Heights FC

Qualifying 2 (after MD10)
Sporting Red Hill 1–0 FC Whitebridge
West Skalton FC 2–4 Threshers FC
Timber FC 3–1 Doveport FC
Middle Fjords 4–3 Reya FC
Highlands 3–0 Griffin Heights FC
Woods Elite FC 3–2 Northmark Admirals
North Courvale FC 2–0 Blaora Township
East Jutland FC 1–2 North Valley FC
Bay Yards 0–2 Standard Creston
Salmon Lake FC 0–1 FC Industrial
AFC Blackmill 1–3 Castle Hill Courage
Briarville AFC 2–0 Riverborne Raiders
Aella Eagles 2–1 Midvik Varangians
East Cliff Cove FC 1–3 South Beach FC
AFC Greenbank 0–1 West Skalton Notes
Volsung Lake Club 1–3 Courvale Kings FC

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Sep 03, 2022 11:29 am

June / July - MDs 11-20 - CC FQ / CC 32

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Jutland Cannons              20   14   4   2    31   13  +18    46
 2 Cordasfjord FC               20   12   5   3    40   24  +16    41
 3 Meadow Ridge Maples          20   12   3   5    45   30  +15    39
 4 Gilded City Dragons          20   10   3   7    23   14   +9    33
 5 Danvirk FC                   20    9   4   7    37   32   +5    31
 6 Southmont Hawks FC           20    9   3   8    33   38   −5    30
 7 Eriksson Icecaps             20    8   5   7    39   36   +3    29
 8 Brenville Blue               20    8   4   8    37   33   +4    28
 9 Jutland FC                   20    7   7   6    27   25   +2    28
10 Thor's Rest Storm            20    8   4   8    37   36   +1    28
11 East Fjord FC                20    8   4   8    25   27   −2    28
12 Shelter Cove Captains        20    8   2  10    45   48   −3    26
13 Skalton Harpers              20    7   4   9    21   19   +2    25
14 Creston Wolves               20    6   6   8    35   38   −3    24
15 Channel Point FC             20    6   6   8    36   39   −3    24
16 Westwall Stand               20    6   4  10    31   40   −9    22
17 White River FC               20    6   4  10    32   43  −11    22
18 Vikings FC                   20    5   4  11    23   34  −11    19
19 Valley Fold Vanquishers      20    5   4  11    15   28  −13    19
20 Mountainview FC              20    3   6  11    26   41  −15    15

June Best XI
FW: Graham Nicholas (Thor’s Rest Storm)
FW: Urban Henriksen (Shelter Cove Captains)
MF: Sparkling Ingrid (Gilded City Dragons)
MF: Andre Vandendriessche (Jutland Cannons)
MF: Nicholas Eriksen (Cordasfjord FC)
MF: Ada Baan (Meadow Ridge Maples)
DF: Ding Huo (Gilded City Dragons)
DF: Lucia Verkerk (Gilded City Dragons)
DF: Redvin Chase (Jutland Cannons)
DF: Charlotte Aquilina (Vikings FC)
GK: John Gildea (Gilded City Dragons)

July Best XI
FW: Erna Zarins (Southmont Hawks FC)
FW: Achim Hofsetter (Eriksson Icecaps)
MF: Andre Vandendriessche (Jutland Cannons)
MF: Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve (Cordasfjord FC)
MF: Hilmar Heikkinen (Brenville Blue)
MF: Stig Ravn (Eriksson Icecaps)
DF: Yefim Stepnaov (Cordasfjord FC)
DF: Sigrid Altena (Skalton Harpers)
DF: Milani Goransson (Brenville Blue)
DF: Paula Vinter (East Fjord FC)
GK: Charlie Barrett (Skalton Harpers)

Best Performers

Southmont Hawks FC
June was a great stretch for the Hawks, and July a solid one. The crowning jewel of June was a 3-2 victory over Brenville at home, much to the joy of the home side. Prior to that, Southmont had had a five-match winning streak early in the month before a 2-0 away loss at Westwall ruined that. Though July was perhaps less impressive, it was still pretty significant as the Hawks managed a 2-2 draw with Cordasfjord, kept it close in a 3-2 away loss to Creston, and then finished things off with a 4-3 home win over Danvirk and a 1-0 win over East Fjord. Forward Erna Zarins took Best XI honors for her contributions in July, which included the tying goal against Cordasfjord, one against Creston, and the last two that turned a 3-2 defeat into a 4-3 win for the Hawks in the last fifteen minutes against Danvirk.

Gilded City Dragons
The Dragons have fared alright with the loss of Anton Osterholt, who’s making waves as a starter over at Alnio in Chromatika. Their offense has slowed to a crawl, but the Dragons’ addition of Ding Huo has turned out to be a smart one, as the back has helped Lucia Verkerk and John Gildea in shutting down opposing offenses. The performances of all three earned them slots in the June Best XI as the Dragons took three of the five defensive slots. After all, they allowed just one goal in five matches and both Verkerk and Huo helped out on offense with a goal apiece in Gilded City’s 5-0 demolition of East Fjord. Their other victories included the likes of Creston, Danvirk, and Icecaps, none of them pushovers (though Icecaps and Creston were on a rough stretch).

Worst Performers

Meadow Ridge Maples
June was a solid month for the Maples, who took ten points from five and saw Ada Baan make the Best XI. But an absolutely horrendous July - compounded by a tricky schedule, yes, but still terrible - lost the Maples their hold on first and even dropped then down to third, behind a Cordasfjord side they’d had an 8-point lead on. July began with a 2-0 loss to the now-11th Gold-and-Blacks, followed by a 3-2 home loss to Icecaps, sitting at seventh. A scoreless draw with Gilded City was not entirely unexpected, and consecutive 1-0 losses to Cannons and JFC followed. Taking only one point from five matches, Meadow Ridge benefited from the cushion they’d had built up through the first 15 matches, but they’ll need to take themselves out of this tailspin before they hit the ground.

Creston Wolves
An absolutely terrible showing to close out the first half of the season for a club that’s supposed to consistently place in the League A’s top half. Like Meadow Ridge, this was compounded by a tough schedule, but two points from five is unacceptable for a club that’s supposed to be good. Starting out with a narrow loss to Gilded City, Creston then took a shellacking at home against Cannons, down 3-0 to end the first half. A 4-4 away draw at JFC saw the Wolves forced to claw their way back from a 2-goal deficit, then a hard match against the Maples saw Creston take another loss. To cap things off, a 1-1 draw at league-worst Mountainview. July was an improvement, but not enough to dig Creston out of the bottom third, and they not sit in fourteenth a little over halfway through the season.

Mountainview FC
There’s really not a ton to say here. Fifteen points from twenty matches, winless MDs 11-20, the Centaurs are the bottom of the barrel and at seven points inside the relegation zone with eighteen matches to go, time is starting to run out on their season.

Title Watch
Some very interesting stuff in the title race. The Maples had an iron grip on it through MD 15 but a rough stretch including a loss to Cannons forced them to give that up. A solid set of matches from Cordasfjord puts them up at second, but five points behind Cannons, with the Maples two points behind in third. That’s the lead group and if things keep going as they have, nobody else is getting into the ChC through the league. The battle for fourth and the VCI is certainly interesting, with the slot currently held by Gilded City with an absolutely brutal defense, but with clubs all the way down to eleventh within six points of the Dragons, this looks to be a bloodbath down to the finish. On the relegation side of things, We’ve got three clubs including perennial League A side Vikings below twenty points, the other two being the Vanquishers and the Centaurs and the latter sitting at fifteen points coming off a particularly bad stretch. White River, Westwall, Channel Point, and Creston are all standing a little too close to the edge for comfort and will be looking to widen the gap. Also, Brenville is sitting at 8th with a 1:1 W:L ratio, a terrible performance for a club that’s been at the pinnacle of the League A for so many years. Brenville’s offense sits tied for fifth-best with two other sides - Danvirk and Thor’s Rest - making this a pretty off season for the Blue. The transfer window will be interesting to watch, but most fans have given up on this season and will be hoping for a fresh start in the next one.

Headlines From Around The Isles

Dragons’ Defense Absolutely Stifling, But Losing Osterholt Shows

Meadow Ridge’s Fall Continues

Hawks On A Hot Stretch

Is There Still Hope For The Blue?

Cordia Cup

Final Qualifying (after MD15)
Norport FC 2–2 Mountainview FC (3–4 AET)
Northshore FC 1–1 West Vik Valkyries (1–2 AET)
Aella Eagles 1–2 Sporting Red Hill
North Bay FC 1–0 FC Industrial
Threshers FC 3–3 West Skalton Notes (3–4 AET)
Highlands 1–0 Standard Creston
Middle Fjords 1–2 Channel Point FC
AFC Korda 1–2 South Beach FC
South Shore Athletic 1–1 Red Hill Smithers (2–1 AET)
Thetford FC 3–1 Timber FC
Lakeshore Hersir 4–1 Shelter Cove Captains
Woods Elite FC 0–3 South Bay FC
North Courvale FC 4–3 Castle Hill Courage
Southmont Hawks FC 2–1 Icecliff Pack FC
Canby Crescent 0–3 Briarville AFC
North Valley FC 3–1 Courvale Kings FC

Things finally start to get interesting in the CC. Mountainview survives League B’s Norport despite going down a goal early in extra time. Northshore fails to qualify yet again, having failed to do so in each edition since their unprecedented victory all the way back in the second Cordia Cup in the IFCF era. Channel Point manages to advance, but Middle Fjords kept it pretty close. Shelter Cove apparently elected to focus on the league and didn’t put all that much effort into a 4-1 defeat against Lakeshore. Southmont beat out Icecliff at home to finish off the League A slate. Oh, and the alway-hapless Red Hill fell to SSA after extra time.

Round of 32 (after MD20)
Jutland Cannons 0–0 Brenville Blue (1–0 AET)
North Bay FC 0–3 Gilded City Dragons
Channel Point FC 0–1 Thor's Rest Storm
South Bay FC 1–1 West Vik Valkyries (2–2 AET) (3–4 pen.)
Vikings FC 2–1 Jutland FC
North Valley FC 1–2 Lakeshore Hersir
Sporting Red Hill 1–0 Mountainview FC
Meadow Ridge Maples 2–1 South Beach FC
Cordasfjord FC 2–2 East Fjord FC (2–2 AET) (4–3 pen.)
South Shore Athletic 2–4 Eriksson Icecaps
Southmont Hawks FC 0–0 Skalton Harpers (1–0 AET)
Briarville AFC 1–3 Danvirk FC
North Courvale FC 2–1 Valley Fold Vanquishers
West Skalton Notes 1–3 Westwall Stand
Creston Wolves 1–1 Thetford FC (2–1 AET)
Highlands 2–3 White River FC

Now things get really interesting. Brenville gets a tough draw and their run ends before it ever really started; a late Jorie Rounds goal for the Cannons takes them out AET. Gilded City goes to town on North Bay, Thor’s Rest takes a close win against Channel Point with a first-half goal from Graham Nicholas. South Bay and West Vik go to war in a rare battle of League B sides, trading goals in extra time before the Valkyries make it to the final sixteen in penalties. Vikings prevail over JFC, looking to make another run to the finals after losing to Icecliff last year left them with a bitter taste in their mouths. Lakeshore over League C’s North Valley is much closer than it needs to be, and Sporting Red Hill - the worst seed remaining - upsets Mountainview in one of the biggest giantslayings we’ve seen since Northshore’s run. Meadow Ridge beat South Beach, Cordasfjord got hung up at home against East Fjord and it took penalties for the Red Tide to come out alive. Icecaps end SSA’s run with three first-half goals. Southmont takes out the Harpers in a League A on League A battle, a goal in extra time making the difference. Danvirk over Briarville is hardly surprising. North Courvale upsets Valley Fold to make it to the Ro16. Westwall over West Skalton, hardly surprising. Now, Creston barely over Thetford? That is surprising, and Creston put out their top XI, too.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Sep 03, 2022 11:35 am

August / September - MDs 21-30 - CC 16 / CC QF

August                      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Thor's Rest Storm          5    4   1   0     9    4   +5    13
 2 Meadow Ridge Maples        5    4   0   1    13    8   +5    12
 3 Danvirk FC                 5    3   1   1    11    5   +6    10
 4 Cordasfjord FC             5    3   1   1    12    7   +5    10
 5 Brenville Blue             5    3   1   1    13   10   +3    10
 6 Channel Point FC           5    3   1   1    10    8   +2    10
 7 Shelter Cove Captains      5    3   0   2    16   15   +1     9
 8 Mountainview FC            5    2   1   2     9    9    0     7
 9 East Fjord FC              5    2   1   2     7    7    0     7
   Eriksson Icecaps           5    2   1   2     7    7    0     7
11 Vikings FC                 5    2   1   2     6    7   −1     7
12 Jutland Cannons            5    2   1   2     5    6   −1     7
   Valley Fold Vanquishers    5    2   1   2     5    6   −1     7
14 Gilded City Dragons        5    1   2   2     6    4   +2     5
15 Skalton Harpers            5    1   2   2     3    5   −2     5
16 Southmont Hawks FC         5    1   1   3     9   13   −4     4
17 Creston Wolves             5    0   3   2     9   12   −3     3
18 White River FC             5    1   0   4     6    9   −3     3
19 Jutland FC                 5    1   0   4     8   13   −5     3
20 Westwall Stand             5    0   1   4     5   14   −9     1

September                   Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Mountainview FC            5    4   0   1    14    7   +7    12
 2 Danvirk FC                 5    3   2   0    20   15   +5    11
 3 Creston Wolves             5    3   1   1    17   13   +4    10
 4 Vikings FC                 5    3   1   1     9    5   +4    10
 5 Jutland FC                 5    3   1   1     7    5   +2    10
 6 Channel Point FC           5    3   1   1    12   12    0    10
 7 Eriksson Icecaps           5    2   2   1    19   16   +3     8
 8 Brenville Blue             5    2   2   1    10    8   +2     8
 9 Thor's Rest Storm          5    2   1   2    12    9   +3     7
10 Cordasfjord FC             5    2   1   2     8    8    0     7
11 Skalton Harpers            5    2   1   2     7    7    0     7
12 Southmont Hawks FC         5    1   3   1    12   12    0     6
13 Meadow Ridge Maples        5    2   0   3     8   11   −3     6
14 Gilded City Dragons        5    1   2   2     3    2   +1     5
15 Shelter Cove Captains      5    1   2   2     9   10   −1     5
16 Jutland Cannons            5    1   1   3     6    9   −3     4
17 Valley Fold Vanquishers    5    1   1   3     4    9   −5     4
18 East Fjord FC              5    1   0   4     8   15   −7     3
19 Westwall Stand             5    1   0   4     5   13   −8     3
20 White River FC             5    0   2   3     9   13   −4     2

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cordasfjord FC               30   17   7   6    60   39  +21    58
 2 Meadow Ridge Maples          30   18   3   9    66   49  +17    57
 3 Jutland Cannons              30   17   6   7    42   28  +14    57
 4 Danvirk FC                   30   15   7   8    68   52  +16    52
 5 Thor's Rest Storm            30   14   6  10    58   49   +9    48
 6 Brenville Blue               30   13   7  10    60   51   +9    46
 7 Eriksson Icecaps             30   12   8  10    65   59   +6    44
 8 Channel Point FC             30   12   8  10    58   59   −1    44
 9 Gilded City Dragons          30   12   7  11    32   20  +12    43
10 Jutland FC                   30   11   8  11    42   43   −1    41
11 Shelter Cove Captains        30   12   4  14    70   73   −3    40
12 Southmont Hawks FC           30   11   7  12    54   63   −9    40
13 East Fjord FC                30   11   5  14    40   49   −9    38
14 Skalton Harpers              30   10   7  13    31   31    0    37
15 Creston Wolves               30    9  10  11    61   63   −2    37
16 Vikings FC                   30   10   6  14    38   46   −8    36
17 Mountainview FC              30    9   7  14    49   57   −8    34
18 Valley Fold Vanquishers      30    8   6  16    24   43  −19    30
19 White River FC               30    7   6  17    47   65  −18    27
20 Westwall Stand               30    7   5  18    41   67  −26    26

August Best XI
FW: Urban Henriksen (Shelter Cove Captains)
FW: Sebastian Voll (Brenville Blue)
MF: Yesfir Borg (Thor’s Rest Storm)
MF: Ada Baan (Meadow Ridge Maples)
MF: Kang Goo-Seong (Danvirk FC)
MF: Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve (Cordasfjord FC)
DF: Klara Fernandina (Danvirk FC)
DF: Lucia Verkerk (Gilded City Dragons)
DF: Herbert Schaik (Thor’s Rest Storm)
DF: Redvin Chase (Jutland Cannons)
GK: Mo Kacceo (Danvirk FC)

September Best XI
FW: Achim Hofsetter (Eriksson Icecaps)
FW: Markus Schroder (Danvirk FC)
MF: Stig Ravn (Eriksson Icecaps)
MF: Kang Goo-Seong (Danvirk FC)
MF: John Parkinson (Creston Wolves)
MF: Henry Smits (Vikings FC)
DF: Lucia Verkerk (Gilded City Dragons)
DF: Ding Huo (Gilded City Dragons)
DF: Frederick Johnson (Jutland FC)
DF: Sigrid Altena (Skalton Harpers)
GK: Tue Berntsen (Vikings FC)

Best Performers

Thor’s Rest Storm
A very nice August campaign saw the Storm rise to fifth in the league, a position they would maintain all through September as well, and a place they haven’t been in since the very first season of the IFCF era - a little under four years ago. August also saw midfielder Yesfir Borg and back Herbert Schaik join the Best XI. The former’s performance was evident as Borg went back and forth, making contributions on offense and defense and scoring the opening goal of a 2-1 Storm victory against Cannons at home. The week before that, Schaik’s well-timed tackle of Gilded City striker Kirstine Nordstrom kept the match scoreless as Nordstrom threatened to give the Dragons a lead in the 86th minute.

Channel Point FC
Notching sixth on the monthly table with ten points in both August and September is Channel Point, the Keepers staying consistent and rising from fifteenth to eighth in the league, a very impressive stretch for them. With nothing flashy and several close finishes and one-goal victories, none of the Keepers’ top performers made the monthly Best XIs, but with the side staying steady for both months, they made bigger gains than just about anybody else. The 4-2 victory over Brenville was one high point, and an exciting 6-5 away victory at Icecaps that was decided in the last half of the 89th minutes that was just absurd, perhaps the crowning achievement goes to an MD 28 victory over Gilded City that showed the Keepers, normally a very aggressive side, capable of beating the Dragons at their own game as the defensive slog saw barely any shots on goal until Carita Breiner’s desperation potshot went off the crossbar and in in the 75th minute.

Mountainview FC
August was a very good months for the Centaurs, who have struggled to compete in the League A. But the side just started ratcheting things up in September, going 4-0-1 for 12 points to put them at the top of the monthly table and help lift the side from the dead-last position they were in to end July to where they are now to end September, four points out of the relegation zone and with a coupe clubs just ahead of them, there’s a very good chance now for the Centaurs to avoid relegation. The most valuable wins for the Centaurs ultimately were close victories over Valley Fold - an intense 3-1 affair that let the Centaurs finally overtake the Vanquishers - and a 4-0 obliteration of the now dead-last Westwall Stand, who were hoping to establish themselves as a consistent League A side this year. A loss to Vikings on MD 29 soured things a bit and could have brought the Centaurs even further, especially given that they had the early lead, but it was not to be.

Worst Performers

Westwall Stand
Dead last in August and 19th in September were the Stand, horrific numbers for last year’s fourteenth-place finishers. There are so many bad matches to choose from with six multigoal losses and only one win and one draw, but the MD 30 4-0 drubbing at home against Mountainview takes the cake. The Stand got knocked down three minutes in and never bothered to get up again. A good night for Ilari Bager is the only thing that kept the match from being, say, 6, 7, 8 to nothing. Dropping from 16th to 20th, Westwall need to bring themselves out of this stretch any way they can. There is some good news for their fans - their matches against Cannons, Cordasfjord, and Meadow Ridge are behind them and things are easier up ahead, but things still look rough for the Stand.

Gilded City Dragons
We see it again and again from the Dragons. A defense that wins awards, with three Best XI nominations over the last two months, and an offense that does pretty much nothing. With five points each over the last two months, the Dragons find themselves much behind the pack when it comes to the postseason. Their fans are already looking to the offseason - barring something special, the Dragons have little to play for and should start looking for a new star striker whose life they can waste.

Jutland Cannons
The Cannons had a nice lead built up, and they’ve wasted it all now. Two successive months in the bottom half - 12th in August, 16th in September - have given Cordasfjord and Meadow Ridge the opportunity they needed to catch up and give Cannons hell with eight weeks to go in the title race. The worst blow isn’t the loss to Cordasfjord on MD 30 that finally gave the Red Tide first place, it’s the 3-2 loss on MD 27 to dead-last Westwall at home that hits hardest. Matches like that are something the Cannons can’t allow to happen again, especially with eight matchdays to go and a date with the Maples on MD 38 that’s already being hyped up in the media.

Title Watch
Cordasfjord sits first, with the Maples and Cannons snapping at their heels in a show I suspect we will find interesting right up until matchday thirty-eight unless something goes horribly wrong or right. Chasing them is Danvirk, which could make up the points to contend for a title with only five points to Cannons and Maples, but are more likely to sit in fourth and defend the VCI spot. Thor’s Rest, hungry for their first-ever postseason appearance, sits fifth, four points behind Danvirk and nine behind the Cannons and Maples. Brenville has maybe made up enough space to contend for a VCI spot at best, but not much better at that in a disappointing performance from the Blue. Eriksson, Channel Point, and Gilded City sit behind Brenville and can all possibly still look at a VCI spot as possible at best. On the lower side of things, there is still a massive relegation battle ongoing, with several teams all the way up to East Fjord at 13th nervously looking over their shoulders after every loss. Westwall, White River, and Valley Fold all stand poised to avoid relegation if they can string a couple wins together, and Mountainview and Vikings are very much still part of that lower group. Some very interesting things to look for with eight MDs to go.

Headlines From Around The Isles

Title Race Remains Close With Eight Weeks To Go

The Unheralded: Storm, Keepers, Centaurs Surge

What Happened to the Cannons?

Gilded City Still Tops On Defense, But Can’t Win

Cordia Cup

Round of 16 (after MD 25)
Jutland Cannons 2–1 Gilded City Dragons
Thor's Rest Storm 3–2 West Vik Valkyries
Vikings FC 2–1 Lakeshore Hersir
Sporting Red Hill 2–5 Meadow Ridge Maples
Cordasfjord FC 2–1 Eriksson Icecaps
Southmont Hawks FC 0–1 Danvirk FC
North Courvale FC 1–2 Westwall Stand
Creston Wolves 1–2 White River FC

Say goodbye to all of the League B and lower sides, this is a top-tier show now. West Vik, Lakeshore, SRH, and North Courvale are all gone. Cannons take the win over Dragons, the Storm rest some of their top players and it’s a close contest, but ultimately a win over Valkyries. Vikings are pressed by the Hersir but ultimately manage to pull out the win. Meadow Ridge visits SRH and allows an unexpected two goals, but take the 5-2 victory and ultimately nothing was all that worrying. Cordasfjord vs. Icecaps is interesting, and the hosts Red Tide score late to advance to the Quarters. Danvirk over Southmont is close but despite the Hawks’ noted home-field advantage, Danvirk took the victory and are looking forward to playing in warmer climes. Westwall visits North Courvale and wins 2-1 to advance to the Quarters. Finally, it’s White River in a minor upset of Creston, who’ve been very much off-form this season and lose their shot at some more silverware at home.

Quarterfinals (after MD 30)
Jutland Cannons 0–0 Thor's Rest Storm (0–0 AET) (6–5 pen.)
Vikings FC 2–1 Meadow Ridge Maples
Cordasfjord FC 1–3 Danvirk FC
Westwall Stand 2–3 White River FC

Now this was a fun one. Cannons vs. Storm sees plenty of shots but no real chances until extra time, where things opened up and we figured somebody would have to score. Nope. Stellar play from the keepers required penalties, and nine rounds of them, to decide the winner as the Storm’s Hebert Schaik missed over the net and the always-explosive Redvin Chase converted in the ninth round to massive cheers from the home crowd. Vikings took a very surprising win over Maples, who put up their top XI but still had a hard time finding the net against Vikings, who are developing a reputation for being a very competitive side in the Cup. Cordasfjord lost to Danvirk at home after being down 3-0 at the half; it was really a matter of time for the Red Tide. Finally, in a clash of the worst two teams in the League A, it was second-worst White River claiming victory and a semifinal berth over the Stand, who continued a bad stretch that’s gone on for two full months and counting.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Sep 03, 2022 11:45 am

October - MDs 31-35 - CC SF

October                     Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Valley Fold Vanquishers    5    5   0   0     5    0   +5    15
 2 Meadow Ridge Maples        5    3   1   1    15    9   +6    10
 3 Creston Wolves             5    3   1   1    11    7   +4    10
 4 Gilded City Dragons        5    3   1   1     6    2   +4    10
 5 Cordasfjord FC             5    2   2   1    13   11   +2     8
   Danvirk FC                 5    2   2   1    13   11   +2     8
 7 Skalton Harpers            5    2   2   1     7    6   +1     8
 8 Jutland Cannons            5    2   2   1     6    6    0     8
 9 Shelter Cove Captains      5    2   1   2    14   13   +1     7
10 Brenville Blue             5    2   1   2    11   10   +1     7
11 Westwall Stand             5    2   1   2     8   10   −2     7
12 Mountainview FC            5    2   0   3     9    9    0     6
13 Vikings FC                 5    2   0   3     6    6    0     6
14 Southmont Hawks FC         5    2   0   3    10   11   −1     6
15 Eriksson Icecaps           5    1   2   2     5    6   −1     5
16 Jutland FC                 5    1   2   2     7   10   −3     5
17 East Fjord FC              5    1   1   3     2    4   −2     4
18 Thor's Rest Storm          5    1   1   3     5    9   −4     4
19 Channel Point FC           5    1   0   4     6   13   −7     3
20 White River FC             5    0   2   3     4   10   −6     2

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Meadow Ridge Maples          35   21   4  10    81   58  +23    67   MAY STILL WIN THE TITLE
 2 Cordasfjord FC               35   19   9   7    73   50  +23    66
 3 Jutland Cannons              35   19   8   8    48   34  +14    65
 4 Danvirk FC                   35   17   9   9    81   63  +18    60
 5 Gilded City Dragons          35   15   8  12    38   22  +16    53   MAY STILL QUALIFY FOR THE VCI
 6 Brenville Blue               35   15   8  12    71   61  +10    53
 7 Thor's Rest Storm            35   15   7  13    63   58   +5    52
 8 Eriksson Icecaps             35   13  10  12    70   65   +5    49*  MAY STILL BE RELEGATED
 9 Creston Wolves               35   12  11  12    72   70   +2    47*
10 Shelter Cove Captains        35   14   5  16    84   86   −2    47*
11 Channel Point FC             35   13   8  14    64   72   −8    47*
12 Jutland FC                   35   12  10  13    49   53   −4    46*
13 Southmont Hawks FC           35   13   7  15    64   74  −10    46*
14 Skalton Harpers              35   12   9  14    38   37   +1    45*
15 Valley Fold Vanquishers      35   13   6  16    29   43  −14    45*
16 Vikings FC                   35   12   6  17    44   52   −8    42
17 East Fjord FC                35   12   6  17    42   53  −11    42
18 Mountainview FC              35   11   7  17    58   66   −8    40
19 Westwall Stand               35    9   6  20    49   77  −28    33
20 White River FC               35    7   8  20    51   75  −24    29   RELEGATED

*: May still claim 5th place and a potential VCI spot if Cannons win the Cordia Cup.

Everything is based off of a 9-point range, I didn't check if it was actually theoretically possible for, say, Eriksson to be relegated, but they're within 9 points of Mountainview.

October Best XI
FW: Ard Donders (Meadow Ridge Maples)
FW: Markus Schroder (Danvirk FC)
MF: Ada Baan (Meadow Ridge Maples)
MF: Emil Rosenberg (Valley Fold Vanquishers)
MF: Mirko Kosic (Creston Wolves)
MF: Sparkling Ingrid (Gilded City Dragons)
DF: Jean Admiraal (Valley Fold Vanquishers)
DF: Ding Huo (Gilded City Dragons)
DF: Lucia Verkerk (Gilded City Dragons)
DF: Jennifer Westermark (Skalton Harpers)
GK: Xochitl Barros (Valley Fold Vanquishers)

Best Performers

Valley Fold Vanquishers
There’s really not all that much to say here, other than that the Vanquishers absolutely just saved their season with five straight 1-0 victories. Nothing special, really, just all-around solid defensive play and consistent pressure that got goals in every single match. The performance puts Xochitl Barros, Emil Rosenberg, and Jean Admiraal on the October Best XI, positions they absolutely deserve considering Rosenberg scored two of the Vanquishers’ winning goals and Barros bounced back from a 4-0 loss against Skalton in the last match of September to hold every side he faced this month scoreless. Admiraal has shown himself to be a very good captain for the side, and has stayed loyal despite it’s ups and downs. It’s paid off for him as he’s mentored the Valley Fold back line to being one of the best in the league.

Gilded City Dragons
Another solid defensive month for the Dragons, and the usual suspects take Best XI spots. Gilded City now sits at fifth with a VCI spot still possible, and the Dragons have put on a very good show for a side that lost their star player last year. Seven points back of Danvirk, their shot at a VCI spot remains small, but that it exists is impressive, and the Dragons’ defense has been historically good throughout this season. The offense has suffered without Osterholt, but they’ve scored enough to give the Dragons eighteen wins on the season.

Creston Wolves
The Wolves are out of postseason contention but it felt worth mentioning their solid performance in October, including a very good win at Cannons that saw Creston put two goals in net in front of a very excited home crowd given the title race between Cannons, Maples, and Cordasfjord. Midfielder Mirko Kosic, with one of those goals, did enough to take his first Best XI award in his time in the CIFA. Not much else to say; there’s not much left for Creston to play for right now.

Worst Performers

Thor’s Rest Storm
From fifth and four points behind Danvirk to seventh and eight points behind, the Storm need Cannons or Danvirk to win the Cordia Cup to have a chance at the VCI at this point, but as that looks likely. There are interesting things ahead for the Storm, but they can’t have a repeat performance of this October over the last three matchdays if they want to make the postseason for the first time in their history. In the offseason, don’t expect things to stop here. Expect even more signings from the Storm as they look to compete for the postseason, or, dare we say it, a title.

White River FC
A third successive horrendous month - seven points in the last fifteen matches (!) - condemns White River to relegation, and their manager will be gone after this season for sure. They even got blown out by Gilded City. Just a very painful month and season for a White River side that had been hoping to establish themselves in the top division of Cordian football.

Jutland FC
16th in October. While JFC has been incredibly patient with Evin Goshik, but the Dreadnoughts are backsliding even further from where they were even last season, so expect one of two things this offseason, or maybe both: a new manager, and some pretty big international signings. JFC’s fanbase is losing interest, with some even going over to Cannons, who sit poised to potentially take their first league title this season and have plenty of star power on their roster.

Headlines From Around The Isles

Scoreless! Vanquishers Shut Down Opponents With Five 1-0 Wins in October

Gilded City Begins Scoring, Stay In Race For The Postseason

Jutland FC Continues To Underperform

Costly Mistakes Kill Storm’s ChC Hopes

With Relegation On Pace For More Than 40 Points, Everybody Has Something To Play For In November

White River Relegated With 2 Points In October

Cordia Cup - Semifinals after MD35

Semifinals
Jutland Cannons 3–2 Vikings FC
Danvirk FC 0–1 White River FC

Cannons over Vikings doesn’t surprise anyone very much, but White River defeated Danvirk at the Castle is absolutely huge considering the recent news that White River has been officially relegated. A win in the final would give White River some extra silverware and postseason play even as they toil in the League B and compete for promotion. WIth Cannons in the final, a very interesting situation could play out that we haven’t often seen. Considering Cannons are almost certain to qualify via the table to at least the Challenger’s Cup, Danvirk currently in fourth would take the #3 ChC seed normally given to the Cordia Cup winner, which would move the VCI spot down to fifth, which could be one of various clubs going very far down in the table. So there’s still a lot to play for for most of these clubs.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Sep 03, 2022 12:00 pm

November - MDs 35-38 - CC Final - Player Awards

White River FC 0–1 Jutland Cannons
Gilded City Dragons 0–2 Jutland FC
Eriksson Icecaps 2–3 Meadow Ridge Maples
East Fjord FC 3–5 Mountainview FC
Danvirk FC 1–3 Shelter Cove Captains
Creston Wolves 1–0 Skalton Harpers
Cordasfjord FC 5–5 Southmont Hawks FC
Channel Point FC 1–2 Thor's Rest Storm
Brenville Blue 1–1 Valley Fold Vanquishers
Westwall Stand 3–6 Vikings FC

Here. We. Go. Three matchdays left in the season, and it’s set to be a very fun November.

A late goal from Jorie Rounds lifts Cannons to an unexpectedly close victory over White River in a preview of the Cordia Cup final to be played later this month. Icecaps kept things close against Meadow Ridge, but ultimately couldn’t overcome a two-goal deficit late despite Achim Hofsetter playing like his life depended on it, with two goals and several high-qualify chances that just didn’t quite go his way. The Maples were lucky to make it out of MD 36 on top of the table. Down in third, Cordasfjord fell behind after losing a 5-2 lead with fifteen minutes to go while hosting Southmont in one of the season’s craziest comebacks. The Red Tide were only spared a loss in stoppage when Kemal Kimani dove across the net to save what should have been the easiest tap-in of Matislav Andersen’s life, keeping Cordasfjord within three points of first.

Things are still interesting in the race for 4th and the VCI. Shelter Cove notched a 3-1 win over Danvirk that marks their second straight loss at the Castle, while Thor’s Rest, visiting Channel Point, scored late thanks to Graham Nicholas and notched a win to bring them within five points of Danvirk, with 4th and an automatic VCI spot still possible. Also in that conversation was Brenville, whose draw with Valley Fold was disappointing to be sure, but considering that a second-half goal from Sebastian Voll was all that kept them from a loss and dropping out of VCI contention and allows them to still make an attempt to save one of their worse seasons in recent memory, perhaps it’s less disappointing than it might have been.

Down in the relegation zone, a 6-3 home loss for Westwall secured the side’s relegation, leaving just one relegation spot left to claim a victim, and it’s going to be a victim with well over 40 points, a rare occurrence in the CIFA. Will it be East Fjord or Mountainview, the latter of which defeated the former to jump out of the relegation sone for the time being? Or will it be Vikings, or even Skalton, who sit just three points ahead of East Fjord in 18th? Much remains to be decided in the last two matchdays.

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Meadow Ridge Maples          36   22   4  10    84   60  +24    70   MAY STILL WIN THE TITLE
 2 Jutland Cannons              36   20   8   8    49   34  +15    68
 3 Cordasfjord FC               36   19  10   7    78   55  +23    67
 4 Danvirk FC                   36   17   9  10    82   66  +16    60   MAY STILL QUALIFY FOR THE VCI
 5 Thor's Rest Storm            36   16   7  13    65   59   +6    55
 6 Brenville Blue               36   15   9  12    72   62  +10    54
 7 Gilded City Dragons          36   15   8  13    38   24  +14    53*
 8 Creston Wolves               36   13  11  12    73   70   +3    50*
 9 Shelter Cove Captains        36   15   5  16    87   87    0    50*
10 Eriksson Icecaps             36   13  10  13    72   68   +4    49*
11 Jutland FC                   36   13  10  13    51   53   −2    49*
12 Channel Point FC             36   13   8  15    65   74   −9    47   MAY STILL BE RELEGATED
13 Southmont Hawks FC           36   13   8  15    69   79  −10    47
14 Valley Fold Vanquishers      36   13   7  16    30   44  −14    46
15 Skalton Harpers              36   12   9  15    38   38    0    45
16 Vikings FC                   36   13   6  17    50   55   −5    45
17 Mountainview FC              36   12   7  17    63   69   −6    43
18 East Fjord FC                36   12   6  18    45   58  −13    42
19 Westwall Stand               36    9   6  21    52   83  −31    33   RELEGATED
20 White River FC               36    7   8  21    51   76  −25    29

*: May still take fifth and a potential VCI spot

Westwall Stand 1–0 White River FC
Vikings FC 3–0 Brenville Blue
Valley Fold Vanquishers 0–1 Channel Point FC
Thor's Rest Storm 2–2 Cordasfjord FC
Southmont Hawks FC 2–4 Creston Wolves
Skalton Harpers 3–2 Danvirk FC
Shelter Cove Captains 1–2 East Fjord FC
Mountainview FC 0–2 Eriksson Icecaps
Meadow Ridge Maples 2–3 Gilded City Dragons
Jutland FC 0–0 Jutland Cannons

The best three League A sides walk into a bar, get blind drunk, and each drop very winnable matches that could mean the title. Shit, that hurts a little bit. First it was Cordasfjord giving up a late Graham Nicholas goal to knot the score at two. The goal keeps the Storm close to the Dragons in the race for fifth and a potential VCI spot, while for Cordasfjord it means two points dropped and what would have been first place in the league, putting them in the driver’s seat on MD 38, gone. It also locks up fourth place and a guaranteed playoff spot for Danvirk despite a loss to hosts Skalton. Danvirk only could have dropped to fifth by the Storm winning out. Then it was Meadow Ridge going down early against Gilded City and never quite getting all the way back into it, as the two-point margin they had over Cannons gets reduced ever so slightly. The win puts Dragons back on top of the race for fifth, making for some extra drama on the final matchday.

Brenville might have taken the helm of the race for fifth with a win in Vik City, but a disastrous 3-0 loss at Vikings is emblematic of how this season has gone for them. On the other hand, a 4-2 away win at Southmont keeps Creston technically in the mix and gives Wolves fans a little bit to cheer for on MD 38.

The relegation battle is still very much alive on the bottom end. A 2-1 win at Shelter Cove coupled with Mountainview held scoreless for a 2-0 Icecaps win put East Fjord up to seventeenth and two points out of relegation. Also still in the mix is Valley Fold due to a 1-0 loss hosting Channel Point. East Fjord and Mountainview both have the GD tiebreaker over the Vanquishers, so there is a very real threat remaining for Valley Fold.

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Meadow Ridge Maples          37   22   4  11    86   63  +23    70   MAY STILL WIN THE TITLE
 2 Jutland Cannons              37   20   9   8    49   34  +15    69
 3 Cordasfjord FC               37   19  11   7    80   57  +23    68
 4 Danvirk FC                   37   17   9  11    84   69  +15    60   QUALIFIED TO THE VCI
 5 Gilded City Dragons          37   16   8  13    41   26  +15    56*
 6 Thor's Rest Storm            37   16   8  13    67   61   +6    56*
 7 Brenville Blue               37   15   9  13    72   65   +7    54*
 8 Creston Wolves               37   14  11  12    77   72   +5    53*
 9 Eriksson Icecaps             37   14  10  13    74   68   +6    52
10 Shelter Cove Captains        37   15   5  17    88   89   −1    50
11 Jutland FC                   37   13  11  13    51   53   −2    50
12 Channel Point FC             37   14   8  15    66   74   −8    50
13 Skalton Harpers              37   13   9  15    41   40   +1    48
14 Vikings FC                   37   14   6  17    53   55   −2    48
15 Southmont Hawks FC           37   13   8  16    71   83  −12    47
16 Valley Fold Vanquishers      37   13   7  17    30   45  −15    46   MAY STILL BE RELEGATED
17 East Fjord FC                37   13   6  18    47   59  −12    45
18 Mountainview FC              37   12   7  18    63   71   −8    43
19 Westwall Stand               37   10   6  21    53   83  −30    36   RELEGATED
20 White River FC               37    7   8  22    51   77  −26    29

*: May still take fifth and a potential VCI spot

And here we are on MD 38, the very last match of the season! Here’s what you should be watching:

Jutland Cannons vs. Meadow Ridge Maples
First place and second place duke it out. A win for either makes the victor also the champions. A draw leaves things wide open for Cordasfjord, but Meadow Ridge would remain ahead of Cannons until that result comes in.

Cordasfjord FC vs. Valley Fold Vanquishers
This should be a win for Cordasfjord, but the Vanquishers will put up a fight to keep themselves out of relegation. If Cordasfjord wins and the above match ends in a draw, the title goes to the Red Tide. If Valley Fold loses and both East Fjord and Mountainview win, the Vanquishers are relegated.

Gilded City Dragons vs. Mountainview FC
Gilded City can secure fifth and a spot with the postseason pending a Cannons Cordia Cup victory with a win. Mountainview has a good shot to avoid relegation with a win, but they’ll need some luck, especially considering the team they’re facing.

Creston Wolves vs. Thor’s Rest Storm
The Storm can keep postseason hopes alive with a win over Creston and Dragons dropping points.

East Fjord FC vs. Skalton Harpers
With a win, East Fjord is safe from relegation. With a draw, they likely avoid it, but you can’t be sure. Mountainview dropping points would also keep East Fjord safe.

And so, here we go with MD 38...

Jutland Cannons 1–0 Meadow Ridge Maples
Jorie Rounds scores early and Cannons hold on to take their first-ever League A title, with a chance to claim even more silverware upcoming in the Cordia Cup. The Maples will take a solid third place, but they wanted more and they gave up a lead at the end. Things could have gone very differently for Meadow Ridge. However, they’ve locked up a postseason spot and things are looking very good for the club that, not that long ago, found themselves promoted from the League B.

Gilded City Dragons 1–0 Mountainview FC
The Dragons did what they do best and locked down the Centaurs at home to take fifth place with the best defense in the league by far. The loss confirms relegation for Mountainview, but the Centaurs have a taste of the League A and we can be certain they’ll be back before long.

East Fjord FC 1–1 Skalton Harpers
Ultimately, the result was irrelevant, but a few points on MD 38 never hurt anyone. East Fjord will stay in the League A for a third season and Skalton maintains a ridiculously good goal differential - for 14th, at least - that tells you that perhaps they should be higher up than they are.

Creston Wolves 2–3 Thor's Rest Storm
The win is ultimately of no substance, but the Storm take sixth, their highest finish in a very long time and something to be proud of. Graham Nicholas has reason to be proud of himself for what he’s done for this club. Expect some signings for the Storm come the offseason. For Creston, the finish is acceptable. No more, no less.

Cordasfjord FC 2–0 Valley Fold Vanquishers
Cordasfjord finishes the season with a win and become the runners-up. It was a season filled with ups and downs, but the Red Tide wanted to be the first club to win a second title in a row. Next year, perhaps. Valley Fold avoids relegation due to the Centaurs’ loss and are happy to spend another season in the League A.

Channel Point FC 2–1 Vikings FC
Brenville Blue 3–1 Westwall Stand
White River FC 1–2 Jutland FC
Eriksson Icecaps 3–2 Shelter Cove Captains
Danvirk FC 2–3 Southmont Hawks FC

CIFA League A               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Jutland Cannons              38   21   9   8    50   34  +16    72   CHAMPIONS; IFCL; AOCL
 2 Cordasfjord FC               38   20  11   7    82   57  +25    71   RUNNERS-UP; IFCC
 3 Meadow Ridge Maples          38   22   4  12    86   64  +22    70   IFCC
 4 Danvirk FC                   38   17   9  12    86   72  +14    60   VCI
 5 Gilded City Dragons          38   17   8  13    42   26  +16    59*
 6 Thor's Rest Storm            38   17   8  13    70   63   +7    59
 7 Brenville Blue               38   16   9  13    75   66   +9    57
 8 Eriksson Icecaps             38   15  10  13    77   70   +7    55
 9 Creston Wolves               38   14  11  13    79   75   +4    53
10 Jutland FC                   38   14  11  13    53   54   −1    53
11 Channel Point FC             38   15   8  15    68   75   −7    53
12 Shelter Cove Captains        38   15   5  18    90   92   −2    50
13 Southmont Hawks FC           38   14   8  16    74   85  −11    50
14 Skalton Harpers              38   13  10  15    42   41   +1    49
15 Vikings FC                   38   14   6  18    54   57   −3    48
16 East Fjord FC                38   13   7  18    48   60  −12    46
17 Valley Fold Vanquishers      38   13   7  18    30   47  −17    46
18 Mountainview FC              38   12   7  19    63   72   −9    43   RELEGATED
19 Westwall Stand               38   10   6  22    54   86  −32    36   RELEGATED
20 White River FC               38    7   8  23    52   79  −27    29   RELEGATED

One match remains, with the fate of more than just two clubs on the line. White River, relegated after finishing dead last, want to experience a top-level postseason and take home some silverware as they do. Cannons want to achieve the double of league and cup titles, only accomplished by Cordasfjord in the first season of the IFCF era. With a Cannons victory, Danvirk will take a spot in the Challenger’s Cup instead of the VCI and it’ll be the Gilded City Dragons in the VCI, so a lot rides on this match.

Cordia Cup Final
Jutland Cannons 3–3 White River FC (3–3 AET) (3–2 pen.)

And it’s one of the best we’ve ever seen. Cannons and White River go goal for goal, with each side scoring inside the last ten minutes. Extra time yields no scoring, so we go to penalties and Kristin Bergstrin saves White River’s fifth penalty to give Cannons entry to the CWC and more silverware for their trophy case which, up until now, had been somewhat lacking in precious metal. Danvirk will go to the ChC, and Gilded City, without Anton Osterholt, will head to the VCI.

CIFA League A               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Jutland Cannons              38   21   9   8    50   34  +16    72   CHAMPIONS; IFCL; AOCL; CWC
 2 Cordasfjord FC               38   20  11   7    82   57  +25    71   RUNNERS-UP; IFCC
 3 Meadow Ridge Maples          38   22   4  12    86   64  +22    70   IFCC
 4 Danvirk FC                   38   17   9  12    86   72  +14    60   IFCC
 5 Gilded City Dragons          38   17   8  13    42   26  +16    59   VCI
 6 Thor's Rest Storm            38   17   8  13    70   63   +7    59
 7 Brenville Blue               38   16   9  13    75   66   +9    57
 8 Eriksson Icecaps             38   15  10  13    77   70   +7    55
 9 Creston Wolves               38   14  11  13    79   75   +4    53
10 Jutland FC                   38   14  11  13    53   54   −1    53
11 Channel Point FC             38   15   8  15    68   75   −7    53
12 Shelter Cove Captains        38   15   5  18    90   92   −2    50
13 Southmont Hawks FC           38   14   8  16    74   85  −11    50
14 Skalton Harpers              38   13  10  15    42   41   +1    49
15 Vikings FC                   38   14   6  18    54   57   −3    48
16 East Fjord FC                38   13   7  18    48   60  −12    46
17 Valley Fold Vanquishers      38   13   7  18    30   47  −17    46
18 Mountainview FC              38   12   7  19    63   72   −9    43   RELEGATED
19 Westwall Stand               38   10   6  22    54   86  −32    36   RELEGATED
20 White River FC               38    7   8  23    52   79  −27    29   RELEGATED

First XI
FW: [ZRH] Achim Hofsetter (Eriksson Icecaps)
FW: [COR] Urban Henriksen (Shelter Cove Captains)
MF: [QUE] Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve (Cordasfjord FC)
MF: [COR] Ada Baan (Meadow Ridge Maples)
MF: [QUE] Kang Goo-Seong (Danvirk FC)
MF: [BRO] Andre Vandendriessche (Jutland Cannons)
DF: [COR] Redvin Chase (Jutland Cannons)
DF: [CMT] Ding Huo (Gilded City Dragons)
DF: [CMT] Yefim Stepnaov (Cordasfjord FC)
DF: [COR] Lucia Verkerk (Gilded City Dragons)
GK: [SYL] Charlie Barrett (Skalton Harpers)

Second XI
FW: [FVO] Graham Nicholas (Thor’s Rest Storm)
FW: [COR] Ard Donders (Meadow Ridge Maples)
MF: [COR] Hilmar Heikkinen (Brenville Blue)
MF: [EVM] Sparkling Ingrid (Gilded City Dragons)
MF: [COR] Nicholas Eriksen (Cordasfjord FC)
MF: [COR] Stig Ravn (Eriksson Icecaps)
DF: [COR] Frederick Johnson (Jutland FC)
DF: [COR] Sigrid Altena (Skalton Harpers)
DF: [COR] Jean Admiraal (Valley Fold Vanquishers)
DF: [NOR] Jennifer Westermark (Skalton Harpers)
GK: [GTK] Xochitl Barros (Valley Fold Vanquishers)

U23 XI
FW: [FVO] Graham Nicholas (Thor’s Rest Storm)
FW: [COR] Lukas Lehtinen (Thor’s Rest Storm)
MF: [QUE] Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve (Cordasfjord FC)
MF: [QUE] Kang Goo-Seong (Danvirk FC)
MF: [EVM] Sparkling Ingrid (Gilded City Dragons)
MF: [SRS] Yesfir Borg (Thor’s Rest Storm)
DF: [CMT] Ding Huo (Gilded City Dragons)
DF: [CMT] Yefim Stepnaov (Cordasfjord FC)
DF: [TJU] Klara Fernandina (Danvirk FC)
DF: [ASU] Charlotte Aquilina (Vikings FC)
GK: [GTK] Xochitl Barros (Valley Fold Vanquishers)

Foreign XI
FW: [FVO] Graham Nicholas (Thor’s Rest Storm)
FW: [ZRH] Achim Hofsetter (Eriksson Icecaps)
MF: [QUE] Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve (Cordasfjord FC)
MF: [QUE] Kang Goo-Seong (Danvirk FC)
MF: [BRO] Andre Vandendriessche (Jutland Cannons)
MF: [EVM] Sparkling Ingrid (Gilded City Dragons)
DF: [CMT] Ding Huo (Gilded City Dragons)
DF: [CMT] Yefim Stepnaov (Cordasfjord FC)
DF: [NOR] Jennifer Westermark (Skalton Harpers)
DF: [TJU] Klara Fernandina (Danvirk FC)
GK: [SYL] Charlie Barrett (Skalton Harpers)

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Sep 03, 2022 12:04 pm

Cordian Lower & Youth Leagues

CIFA League B               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Courvale Kings FC         38   25   4   9    57   33  +24    79
 2 Norport FC                38   22   7   9    51   29  +22    73
 3 Icecliff Pack FC          38   19  13   6    53   32  +21    70
 4 Northshore FC             38   17  11  10    68   56  +12    62
 5 Lakeshore Hersir          38   17   8  13    48   33  +15    59
 6 Canby Crescent            38   15  12  11    55   50   +5    57
 7 North Bay FC              38   14  14  10    48   38  +10    56
 8 West Vik Valkyries        38   14  11  13    50   44   +6    53
 9 South Bay FC              38   14   9  15    41   44   −3    51
10 Thetford FC               38   15   6  17    60   66   −6    51
11 Salmon Lake FC            38   13  11  14    45   43   +2    50
12 Castle Hill Courage       38   14   7  17    43   49   −6    49
13 AFC Korda                 38   12  12  14    47   45   +2    48
14 South Shore Athletic      38   12  10  16    31   44  −13    46
15 West Skalton FC           38   13   7  18    35   54  −19    46
16 North Courvale FC         38   12   9  17    75   79   −4    45
17 Red Hill Smithers         38   12   8  18    57   66   −9    44
18 South Beach FC            38   11   9  18    67   78  −11    42
19 FC Industrial             38    9   9  20    41   62  −21    36
20 Highlands                 38    9   5  24    64   91  −27    32

CIFA League C             Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 West Viksee             38   25   5   8    91   66  +25    80
 2 West Skalton Notes      38   22   9   7    99   74  +25    75
 3 Midvik Varangians       38   20  12   6    74   47  +27    72
 4 North Valley FC         38   19  13   6    68   44  +24    70
 5 Northmark Admirals      38   19  11   8    79   59  +20    68
 6 Volsung Lake Club       38   18  10  10    92   68  +24    64
 7 South Point             38   18   9  11    69   56  +13    63
 8 Standard Creston        38   19   6  13    69   67   +2    63
 9 Timber FC               38   16   9  13    62   56   +6    57
10 Bay Yards               38   16   9  13    38   37   +1    57
11 Shining Lake FC         38   14   9  15    60   58   +2    51
12 East Vik FC             38   12  11  15    79   79    0    47
13 Seewatch Club           38   13   4  21    39   55  −16    43
14 Silver Club             38    9  14  15    63   73  −10    41
15 Aella Eagles            38   10  10  18    43   54  −11    40
16 Woods Elite FC          38   11   7  20    49   65  −16    40
17 East Jutland FC         38    7  12  19    33   54  −21    33
18 Briarville AFC          38    8   7  23    61   90  −29    31
19 Middle Fjords           38    6   9  23    48   78  −30    27
20 Fireport Flames         38    6   8  24    55   91  −36    26

CIFA League D                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Doveport FC                38   22   7   9    80   41  +39    73
 2 Lake Hervor FC             38   21   9   8    62   36  +26    72
 3 Griffin Heights FC         38   19  11   8    59   42  +17    68
 4 AFC Greenbank              38   17  10  11    75   53  +22    61
 5 Sporting Red Hill          38   17  10  11    65   54  +11    61
 6 Marble Heights Ascent      38   19   4  15    59   50   +9    61
 7 FC Whitebridge             38   15  15   8    47   36  +11    60
 8 East Cliff Cove FC         38   16  11  11    71   56  +15    59
 9 Reya FC                    38   16   9  13    72   55  +17    57
10 Threshers FC               38   16   6  16    31   29   +2    54
11 AFC Blackmill              38   14  10  14    31   29   +2    52
12 Ice Fields                 38   14   8  16    47   41   +6    50
13 Riverborne Raiders         38   13   7  18    52   55   −3    46
14 Blaora Township            38   13   7  18    26   39  −13    46
15 Red Winter Club            38   12   9  17    31   39   −8    45
16 Belland FC                 38   12   9  17    53   71  −18    45
17 Chesterfield Club          38   13   5  20    43   60  −17    44
18 Southbeach Sailors         38   11   5  22    41   87  −46    38
19 Brightway Stargazers       38    9  10  19    21   43  −22    37
20 Thenesse FC                38    8   4  26    46   96  −50    28

CIFA U19 League          Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Fjords U19             30   21   4   5    70   32  +38    67
 2 South Bay U19          30   17   5   8    55   40  +15    56
 3 Skalton U19            30   16   6   8    57   41  +16    54
 4 Jutland U19            30   15   4  11    48   40   +8    49
 5 Lakeside U19           30   14   7   9    47   42   +5    49
 6 White River U19        30   12  12   6    50   41   +9    48
 7 Danvirk U19            30   12   9   9    53   38  +15    45
 8 Northwest U19          30   13   5  12    56   49   +7    44
 9 Oceanside U19          30   10  11   9    45   44   +1    41
10 Mountaineers U19       30   11   6  13    44   43   +1    39
11 Eastside U19           30   10   9  11    41   49   −8    39
12 Vik City U19           30    7  14   9    45   55  −10    35
13 Meadow Ridge U19       30    9   7  14    49   52   −3    34
14 Brenville U19          30    7   9  14    29   43  −14    30
15 Icewatch U19           30    5   4  21    30   62  −32    19
16 North Vik U19          30    3   4  23    32   80  −48    13

by **The Cordian Isles** » Wed Oct 19, 2022 6:12 am

CIHL Season 5

Previews

In what hopefully is the final format change for a while, the season has been reduced to 90 games so as to tire out the players less.

Cordasfjord Crusaders
Stadium: Central Arena (23,000)
Colors: Red and Gold
Honors: 2x Playoff Champions, 2x League Champions, 1x League Runners-Up
Last Season: 1st in League, Playoff Champions
Key Player: RW Harald Ericsen
The Story Thus Far: Despite a misprinted Cordasfjord Daily article indicating that Cordasfjord was losing Eric Eaton, they never had him. He was at Creston. The Cordasfjord squad that returns from last season’s incredible double effort is just as dangerous and just as likely to win the league.

Creston Northmen
Stadium: Creston Center (8,500)
Colors: Dark Green and Black
Last Season: 7th in League, T-5th in Playoffs
Key Player: C Patrik Bentsen
The Story Thus Far: Creston is in the far north, with a small but loyal fanbase. Last season saw a solid run in the regular season and a very good postseason that included a win over Lakeshore as they had to face each of the top three teams in the league over a three-game stretch that ultimately saw them eliminated, but not without being competitive.

East Fjord HC
Stadium: The Barn (5,500)
Colors: Maroon and Gold
Last Season: 8th in League, 4th in Playoffs
Key Player: LW Jennifer Vosun
The Story Thus Far: South Bay nearly closed the gap on them at the end of the regular season, but East Fjord survived and managed to put up a very good showing in the playoffs, including a win over Cordasfjord before being eliminated by that same team in overtime, three games later.

Gilded City Golden
Stadium: Gilded City Ice Center (25,000)
Colors: Gold and Black
Last Season: 4th in League, T-7th in Playoffs
Key Player: C Randolf Karlsson
The Story Thus Far: After a solid league finish, Gilded City were upset by the Whalers in the second round of the playoffs, 5-3. Unfortunately, they ended up playing Cordasfjord as the Crusaders made a run for the title, and the resulting one-goal loss knocked them out of the playoffs. They’ll be looking for a better performance this year as Randolf Karlsson develops into a true star player and leader.

Jutland Riveters
Stadium: Westside Sports Center (15,000)
Colors: Navy Blue and Gray
Honors: 1x Playoff Champions, 1x Playoff Runners-Up
Last Season: 3rd in League, Playoff Runners-Up
Key Player: RW Signy MacLeod
The Story Thus Far: That one hurt for the Riveters. Despite putting everything into a great performance in the playoffs and making it all the way to the finals, the Crusaders were unstoppable at that point. They still got to the CHL, at least, but their fans will want more this season.

Jutland Whalers
Stadium: East Jutland Arena (17,000)
Colors: Royal Blue and Orange
Honors: 1x League Champions, 1x Playoff Runners-Up
Last Season: 5th in League, 3rd in Playoffs
Key Player: C Alicia Sorensen
The Story Thus Far: The addition of young star Alicia Sorensen, fresh from a World Cup-winning campaign for the Cordian national team, makes this another dangerous squad. Look for improvement this season for the Whalers.

Lakeshore Warriors
Stadium: AirCordia Center (20,000)
Colors: Navy Blue and Ice Blue
Honors: 1x League Champions, 1x Playoff Runners-Up, 2x League Runners-Up
Last Season: 2nd in League, T-7th in Playoffs
Key Player: LW Justin Perreau
The Story Thus Far: Bankrolled by AirCordia and toting national team star Justin Perreau, far and away the best player in the Isles, their untimely exit at the hands of Thor’s Rest in last season’s playoffs will motivate this team to be a lot better, and they’re already easily the best squad in the CIHL. It’s just a matter of whether they can live up to the hype.

Red Hill Sappers
Stadium: Red Hill Community Center (5,000)
Colors: Red and Black
Last Season: 2nd in AA, T-9th in Playoffs
Key Player: LW Magnus Bjornsen
The Story Thus Far: With rising NT player Magnus Bjornsen and a long and star-studded history of hockey behind them in Red Hill, this is a team that’s never to be counted out, and their youth movement could make them a dangerous team in the future, if they can keep the core together.

Thor’s Rest Thunder
Stadium: North Island Ice Arena (15,000)
Colors: Purple and Black
Honors: 1x League Runners-Up
Last Season: 6th in League, T-5th in Playoffs
Key Player: C Will Egilsen
The Story Thus Far: The Thunder did what was expected of them and little more last season. A team built on grinding and hard work, that wears on them late in the season and even though they still won the games they were supposed to win, they might have done more.

Valley Fold Vengeance
Stadium: North Valley Ice (7,500)
Colors: Purple and Red
Last Season: 1st in AA, T-9th in Playoffs
Key Player: G Chris Ericsson
The Story Thus Far: This is an interesting team coming out of AA. Backstopped by NT star Chris Ericsson, the Vengeance took first in the league, and he’ll be even more helpful in this season’s more spread-out, 90-game season. A solid playoff finish also bodes well for the Vengeance.

Regular Season

CIHL AAA Division            Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Cordasfjord Crusaders      18   13   5    58   41  +17    0.722
 2 Lakeshore Warriors         18   11   7    48   39   +9    0.611
 3 Jutland Riveters           18   11   7    48   49   −1    0.611
 4 Gilded City Golden         18   11   7    66   61   +5    0.611
 5 Jutland Whalers            18   11   7    69   57  +12    0.611
 6 Thor's Rest Thunder        18   10   8    55   51   +4    0.556
 7 Valley Fold Vengeance      18    8  10    52   56   −4    0.444
 8 East Fjord HC              18    5  13    49   59  −10    0.278
 9 Red Hill Sappers           18    5  13    34   50  −16    0.278
10 Creston Northmen           18    5  13    38   54  −16    0.278

Cordasfjord is off to a hot start with 13 wins. Lakeshore, Gilded City, and both Jutland teams are all two wins behind, with the Thunder a win behind them. Valley Fold is two behind the Thunder but three ahead of the bottom group with five wins each of East Fjord, Red Hill, and Creston. With so many teams near the top, we’re set up for an exciting season, but the race for the title hasn’t really begun yet. On the other hand, every win is crucial for the bottom three teams, who are already getting killed, and even a single win now could make a huge difference down the road.

CIHL AAA Division            Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Gilded City Golden         36   25  11   117   93  +24    0.694
 2 Cordasfjord Crusaders      36   25  11   108   74  +34    0.694
 3 Jutland Whalers            36   23  13   133  107  +26    0.639
 4 Lakeshore Warriors         36   22  14    91   76  +15    0.611
 5 Jutland Riveters           36   21  15   105   98   +7    0.583
 6 Thor's Rest Thunder        36   18  18   102  106   −4    0.500
 7 Valley Fold Vengeance      36   15  21   100  116  −16    0.417
 8 Creston Northmen           36   12  24    93  116  −23    0.333
 9 East Fjord HC              36   11  25    97  113  −16    0.306
10 Red Hill Sappers           36    8  28    72  119  −47    0.222

A little bit worse from Cordasfjord in the second section of the season and a very good set of games from Gilded City brings the Golden to the top. The Whalers are two games off the pace, the Warriors one behind them, and the Riveters one behind them. The Thunder are further off the pack after taking a disappointing eight wins from eighteen. Valley Fold remains clear of Creston and East Fjord battling for eighth and ninth, and Red Hill is looking like an early relegation contender, already four games in the hole.

CIHL AAA Division            Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Cordasfjord Crusaders      45   32  13   145   97  +48    0.711
 2 Gilded City Golden         45   31  14   147  115  +32    0.689
 3 Jutland Whalers            45   28  17   156  128  +28    0.622
 4 Jutland Riveters           45   27  18   130  118  +12    0.600
 5 Lakeshore Warriors         45   26  19   116   95  +21    0.578
 6 Thor's Rest Thunder        45   23  22   124  126   −2    0.511
 7 Valley Fold Vengeance      45   19  26   139  158  −19    0.422
 8 Creston Northmen           45   15  30   117  146  −29    0.333
 9 East Fjord HC              45   15  30   116  137  −21    0.333
10 Red Hill Sappers           45    9  36    91  161  −70    0.200

We’re now at the halfway point of the season. Cordasfjord sits first with Gilded City right on their heels. Whalers, Riveters, and Warriors are all close to each other, with Whalers the highest at three games behind Gilded City. The Thunder are solidly in the midtable, and Valley Fold is still close to the bottom. Creston and East Fjord are making for an entertaining battle, tied at fifteen wins and with nobody else in sight. Red Hill remains deep in the cellar after going 1-8 over the last nine, six games behind East Fjord.

CIHL AAA Division            Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Gilded City Golden         54   38  16   182  138  +44    0.704
 2 Cordasfjord Crusaders      54   36  18   178  125  +53    0.667
 3 Jutland Whalers            54   34  20   187  151  +36    0.630
 4 Jutland Riveters           54   33  21   164  143  +21    0.611
 5 Lakeshore Warriors         54   30  24   143  124  +19    0.556
 6 Thor's Rest Thunder        54   29  25   155  153   +2    0.537
 7 Valley Fold Vengeance      54   24  30   165  187  −22    0.444
 8 Creston Northmen           54   19  35   143  179  −36    0.352
 9 East Fjord HC              54   17  37   138  172  −34    0.315
10 Red Hill Sappers           54   10  44   112  195  −83    0.185

Cordasfjord went 4-5 over the next nine, and Gilded City 7-2. The Golden now sit two games ahead with 36 games to go. The Whalers and Riveters are still close and it’s anyone’s race to win, but Lakeshore has fallen off the pace, now eight games behind the leaders and three behind the Riveters. Thor’s Rest is still in the midfield, the Vengeance are still clear of relegation. Creston gained two games on East Fjord that could be key in the days to come, and Red Hill is still looking like a team to be relegated.

CIHL AAA Division            Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Gilded City Golden         72   50  22   253  185  +68    0.694
 2 Cordasfjord Crusaders      72   47  25   233  160  +73    0.653
 3 Jutland Whalers            72   47  25   247  186  +61    0.653
 4 Lakeshore Warriors         72   43  29   201  168  +33    0.597
 5 Jutland Riveters           72   40  32   208  198  +10    0.556
 6 Thor's Rest Thunder        72   37  35   207  206   +1    0.514
 7 Creston Northmen           72   29  43   188  229  −41    0.403
 8 Valley Fold Vengeance      72   27  45   198  242  −44    0.375
 9 East Fjord HC              72   24  48   178  231  −53    0.333
10 Red Hill Sappers           72   16  56   147  255 −108    0.222

Gilded City gains another game on Cordasfjord and are now very much the favorites for a title. The Whalers are tied for second with the Crusaders on 47 wins, and Lakeshore made up some space with thirteen wins from eighteen to put them fourth with 43 wins, but they’re still seven behind Gilded City and four behind the Crusaders. The Riveters went 7-11 and have fallen to fifth, now well out of contention for the top two spots that guarantee an HCL position. The Thunder are still in sixth, but Creston went a very good 10-8 and are now up to seventh, with help from the Vengeance going an astonishing 3-15 to drop to eighth, suddenly in the relegation conversation. This still hurts East Fjord, who are three games in the hole, and Red Hill is nine back with eighteen to go. Not looking good for the Sappers.

CIHL AAA Division            Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Gilded City Golden         81   56  25   276  197  +79    0.691
 2 Cordasfjord Crusaders      81   51  30   252  180  +72    0.630
 3 Jutland Whalers            81   51  30   268  211  +57    0.630
 4 Lakeshore Warriors         81   50  31   228  187  +41    0.617
 5 Jutland Riveters           81   45  36   228  221   +7    0.556
 6 Thor's Rest Thunder        81   42  39   231  226   +5    0.519
 7 Creston Northmen           81   34  47   209  250  −41    0.420
 8 Valley Fold Vengeance      81   32  49   219  266  −47    0.395
 9 East Fjord HC              81   27  54   199  252  −53    0.333
10 Red Hill Sappers           81   17  64   163  283 −120    0.210

Gilded City went 6-3 and Cordasfjord went 4-5. That’s another two games down for the Crusaders, who are understandably pissed at their own performance when it’s mattered most. Gilded City are looking like the certain title winners now. The race now turns to one for second, and the coveted HCL spot. Cordasfjord is hanging on to it, but the Whalers are tied on wins and the Warriors a game behind. The Riveters are pretty much out of it and secure in fifth, Thor’s Rest is still in sixth as well. Creston is well clear of relegation and it’s looking good for the Vengeance, too, five up on East Fjord with nine to go. The Sappers are officially relegated, fifteen games down with nine to go, so it’ll be the Play-Ins this season and AA the next for them.

CIHL AAA Division            Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Gilded City Golden         87   59  28   298  214  +84    0.678
 2 Cordasfjord Crusaders      87   55  32   279  200  +79    0.632
 3 Lakeshore Warriors         87   55  32   250  200  +50    0.632
 4 Jutland Whalers            87   55  32   287  224  +63    0.632
 5 Jutland Riveters           87   48  39   243  235   +8    0.552
 6 Thor's Rest Thunder        87   45  42   247  239   +8    0.517
 7 Valley Fold Vengeance      87   36  51   236  280  −44    0.414
 8 Creston Northmen           87   36  51   221  270  −49    0.414
 9 East Fjord HC              87   28  59   207  276  −69    0.322
10 Red Hill Sappers           87   18  69   174  304 −130    0.207

Gilded City has the title, and kudos to them on a season well played. Cordasfjord, Lakeshore, and the Whalers are stuck in a dead heat for second. That will be something to watch over the last few days. The Riveters have secured fifth, the Thunder sixth. The Vengeance and Northmen will battle over the last few days for seventh, and East Fjord will be relegated at the end of this season, eight games behind Creston. Red Hill sucks.

CIHL AAA Division            Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Gilded City Golden         90   60  30   307  227  +80    0.667   Champions
 2 Lakeshore Warriors         90   57  33   256  205  +51    0.633   HCL
 3 Cordasfjord Crusaders      90   57  33   290  208  +82    0.633
 4 Jutland Whalers            90   56  34   294  231  +63    0.622
 5 Jutland Riveters           90   49  41   251  242   +9    0.544
 6 Thor's Rest Thunder        90   47  43   257  245  +12    0.522
 7 Valley Fold Vengeance      90   39  51   247  286  −39    0.433
 8 Creston Northmen           90   37  53   228  280  −52    0.411
 9 East Fjord HC              90   30  60   211  279  −68    0.333   Relegated
10 Red Hill Sappers           90   18  72   184  322 −138    0.200   Relegated

The Whalers go 1-2 and fall out of the race for second. The Warriors and Crusaders tie, and the coin flip (OOC: tiebreakers were really wonky for whatever reason, I’ll smooth that over next time) went Lakeshore’s way, so it’s the Warriors to the HCL. Valley Fold went 3-0 over the final stretch to beat out Creston for seventh, who went 1-2.

Here are the final results for the lower leagues:

CIHL AA Division            Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 North Bay Lightning       90   59  31   314  227  +87    0.656   Promoted
 2 Vikings HC                90   58  32   300  227  +73    0.644   Promoted
 3 White River Eagles        90   55  35   266  239  +27    0.611   Playoffs
 4 Danvirk Wall              90   53  37   269  219  +50    0.589   Playoffs
 5 Brenville Raiders         90   53  37   275  230  +45    0.589   Play-Ins
 6 South Bay Berserkers      90   53  37   269  222  +47    0.589   Play-Ins
 7 Mountainview Typhoon      90   41  49   272  279   −7    0.456   Play-Ins
 8 Southmont Sky             90   30  60   223  303  −80    0.333   Play-Ins
 9 Norport Tsunami           90   29  61   220  307  −87    0.322   Relegated
10 Thetford Gulls            90   19  71   195  350 −155    0.211   Relegated

CIHL A Division                Pld    W   L    GF   GA   GD    Win % 
 1 Skalton Blues                90   60  30   302  207  +95    0.667   Promoted
 2 HC Silver Lake               90   59  31   331  235  +96    0.656   Promoted
 3 Courvale Knights             90   57  33   310  232  +78    0.633
 4 Icecliff Bears               90   52  38   278  254  +24    0.578
 5 Northshore Ravens            90   50  40   275  270   +5    0.556
 6 Channel Point Guardians      90   44  46   250  284  −34    0.489
 7 North Valley Elite           90   42  48   214  243  −29    0.467
 8 Shelter Cove Pirates         90   42  48   273  292  −19    0.467
 9 Dynamo Doveport              90   29  61   249  313  −64    0.322
10 Fireport Inferno             90   15  75   186  338 −152    0.167

Play-Ins

9th-10th from AAA, 5th-8th from AA, 1st-2nd from A, seeded in that order. Reseeding after every round, top seed hosts bottom seed, second seed hosts second-worst, etc. Teams with the same number of wins are in the same pool. Two wins to go to the playoffs, two losses eliminates the team.

Round 1
East Fjord HC (#1) 5–3 HC Silver Lake (#8)
Red Hill Sappers (#2) 1–0 Skalton Blues (#7)
Brenville Raiders (#3) 5–4 Southmont Sky (#6)
South Bay Berserkers (#4) 2–1 Mountainview Typhoon (#5)

No surprises on the first day of play-ins, though the A sides acquit themselves well against AAA competition, losing only by a total of three goals.

Round 2 - Winner Advances
East Fjord HC (#1) 5–3 South Bay Berserkers (#4)
Red Hill Sappers (#2) 4–1 Brenville Raiders (#3)

The AAA sides go to the playoffs, no surprises here.

Round 2 - Loser Out
Mountainview Typhoon (#5) 4–2 HC Silver Lake (#8)
Southmont Sky (#6) 2–1 Skalton Blues (#7)

And goodbye to the A sides. Alas, we hardly knew ye.

Round 3 - Winner Advances, Loser Out
Brenville Raiders (#3) 2–2 Southmont Sky (#6) (3–2 OT)
South Bay Berserkers (#4) 3–4 Mountainview Typhoon (#5)

Brenville needs overtime in their second matchup with Southmont, but pulls through. Mountainview will go to the playoffs in only their second AA season, not bad from the former bottom-division side.

Playoffs

Round of 16
Gilded City Golden 1-3 Mountainview Typhoon
Creston Northmen 6-4 North Bay Lightning
Jutland Whalers 8-1 East Fjord HC
Jutland Riveters 3-5 Danvirk Wall
Lakeshore Warriors 2-3 Brenville Raiders
Valley Fold Vengeance 3-1 Vikings HC
Cordasfjord Crusaders 2-0 Red Hill Sappers
Thor’s Rest Thunder 3-1 White River Eagles

Gilded down, Lakeshore down. There go the top two seeds. It’s anyone’s tournament now.

Elimination Minor Quarterfinals
Gilded City Golden 6-5 North Bay Lightning
Jutland Riveters 4-3 East Fjord HC
Lakeshore Warriors 5-0 Vikings HC
White River Eagles 4-2 Red Hill Sappers

It’s close, but the Golden holt off Martin Kordsen and the Lightning to survive another around, and the Warriors blow out Vikings to stay alive.

Winners’ Quarterfinals
Creston Northmen 4-3 Mountainview Typhoon
Jutland Whalers 5-4 Danvirk Wall
Valley Fold Vengeance 7-4 Brenville Raiders
Cordasfjord Crusaders 2-0 Thor’s Rest Thunder

No upsets here, but Mountainview is keeping things close. They have a very good club down there. Cordasfjord and the Whalers, #3 and 4 seeds, respectively, are still in the winners’ side of things.

Elimination Major Quarterfinals
Thor’s Rest Thunder 0-2 Gilded City Golden
Brenville Raiders 2-3 Jutland Riveters
Danvirk Wall 4-6 Lakeshore Warriors
Mountainview Typhoon 0-1 White River Eagles

No upsets. All the hosts in this round, dropping down from the winners’ brack, ended up the lower seeds and lost to the better sides.

Winners’ Semifinals
Jutland Whalers 5-4 Creston Northmen
Cordasfjord Crusaders 5-3 Valley Fold Vengeance

The Whalers and Crusaders go to the Minor Final to try and get the needed win to go into the finals with a game advantage.

Elimination Minor Semifinals
Gilded City Golden 2-1 Jutland Riveters
Lakeshore Warriors 7-1 White River Eagles

The one seed and two seed are still in it, Lakeshore blowing out White River and the Gold squeaking by the Riveters.

Elimination Major Semifinals
Creston Northmen 3-4 Gilded City Golden
Valley Fold Vengeance 5-4 Lakeshore Warriors

Valley Fold gets the upset of the day at home against two seeds Lakeshore, but Gilded City is still in it with a win over Creston.

Minor Final
Cordasfjord Crusaders 8-6 Jutland Whalers

In a high-scoring affair, it’s the Crusaders securing a berth in the Major Final with three unanswered goals in the last ten minutes.

Elimination Minor Final
Valley Fold Vengeance 4-5 Gilded City Golden

Gilded City refuse to fall to the Vengeance at North Valley Ice as the Warriors did, and with a late goal it’s them advancing to the Elimination Major Final with a chance for a Major Final berth after losing in the first round, just like last year’s Crusaders.

Elimination Major Final
Jutland Whalers 5-4 Gilded City Golden

The Whalers host Gilded City at East Jutland Arena, and it’s them coming away with the win despite a late Gilded City surge, two goals in the last five to make it close.

Major Final, Game 1
Cordasfjord Crusaders 2-7 Jutland Whalers

The Whalers, riding high off the win against Gilded City, go to Central Arena and blow out the hosts with four goals in the first period setting the tone for sixty minutes of despair for the locals.

Major Final, Game 2
Jutland Whalers 6-1 Cordasfjord Crusaders

The Whalers host the CIHL Grand Final at East Jutland Arena and dominate the visitors again, marking the second straight season that the Losers’ Bracket side has managed to win the playoffs. With the win, the Whalers will be the #1 seed for the HCL and have automatic entry to AO ICE. Cordasfjord, as the playoff runners-up, will take the three seed for the HCL.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 2:10 pm

Location: Brenville
Last Season: 7th
Stadium: Brenville Community Stadium (45,000)
Nicknames: “Royal Lions” when feeling spiffy, mostly just the Blue
Trophies: 1x CIFA Champions, 1x CIFA Runners-Up
Style: Highly aggressive both defensively and offensively
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Manager: Toril Jarvinen
Starting XI:
ST Sebastian Voll
LAM Kristina Bay
CAM Rachel Perkins-Woo
RAM Brividi Farfalle
LCM Hilmar Heikkinen
RCM Kalfat' Kakedo
LB Kodey Ranta
CB Milani Göransson
CB Mark Kristoff
RB Daniel Caldwell
GK Cliff Rouge

Brenville is one of the best teams in the CIFA by far, and has made the IFCF every year since the league began entering clubs, last year excepted. They’re also always one of the most exciting clubs in the league and sure to engage in many of the CIFA’s high-scoring matches in any given season. Cliff Rouge has developed admirably (as he needs to, as he can expect to be bombarded constantly with shots) and has been named to a reserve slot on the Qasden national team, and of course, star striker Sebastian Voll plays for the Cordian national team.
The Blue signed Rachel Perkins-Woo at CM, and she figures to have an immediate positive impact their production. Sebastian Voll has needed support from the midfield for a long time, and might be just the thing to keep him going even as he ages and his potential retirement is debated.
Last season felt like the Blue never really got going and despite a small push at the end, they failed to qualify for playoff matches. That hurts, especially since they still have a very talented lineup, and the fans will expect a much better performance from their team this season.

Location: Channel Point
Last Season: 11th
Stadium: The Lighthouse (8,500)
Nicknames: Keepers
Style: Aggressive with a lot of ball movement.
Formation: 3-3-2-2
Manager: Ardalian Skov
Starting XI:
ST Vilde Voronin
ST Carita Breiner
AM Ina Kravchenko
AM Miriam Shwetz
LDM Odissey Biarnesen
CDM Anastasia Albertsson
RDM Klaus Vestergaard
LB Ragnhild Shevchuk
CB Tage Silie
RB Theodor Matveev
GK Lea Bergman

Channel Point plays attacking football, but with a lack of star strikers, or even good strikers, that just doesn’t work very well for them when they reach the League A. At the top level, Channel Point will focus on ball movement and opening up chances that way. The Keepers are the oldest club along the White River and the rivalry between the two sides is the stuff of legend there, though the opposing side was relegated last season and the fans will be deprived of that rivalry again, though Keepers fans will remain quick to point out their superiority.
The Keepers failed to sign new players this season, but not for lack of trying. Bids on Ceni midfielders Marc-Andre Onasi and Adrian del Toro were rejected by both players, with Toro electing not to play rather than to play for Channel Point.
That’s surprising given the Keepers’ performance last season, which saw them finish eleventh, well out of the relegation picture, something that will let them start building into a top-half side if they can keep it up.

Location: Cordasfjord
Last Season: 2nd
Stadium: Cordasfjord Colusseum (60,000)
Nicknames: Red Tide
Trophies: 2x CIFA Champions, 2x Cordia Cup Champions, 1x CIFA Runners-Up, 1x Cordia Cup Runners-Up
Style: Balanced, emphasis on passing
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Nils Makela
Starting XI:
ST Elias Isaksen
ST Adamantina Campana
LM Nicholas Eriksen
CM Milja Salo
CM Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve
RM Britt Alexanderson
LB Isak Olofsdotter
CB Torunn Eklund
CB Fayaz Nayar-Lehri
RB Yefim Stepnaov
GK Kemal Kimani

Cordasfjord FC is known mostly for one thing, and one thing only: an incredible midfield. That’s a legacy that’s stuck with the club since its founding, and it’s a characterization that still holds true today. The Cordasfjord midfield features its two best players: Nicholas Eriksen, who has made quite the impression as a starter on the Cordian NT, and Ophelie Xiao-Villeneuve, a high-caliber Quebecois still in her teens.
Cordasfjord had a huge transfer window, adding Juvencus’ Adamantina Campana to their lineup, giving them a much-needed ability to finish that they often lack. Campana looks to be a huge contributor in future years as she develops, but even now she is by far the better of Cordasfjord’s two strikers.
A close finish last season saw the Red Tide drop the title to Cannons, and they will absolutely want that back this year. The addition of Campana will make this side far more dangerous than it has been, and fans are expecting big things this season from a Cordasfjord side that appears to be in its prime.

Location: Courvale
Last Season: 1st in League B
Stadium: Courvale Ground (18,000)
Nicknames: Kings, Royals
Style: Slightly defensive with a strong, productive midfield.
Formation: 3-5-2
Manager: Hans Kirk
Starting XI:
ST Vathlauss Skurfasson
ST Isulf Vogsson
LM Thrand Holmfastsson
LCM Iarlabanki Svæinsson
CM Isi Sveinbjornsson
RCM Sigehere Fargrimsson
RM Kolfinn Arngeirsson
LB Iarlabanki Hiorvardsson
CB Slode Anakolsson
RB Thoraldr Halftansson
GK Thorfrid Byrnjolfdottir

Courvale is one of only a few clubs in the far east of the Isles, yet they are one of the oldest clubs in Cordia. The Courvale Ground is the oldest stadium on the East Isle, and has nearly a hundred years of history behind it. In the last decade, though, the club has fallen on hard times, relegated down to the League B 10 years ago and languishing there for ten long years as support and funding dwindled. But the last season has the club rejuvenated. A League B title adds a nice piece of silverware to their trophy case, and in the postseason they became the first Cordian side to advance to the knockout rounds of IFCF competition, falling in their first knockout tie at the LBCT but not before several high-profile international matches filled the Ground for the first time in years.
With a new set of energized fans comes a new problem for Courvale: if they go back down, they could lose those fans just as quickly as they got them, and that could prove disastrous. If the Kings can stay in the League A for at least one season, then they can start to bring in internationals as the CIFA stock rises, and then they can try to establish themselves in the midtable. That will be the goal for Courvale.

Location: Creston
Last Season: 9th
Stadium: Creston Community Stadium (25,000)
Nicknames: Wolves. Duh.
Trophies: 1x CIFA Champions, 1x Cordia Cup Runners-Up
Style: Balanced; fast and dangerous counterattack
Formation: 4-1-2-1-2
Manager: Marje Losnedahl
Starting XI:
ST Bram Horst
ST Ine Dijck
AM Mirko Kosic
LM John Parkinson
RM Matias Jokinen
DM Everett Lune-Byers
LB Eric Johnson
CB Gerden Brouwer
CB Sunil Damasekra
RB Costil Weary Eyes
GK Jordi Jongen

The Wolves are one of the younger clubs in the league, formed when, well before internationalization, the CIFA began expanding out of the Vik regions - where you can find some of the oldest clubs - and into the windswept oceanside region of the West Island. The Wolves are always a dark horse: most of the time, they’re not expected to do all that much, but every once in a while, they get a head full of steam and charge into a top place in some competition. The championship and the Season 1 Cup run are perfect examples of this.
More additions for Creston, both on the back line. Sunil Damasekra of Sylestone and Costil Weary Eyes of Evermark will both be solid contributors on defense.
Ninth last season is on the low range of acceptable for Creston. Their offense was good but they desperately needed a boost on defense, with their back line the leakiest in the top half of the league, worse even than Brenville. Weary Eyes and Damasekra have the potential to change that and even make Creston’s defense one of the league’s best, as well as bringing the club up out of ninth and into IFCF contention.

Location: Danvirk
Last Season: 4th
Stadium: The Castle (80,000)
Nicknames: Guardians, Rooks
Trophies: 1x CIFA Runners-Up
Style: Balanced; slow attacks build up to dangerous chances
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Ella Solberg
Starting XI:
ST Markus Schroder
ST Willemijn Kuipers
LM Annemie Driel
CM Sjors Bakel
CM Kang Goo-Seong
RM Caitlyn Remwick
LB Jason Miller
CB Felix Farthen
CB Carolina Bijl
RB Vladimir Demov
GK Mo Kacceo

Danvirk has hung around the League A for a while, occasionally challenging for a top spot or being threatened with relegation, but generally staying in the midtable until recently. Taking inspiration from the legendary Danvirk Castle (the real one, not the stadium) and the stand of its garrison against the Kordan aggressors in the War of Unification, Danvirk fans expect their club to be “stalwarts” and “stand tall”. Whatever that means.
A very nice pickup in the form of Ceni’s Felix Farthen gives Danvirk a very strong back line. While in the past they’ve had a reputation for reckless offense, in recent years their defense has gotten a lot stronger thanks in large part to the addition of Mo Kacceo and Vladimir Demov’s reliable performance on the international stage, which has carried over into the domestic league.
A fourth-place performance lets the world know that the Rooks’ second-place finish of two years ago was not a fluke, and with more additions to their roster they’ll be looking to return to the IFCF as part of the contingent that will likely earn Cordia a second Champions League spot.

Location: Eriksson
Last Season: 8th
Stadium: Eriksson Watchtower (15,000)
Nicknames: Mountaineers
Style: A rather open playstyle focused on moving the ball quickly, with players rarely holding on to possession for long.
Formation: 4-3-2-1
Manager: Joni Larsen
Starting XI:
ST Achim Hofsetter
AM Huub Kraan
AM Teppo Ljungborg
LM Deandra Maker
CM Magne Jakobsen
RM Stig Ravn
LB Inge Aberg
CB Ukko Pajari
CB Aaro Henriksson
RB Malte Kristiansen

Eriksson are one of the league’s oldest clubs, but they also tend to yo-yo around. That’s probably because they have trouble attracting talent over in Eriksson; there’s not a ton of money floating around there, and the area is nowhere near good enough to justify taking a pay cut to move there. That said, Eriksson does have a nice home advantage in the fact that it’s in the mountains and exceptionally cold, even by Cordian standards. Opposing clubs will have a hard time getting used to the temperature.
Not as big an addition as last time around, but the addition of Ceyne’s Deandra Maker is another one with an interesting bearing on the Icecaps’ potential for the future.
Eighth? Eighth!?!? Hofsetter is fucking elite, and the Icecaps are relevant now. That bodes very well for a community that’s endured years of yo-yo football. The addition of Maker gives Hofsetter more options and allows Eriksson to generate more offense as a whole, which will be key to gaining position this season, or even, maybe, competing for a playoff spot.

Location: Gilded City
Last Season: 5th
Stadium: Goldenhill (15,000)
Nicknames: Firebreathers
Style: Very, very defensive with a wide midfield. Focus on stopping attacks high, before they get close to the net.
Formation: 4-4-1-1
Manager: Tuula Albertsson
Starting XI:
ST Hynym-Nirlo Alt
AM Ilia Mueller
LM Sparkling Ingrid
CM Debbie Douma
CM Marius Bouwman
RM Maureen Broere
LB Lucia Verkerk
CB Mary Ham
CB Ding Huo
RB Björn Roelofsen
GK John Gildea
ST Kirstine Nordstrom

Gilded City is a newer club, funded by the money of the city whose name it bears. Regarded as a bit of a glitzy, star-buying team by the rest of the league, the moniker is probably deserved as the team upgraded its roster in between seasons one and two, and saw immediate results. Perhaps a bit surprising, though, is the Dragons’ strategy. The club plays post-football, the style perfected by Ko-oren and Audioslavia, going by the motto “if they can’t score, they can’t win.” Not exactly the style you’d expect from a club in a place like Gilded City, but hey, it works for them.
Two new additions for the Dragons in Hynym-Nirlo Alt of Qusmo at striker and Ilia Mueller of Nephara at AM. The two will be expected to work in tandem and return the Dragons to the good old days of scoring slightly more goals than they do now.
Apparently Ding Huo did manage to make up for the loss of Osterholt as Gilded City played brutally good defense throughout the entirety of last season. They made it to the VCI, which is huge, and further improvements to the roster this season hint at the Dragons potentially being able to sustain this surprising success, especially since the additions are fine-tuned to return this team to the scoring consistency they had with Osterholt.

Location: Icecliff
Last Season: 3rd in League B
Stadium: Icecliff Pack Stadium (25,000)
Nicknames: Frozen North
Style: An aggressive midfield looks to turn the ball around before it reaches the defensive half.
Formation: 4-5-1
Manager: Magnus Fergussen
Starting XI:
ST Ssehdo Kadfuss
LM Willemijn Rietveld
LCM Hannah Van Vliet
CM Orion Goldsmith
RCM Wieke Bruin
RM Sven Bakel
LB Annet Derks
CB Sacha Koopman
CB Janny Verkerk
RB Dagmar Oorschot
GK Cindy Joosten

Icecliff isn’t really a newer or older club. The most notable thing about them is their kits, which suck. Somebody in management must be attached to them, as they haven’t changed in over a decade. They’re also pretty far north, so similar to many other West Isle clubs, home advantage against those not used to the climate will be significant.
3rd in League B secures promotion, but Icecliff was held to be the best team in the Cordian second division for both of the years they were there, and a title was a little bit the expectation. Still, they’re back in the first league, and for that the fans are thankful, as long as they can stay up and reestablish themselves here.

Location: Jutland (East)
Last Season: 1st
Stadium: Jutland City Stadium (45,000)
Nicknames: Bombardiers
Trophies: 1x CIFA Champions, 1x Cordia Cup Champions, 1x CIFA Runners-Up
Style: Decidedly defensive, though a bit squishy. The Cannons will allow shots - they can afford it with Bergstrin - but they focus on not allowing good ones.
Formation: 4-5-1
Manager: Alexander Hanssen
Starting XI:
ST Jorie Rounds
LM Reza Medvedev
LCM Andre Vandendriessche
CM Memphis Janson
RCM Erik Pratt
RM Freyr Mikaelsson
LB Taimi Pocock
CB Salman Faizulla
CB Redvin Chase
RB Nicole O'shea
GK Kristin Bergstrin

Cannons is a younger, smaller club than Jutland FC. But it’s also, for the moment at least, a better club. The thing the Cannons have done best is creating an identity of tough, defensive football, especially in the box. The fans have embraced this, and this identity brings in some solid talent, too: Kristin Bergstrin wouldn’t be here if she didn’t want some extra help in front, and Redvin Chase wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t heard of the Cannons’ physical style, a style he now contributes to as one of the league’s top card-earners.
Coming off a title, a very, very nice signing in Salman Faizullah makes this team look downright scary. And they are. One thing we definitely didn’t need to see was a pool player for one of the world’s best national teams in Tikariot added to a Jutland back line that is already absolutely disgusting.
The title! And the double! What a year for the Jutland Cannons. They finally claim the title after five years of IFCF qualifications and being among the League A’s best sides, then add to their trophy case with a Cordia Cup victory to secure a spot in the Cup Winners’ Cup. This season, fans will look for them to back it up, and the expectation will be high IFCF qualification, and some fans are going as far as to set “silverware” as their floor.

Location: Jutland (West)
Last Season: 9th
Stadium: West Jutland Stadium (25,000)
Nicknames: Shipyards, Dreadnoughts
Trophies: 1x CIFA Runners-Up
Style: A pretty defensive 4-4-2 that looks to press high and turn an opponent’s attack into its own.
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Evin Goshik (PFA)
Starting XI:
ST Mainio Holgersen
ST Frank Wilson
LM Bente Jansing
CM Josie Winter
CM Gunner Martikainen
RM Arend Bakel
LB Allison Ember
CB Connie Buis
CB Lati'ala Giaoka
RB Aline Dons
GK Valerie Alvarez

Jutland FC is an older, storied club, its prestige dating back to the founding of the CIFA well before the sporting internationalization process. More so than the Cannons, this is very much a working-class club. Whereas most cities in Cordia have fewer clubs, and most everyone supports the same club, Jutland has several, and the difference between them is class. Jutland FC is based near the shipyards, where it derives its nicknames and where many of its supporters have connections. West Jutland is, overall, not a wealthy area, with a mostly blue-collar population. While Jutland Cannons derive their identity from their play on the field, FC derives their identity from where they come from, and who supports them.
Early in the transfer window, things looked bad for the Dreadnoughts. Starters Lucas Oers and Frederick Johnson left the club, leaving JFC without a Cordian national teamer to their name. However, Evin Goshik pulled off a miracle. Using the funds gained from selling Oers and Johnson, he managed to sign Frank Wilson of Tumbra at striker to give the Dreadnoughts a legitimate talent at forward for the first time in their entire history. Then a few days later, Goshik pulled off the biggest signing in Cordian history, both in talent and cost, paying five million to bring Lati’ala Giaoka of the Turori national team to Jutland. Followers of Cordian football will remember Turori from a total of five matches in recent years. Well, a part of that talent has been brought to Cordia.
Incredibly, Goshik has not been fired. Finishing 9th is a horrendous result for the Dreadnoughts. However, if they can perform this season with one of the league’s best rosters on paper, Goshik might save his job and the club. Expectations are low and the ceiling high, but major improvement will be needed for this season to be considered a success in West Jutland.

Location: Meadow Ridge
Last Season: 4th
Stadium: Southeast Maple Center (10,000)
Nicknames: Foresters, Tappers
Trophies: 1x Cordia Cup Runners-Up
Style: Very fluid formation-wise, probably the most so in the CIFA. The only real rule is that at least three players will hang back, but to the front of them is chaos.
Formation: 4-4-1-1
Manager: Marianna Adamsen
Starting XI:
ST Ard Donders
AM Mathilde Lemmens
LM Marita Wouters
CM Ada Baan
CM Chester Cartwright
RM Maartje Mark
LB Sjef Drunen
CB Gerjan Aerts
CB Moniek Snijs
RB Steven Slotboom
GK Marie Lier

The Maples were formed a few years after the CIFA was founded when the new league began to expand. From there, the Maples were a reasonably successful club, sometimes dropping to League B but also taking home some silverware. When the internationalization process ended, Meadow Ridge found themselves in League B as a result of a surprising relegation, and for a while, it looked like they might stay there, as they faced injury trouble. But if there’s one thing we found out from watching Meadow Ridge in the first modern CIFA season, it’s that these maple farmers from the ridge have no quit in them. They hung on to that third promotion spot, and the rest is history. Or, not really. It wasn’t that long ago.
A move from Meadow Ridge! And a damned good one at that. Chester Cartwright, formerly a national teamer for Tikariot, is looking to revitalize his career with some time in Cordia. Alongside Ada Baan, his signing makes the Meadow Ridge midfield that much more dangerous. It’s a bit of a risk, as Cartwright was in freefall while at Oriannor, his previous club, but if it pays off it’s a good improvement for an already very solid squad.
Third for Meadow Ridge, and they were so close to the title. Dropping points over the last two matchdays cost them silverware, and they’re out for revenge. It’s become clear that this is a very, very good team despite lacking a true star – Ada Baan comes close but isn’t really the full package.

Location: Norport
Last Season: 2nd in League B
Stadium: Northern Shipping Stadium (10,000)
Nicknames: Shipwrights
Style: Post-football at its finest.
Formation: 5-2-2-1
Manager: Sven Henriksen
Starting XI:
ST Asbjorn Thorgeirsson
LAM Thjodoft Hreidarsson
RAM Arinbjorn Gunnleifsson
LM Yngvar Ingemarsson
RM Dag Tryggvisson
LB Æirik Oswaldsson
LCB Grimar Ragnfastsson
CB Hialti Hjarrandisson
RCB Alfgeir Svansson
RB Hrosskel Sigguatrsson
GK Asgerd Ofiegdottir

Used to be an amateur club before joining the CIFA League some twenty years pre-internationalization. Norport builds off of a fervent local base and are the only club in Norport, the largest port on the north coast of Cordia. They pack Northern Shipping Stadium every night, regardless of how the club is doing. Around town you can regularly see Norport kits, flags, and every other kind of memorabilia displayed proudly. With the club’s promotion to the League A has come a surge of interest, but it remains to be seen whether Norport can actually establish themselves in the League. NSS will be one of the hardest stadiums to play in just on crowd noise alone.
Last season was very good for Norport, finally securing promotion for the second trip to the League A in their history, the first some fifteen years ago and lasting two seasons. They had the best defense in the league, despite the top clubs all being defense-oriented. Fans aren’t expecting much, but will cheer wildly for every point gained on the road to staying up. Do that, and the Shipwrights will have a very happy fanbase on their hands.

Location: Shelter Cove
Last Season: 12th
Stadium: Cove Center (12,000)
Nicknames: Pirates
Style: Aggressive, focus on getting balls into the box, and not shooting from outside.
Formation: 4-3-3
Manager: Heino Oster
Starting XI:
LW Urban Henriksen
ST Ukko Ottosen
RW Tapani Lahtinen
LM Truls Arvidsson
CM Jens Simonsson
RM Sander Riven
LB Isabella Olofsdotter
CB Gudrun Lind
CB Soren Akerman
RB Roger Ellis
GK Evy Vinter

*yo-yos majestically*
^ the entire history of Shelter Cove summarized
Since relegation/promotion between League A and League B was introduced some 40-odd years ago, the Shelter Cove Captains have never stayed in the same league for more than three years. Nobody knows why; some people think their stadium was built on cursed land and that that’s the reason. We’ll never know for sure, for obvious reasons, but there’s a shot that Shelter Cove can break the curse over the next few seasons.
No bids made and no new signings or sales for Shelter Cove.
Sander Riven was great for the Captains, putting up solid numbers and holding down the fort as the best player Shelter Cove has ever had. The Captains are now two-thirds of the way to breaking the curse. Stay up this season, as they are clearly favored to, and the curse is broken and fans can start thinking about improving the squad instead of breaking the curse.

Location: Skalton
Last Season: 13th
Stadium: Cordian Orchestra Stadium (40,000)
Nicknames: Golden Notes
Style: A slow attack focusing on building pressure and finding the perfect opportunity to shoot.
Formation: 4-3-2-1
Manager: Susanna Lind
Starting XI:
ST Marieke Spaan
AM Magdalene Simen
AM Soile Alexandersson
LM Annemie Scheepers
CM Svein McVeld
RM Liv Vang
LB Jennifer Westermark
CB Otto Tuominen
CB Sigrid Altena
RB Leo Korhonen
GK Charlie Barrett

Skalton is home to just about every famous musician in Cordian history, and that culture makes its way into the club, with its logo featuring the harp and its stadium sponsored by the Cordian Orchestra. The stadium itself has some of the best acoustics in the Isles (of course), and plays music at just around every remotely logical occasion. The song played for goalies varies from year to year but is always a head-banging, bass-booming anthem. Unfortunately, the Harpers score previous few goals nowadays. Fans will also sing chants with varying degrees of vulgarity depending on how much they hate the opposition, with the most biting insults reserved for Cordasfjord.
No signings for Skalton, and the fanbase is beginning to get pissed by the perceived lack of care from the front office with regard to the club’s mediocre results and always hovering around relegation. Calls can be heard for returns to the glory days of Skalton football – the very beginnings of the League that saw Skalton dominate all competition and win five titles in a row. The Harpers have still never been relegated, but have still hovered awfully close to that line in recent years.
A pretty unremarkable 14th-placed finish stands to be improved on, and the Skalton base kind of expected that kind of finish… so not much to say here. Improvement is needed, or you will see sackings left and right in Skalton.

Location: Southmont (West Isle, in the mountains, south of Valley Fold)
Last Season: 13th
Stadium: Ljungren Field (5,000)
Nicknames: Guards
Style: A slow pace with an emphasis for slow-developing attacks.
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Rustik Ruoho
Starting XI:
ST Sander Axelsen
ST Erna Zarins
LM Matislav Andersen
CM Mattis Johansen
CM Erik Bodilsen
RM Demyan Berntsson
LB Peer Sandberg
CB Oline Randrup
CB Majken Thomassen
RB Aleksandra Sorensen
GK Kristopher Moller

Southmont is a smallish city in the south of the West Isle’s mountains which plays host to the Hawks of the CIFA. Founded by local multimillionaire Henry Ljungren right around twenty years ago, their home stadium, the smallest in the League A, bears his name. As the smallest side in Cordia’s top division in just about every measure - funding, fanbase, size of the city, and so on - Southmont fans are among the league’s most hostile and maintain an “us against the world” mentality that can be seen and heard at home matches. Combined with one of the coldest climes to be found in any League A club’s home city - Valley Fold excepted - Ljungren Field looks to rank among the hardest stadiums for away sides this season, something the Hawks will need to squeeze every ounce out of if they want to remain here.
No moves from Southmont, which might be wise considering their impressive finish last season.
Thirteenth is very good for a promoted side, so Southmont fans are happy with that. They benefited, as you might expect, from a very hostile home stadium that was a bit of a shock even to those sides that have played in Eriksson or Valley Fold. However, their opponents will come prepared this time, and the widely held belief is that their first season was a fluke, in which case not making any moves will hurt Southmont big-time. The Hawks could well find themselves deep in the relegation battle this season.

Location: Thor’s Rest
Last Season: 6th
Stadium: The Hand of Thor (45,000)
Nicknames: Thor’s Will
Style: A workhorse midfield will fill in both on offense and defense.
Formation: 3-4-3
Manager: Vaino Thorn
Starting XI:
LW Matias Dybvik
ST Lukas Lehtinen
RW Graham Nicholas
LM Oddmund Nordstrom
CM Yesfir Borg
CM Karen Hoogendoorn
RM Niall Kuol
LB Julie Verheul
CB Herbert Schaik
RB Jan Schie
GK Lisa Weijers

Thor’s Rest is an older club that used to be among the league’s best. However, a string of deteriorating performances dating back to pre-internationalization, with modern season one excepted, has led to decreasing support and funding. More recently, a series of brilliant moves from their front office has put them back in contention for playoff spots for the first time in a long, long time.
Wait, there’s more? Tjorlish winger Matias Dybvik joins the squad. He’s already very good, and at only 20 years of age has massive potential. His signing makes Thor’s Rest one of the most dangerous front lines in the league. Even Brenville relies mostly on contributions from Sebastian Voll alone; with options for scoring, this is a very, very good-looking Storm squad.
Last time, we said the Storm were fringe IFCF contenders. Well, they nearly made the VCI, so fringe is debatable. The addition of Dybvik makes this team even more dangerous than it was last year with Nicholas going off, and both of them are still eligible for the Di Bradini Cup! On the whole, we expect the Storm to win titles in a couple years, with a very strong youth movement that is already great, but will develop into one of the best rosters in the league. However, this year we expect a similar performance, as the Storm performed well better than they might have, and probably should have last season. Despite a very good roster, they’re just not quite good enough to break into the IFCF yet. But soon. Very soon.

Location: Vik City
Last Season: 15th
Stadium: Vik City Stadium (35,000)
Nicknames: Raiders
Style: Very stationary, with an emphasis on stretch passes.
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Ebba Saarinen
Starting XI:
ST Ann Kingma
ST Wesley Wever
LM Marianna Blom
CM Henry Smits
CM Erik Mathiasen
RM Angela Bouw
LB Charlotte Ingrid
CB Jennifer Denid
CB Mariëtte Klomp
RB Elvar Lehtonen
GK Tue Berntsen

Vikings are part of the multisport organization known as Viksport. Viksport owns teams in every major professional sports league in Cordia, all under the Vikings name. The organization and the team were founded around twenty years ago by Cordian billionaire Richard Carlsen, so it’s overall a pretty new club. However, Carlsen hasn’t put much money into the club so far, preferring to allow it to take its own course as a test of what it would be capable of. That might be due to change soon, if Carlsen is willing to put his fortune into making his clubs successful, starting at the transfer window.
Nothing in the transfer window.
15th. Holy, this team sucks. Something needs to change here or the Vikings could easily find themselves in the League B next season.

Location: East Fjord
Last Season: 16th
Stadium: East Fjord Sports Center (14,000)
Nicknames: Gold-and-Blacks
Style: A fairly balanced 4-4-2, nothing all that special.
Formation: 4-4-2
Manager: Lukas Iversen
Starting XI:
ST Ebbe Holmstrom
ST Jorn Anthonsen
LM Josef Jonsson
CM Kathrine Martinsen
CM Tuuli Seppanen
RM Jarkko Salonen
LB Monica Andreasson
CB Paula Vinter
CB David Harris
RB Lisbeth Nurmi
GK Cathrine Lundquist

One of the older clubs, which fell into lower-league play soon after promotion/relegation was added due to a lack of funding. East Fjord has a healthy, if lopsided, rivalry with Skalton and Cordasfjord and can be expected to play the hardest against those clubs.
Nothing new from the Transfer Window in East Fjord.
16th will net East Fjord a Cordia Cup bye, but little better. They keep finding themselves near the relegation line, and desperately need a new signing if they’re going to have any chance at establishing themselves fully in this league for the first time since the League’s founding. However, that didn’t come this season, so they’ll have to make do with what they have and hope that next season, maybe, they can get somebody good.

Location: Valley Fold
Last Season: 17th
Stadium: Valley Fold Community Stadium (10,000)
Nicknames: The Valley Fold Regional Spelling Bee
Style: A focus on taking possession and advancing the ball quickly so as to get it out of the defensive half.
Formation: 4-2-2-2
Manager: Thor Aalto
Starting XI:
ST Eskil Thorn
ST Evelina Danielsen
AM Irina Oliversen
AM Valpuri Sander
LM Emil Rosenberg
RM Dag Jakobsen
LB Petteri Lange
CB Valdemar Bengtsdotter
CB Aina Ljungren
RB Jean Admiraal
GK Xochitl Barros

A club predating the CIFA, Valley Fold’s red-and-gold colors are worn by a small but extremely loyal following in the Valley. Their fanbase can be expected to shout, cheer, and sing through the entirety of matches in well-below-freezing Valley Fold weather. With that kind of support behind them, it’s no wonder that among those who can bear the climate, Valley Fold players stay with the club for so long.
No new signings for the Vanquishers, which is questionable since they finished three points out of relegation.
Jean Admiraal is the perfect example of the above, the loyalty you’ll see in Valley Fold. A NT-caliber back, she elected to stick with the Vanquishers even when they were sent back down to League B and has been instrumental in their recovery. Valley Fold also has several intriguing youth prospects on its roster that could make an impact in future years, Xochitl Barros the best of them after receiving several awards last season. The Gortelokuan is a huge part of reason that the Vanquishers didn’t go down, as they ranked among of the five stingiest teams when it came to goals against. However, the Vanquishers underperformed massively in their sophomore season. They’ll need a much better performance if they want to stay in this league long enough to improve their roster.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Dec 10, 2022 2:32 pm

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Jutland FC                   38   22  11   5    52   21  +31    77
 2 Danvirk FC                   38   21  11   6    80   55  +25    74
 3 Creston Wolves               38   21   8   9    73   53  +20    71
 4 Jutland Cannons              38   20   7  11    45   32  +13    67
 5 Gilded City Dragons          38   17  14   7    34   18  +16    65*
 6 Meadow Ridge Maples          38   17  13   8    59   42  +17    64
 7 Brenville Blue               38   15  15   8    73   53  +20    60
 8 Cordasfjord FC               38   15  10  13    50   48   +2    55
 9 Shelter Cove Captains        38   15  10  13    73   72   +1    55
10 Channel Point FC             38   15   9  14    75   72   +3    54
11 Eriksson Icecaps             38   16   6  16    76   80   −4    54
12 Thor's Rest Storm            38   13  13  12    53   50   +3    52
13 Skalton Harpers              38   12   9  17    39   50  −11    45
14 Icecliff Pack FC             38   12   8  18    57   56   +1    44
15 Vikings FC                   38   11   7  20    29   50  −21    40
16 Southmont Hawks FC           38   10   8  20    41   59  −18    38
17 Valley Fold Vanquishers      38    6  17  15    26   47  −21    35
18 Norport FC                   38    9   4  25    19   44  −25    31
19 East Fjord FC                38    6  11  21    44   66  −22    29
20 Courvale Kings FC            38    6  11  21    34   64  −30    29

CIFA League B               Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Mountainview FC           38   22   7   9    82   54  +28    73
 2 AFC Korda                 38   19   8  11    60   47  +13    65
 3 Northshore FC             38   17  11  10    75   56  +19    62
 4 Canby Crescent            38   17   9  12    68   58  +10    60
 5 West Viksee               38   16  11  11    89   82   +7    59
 6 White River FC            38   15  13  10    65   56   +9    58
 7 North Bay FC              38   16   8  14    35   31   +4    56
 8 Midvik Varangians         38   15  10  13    50   42   +8    55
 9 Westwall Stand            38   15  10  13    69   63   +6    55
10 Salmon Lake FC            38   14  12  12    54   48   +6    54
11 North Courvale FC         38   13  12  13    62   72  −10    51
12 South Bay FC              38   14   8  16    55   61   −6    50
13 Lakeshore Hersir          38   13   9  16    40   43   −3    48
14 Thetford FC               38   10  16  12    69   68   +1    46
15 Castle Hill Courage       38   12  10  16    44   57  −13    46
16 South Shore Athletic      38   12   9  17    49   61  −12    45
17 Red Hill Smithers         38   12   8  18    47   65  −18    44
18 West Vik Valkyries        38   11   7  20    46   53   −7    40
19 West Skalton Notes        38   10  10  18    72   83  −11    40
20 West Skalton FC           38    9   8  21    39   70  −31    35

CIFA League C             Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Bay Yards               38   20   9   9    48   27  +21    69
 2 East Jutland FC         38   19  12   7    57   40  +17    69
 3 Volsung Lake Club       38   20   8  10    86   67  +19    68
 4 Silver Club             38   20   4  14    78   73   +5    64
 5 FC Industrial           38   19   6  13    72   46  +26    63
 6 East Vik FC             38   16  11  11    85   62  +23    59
 7 Timber FC               38   16  10  12    71   60  +11    58
 8 North Valley FC         38   14  13  11    67   61   +6    55
 9 South Beach FC          38   14  13  11    89   88   +1    55
10 Shining Lake FC         38   15  10  13    83   83    0    55
11 Northmark Admirals      38   14  12  12    67   68   −1    54
12 Seewatch Club           38   13   9  16    36   41   −5    48
13 Standard Creston        38   13   7  18    60   58   +2    46
14 South Point             38   11  13  14    66   69   −3    46
15 Lake Hervor FC          38   12   9  17    58   69  −11    45
16 Highlands               38   13   5  20    69   84  −15    44
17 Woods Elite FC          38   11   9  18    47   59  −12    42
18 Aella Eagles            38   11   9  18    45   59  −14    42
19 Doveport FC             38    8  14  16    73   95  −22    38
20 Griffin Heights FC      38    4  11  23    49   97  −48    23

CIFA League D                Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 FC Whitebridge             38   19  14   5    68   41  +27    71
 2 Reya FC                    38   20   9   9    84   59  +25    69
 3 East Cliff Cove FC         38   20   8  10    87   63  +24    68
 4 Ice Fields                 38   20   6  12    71   56  +15    66
 5 Sporting Red Hill          38   18  11   9    88   73  +15    65
 6 AFC Greenbank              38   16  13   9    75   67   +8    61
 7 Riverborne Raiders         38   17   9  12    69   63   +6    60
 8 Fireport Flames            38   16  11  11    65   57   +8    59
 9 Middle Fjords              38   16  11  11    65   59   +6    59
10 AFC Blackmill              38   13  10  15    47   47    0    49
11 Belland FC                 38   14   7  17    64   67   −3    49
12 Marble Heights Ascent      38   11  12  15    67   74   −7    45
13 Threshers FC               38   12   8  18    43   52   −9    44
14 Brightway Stargazers       38   11  10  17    51   56   −5    43
15 Thenesse FC                38   10  12  16    56   69  −13    42
16 Briarville AFC             38    9  13  16    63   78  −15    40
17 Blaora Township            38   10   9  19    36   53  −17    39
18 Southbeach Sailors         38    9  12  17    60   84  −24    39
19 Red Winter Club            38    8  11  19    51   72  −21    35
20 Chesterfield Club          38    8  10  20    51   71  −20    34

Cordia Cup

Qualifying
East Jutland FC (CCC) 3–1 AFC Blackmill (DDD)
Lake Hervor FC (CCC) 1–0 East Cliff Cove FC (DDD)
Belland FC (DDD) 2–1 Silver Club (CCC)
Brightway Stargazers (DDD) 1–2 FC Whitebridge (DDD)
Red Winter Club (DDD) 0–2 Shining Lake FC (CCC)
Marble Heights Ascent (DDD) 6–2 Chesterfield Club (DDD)
Griffin Heights FC (CCC) 1–0 Reya FC (DDD)
Thenesse FC (DDD) 1–1 Middle Fjords (DDD) (1–1 AET) (3–0 pen.)
Briarville AFC (DDD) 0–1 Southbeach Sailors (DDD)
Aella Eagles (CCC) 1–1 Doveport FC (CCC) (1–1 AET) (3–1 pen.)
Threshers FC (DDD) 1–1 Sporting Red Hill (DDD) (1–2 AET)
Woods Elite FC (CCC) 1–5 Bay Yards (CCC)
AFC Greenbank (DDD) 3–5 Seewatch Club (CCC)
Timber FC (CCC) 1–1 Fireport Flames (DDD) (1–1 AET) (3–1 pen.)
Ice Fields (DDD) 0–1 Blaora Township (DDD)
Riverborne Raiders (DDD) 2–2 East Vik FC (CCC) (2–2 AET) (2–4 pen.)

Round of 64
Northmark Admirals (CCC) 0–1 South Shore Athletic (BBB)
Aella Eagles (CCC) 3–3 South Beach FC (CCC) (4–3 AET)
West Skalton FC (BBB) 0–0 Courvale Kings FC (AAA) (0–0 AET) (4–2 pen.)
Meadow Ridge Maples (AAA) 2–0 Shelter Cove Captains (AAA)
Salmon Lake FC (BBB) 0–0 North Courvale FC (BBB) (1–1 AET) (5–6 pen.)
Icecliff Pack FC (AAA) 1–2 Channel Point FC (AAA)
Danvirk FC (AAA) 1–2 Vikings FC (AAA)
West Vik Valkyries (BBB) 1–1 Sporting Red Hill (DDD) (1–2 AET)
Belland FC (DDD) 2–5 Standard Creston (CCC)
East Jutland FC (CCC) 1–1 Thetford FC (BBB) (1–2 AET)
AFC Korda (BBB) 4–2 Seewatch Club (CCC)
Valley Fold Vanquishers (AAA) 2–1 North Valley FC (CCC)
Jutland FC (AAA) 3–0 Westwall Stand (BBB)
East Vik FC (CCC) 2–0 Midvik Varangians (BBB)
Highlands (CCC) 3–2 West Skalton Notes (BBB)
FC Industrial (CCC) 1–3 Jutland Cannons (AAA)
South Point (CCC) 2–2 Mountainview FC (BBB) (2–2 AET) (2–3 pen.)
Canby Crescent (BBB) 2–3 Gilded City Dragons (AAA)
East Fjord FC (AAA) 2–2 White River FC (BBB) (2–2 AET) (2–4 pen.)
Cordasfjord FC (AAA) 1–3 Castle Hill Courage (BBB)
West Viksee (BBB) 0–1 Shining Lake FC (CCC)
Marble Heights Ascent (DDD) 2–3 Bay Yards (CCC)
Brenville Blue (AAA) 3–1 FC Whitebridge (DDD)
Timber FC (CCC) 1–0 South Bay FC (BBB)
Norport FC (AAA) 3–0 Northshore FC (BBB)
Blaora Township (DDD) 1–3 Eriksson Icecaps (AAA)
Southbeach Sailors (DDD) 0–4 North Bay FC (BBB)
Skalton Harpers (AAA) 0–1 Volsung Lake Club (CCC)
Southmont Hawks FC (AAA) 2–1 Red Hill Smithers (BBB)
Creston Wolves (AAA) 2–3 Thor's Rest Storm (AAA)
Thenesse FC (DDD) 0–1 Griffin Heights FC (CCC)
Lakeshore Hersir (BBB) 4–5 Lake Hervor FC (CCC)

Round of 32
Thetford FC (BBB) 2–3 Brenville Blue (AAA)
Norport FC (AAA) 2–4 Highlands (CCC)
East Vik FC (CCC) 0–2 Bay Yards (CCC)
South Shore Athletic (BBB) 2–2 Standard Creston (CCC) (2–2 AET) (2–4 pen.)
Gilded City Dragons (AAA) 4–3 White River FC (BBB)
Jutland Cannons (AAA) 5–1 Volsung Lake Club (CCC)
Shining Lake FC (CCC) 0–1 AFC Korda (BBB)
Valley Fold Vanquishers (AAA) 1–0 Vikings FC (AAA)
Timber FC (CCC) 1–1 Castle Hill Courage (BBB) (2–3 AET)
Southmont Hawks FC (AAA) 3–3 Mountainview FC (BBB) (3–4 AET)
Lake Hervor FC (CCC) 1–2 West Skalton FC (BBB)
Griffin Heights FC (CCC) 3–1 Aella Eagles (CCC)
Thor's Rest Storm (AAA) 2–0 North Courvale FC (BBB)
Eriksson Icecaps (AAA) 1–0 North Bay FC (BBB)
Channel Point FC (AAA) 3–3 Sporting Red Hill (DDD) (4–3 AET)
Jutland FC (AAA) 2–1 Meadow Ridge Maples (AAA)

Round of 16
Highlands (CCC) 1–1 Brenville Blue (AAA) (2–1 AET)
Thor's Rest Storm (AAA) 1–0 Griffin Heights FC (CCC)
Valley Fold Vanquishers (AAA) 3–1 Channel Point FC (AAA)
Eriksson Icecaps (AAA) 2–3 West Skalton FC (BBB)
Jutland Cannons (AAA) 1–0 Bay Yards (CCC)
Jutland FC (AAA) 0–0 Mountainview FC (BBB) (0–0 AET) (2–4 pen.)
Castle Hill Courage (BBB) 3–1 AFC Korda (BBB)
Standard Creston (CCC) 1–4 Gilded City Dragons (AAA)

Quarterfinals
Jutland Cannons (AAA) 0–0 Valley Fold Vanquishers (AAA) (0–0 AET) (3–0 pen.)
Highlands (CCC) 2–3 Castle Hill Courage (BBB)
Mountainview FC (BBB) 3–1 Gilded City Dragons (AAA)
Thor's Rest Storm (AAA) 1–0 West Skalton FC (BBB)

Semifinals
Jutland Cannons (AAA) 1–0 Castle Hill Courage (BBB)
Thor's Rest Storm (AAA) 4–2 Mountainview FC (BBB)

Final
Jutland Cannons (AAA) 6–3 Thor's Rest Storm (AAA)

CIFA League A                  Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Jutland FC                   38   22  11   5    52   21  +31    77
 2 Danvirk FC                   38   21  11   6    80   55  +25    74
 3 Creston Wolves               38   21   8   9    73   53  +20    71
 4 Jutland Cannons              38   20   7  11    45   32  +13    67
 5 Gilded City Dragons          38   17  14   7    34   18  +16    65
 6 Meadow Ridge Maples          38   17  13   8    59   42  +17    64
 7 Brenville Blue               38   15  15   8    73   53  +20    60
 8 Cordasfjord FC               38   15  10  13    50   48   +2    55
 9 Shelter Cove Captains        38   15  10  13    73   72   +1    55
10 Channel Point FC             38   15   9  14    75   72   +3    54
11 Eriksson Icecaps             38   16   6  16    76   80   −4    54
12 Thor's Rest Storm            38   13  13  12    53   50   +3    52
13 Skalton Harpers              38   12   9  17    39   50  −11    45
14 Icecliff Pack FC             38   12   8  18    57   56   +1    44
15 Vikings FC                   38   11   7  20    29   50  −21    40
16 Southmont Hawks FC           38   10   8  20    41   59  −18    38
17 Valley Fold Vanquishers      38    6  17  15    26   47  −21    35
18 Norport FC                   38    9   4  25    19   44  −25    31
19 East Fjord FC                38    6  11  21    44   66  −22    29
20 Courvale Kings FC            38    6  11  21    34   64  −30    29

OOC: Well, that's about everything. Obviously a very disappointing effort from me that I hope never to replicate, especially considering how exciting the season turned out to be. A title for JFC after finally finding some new players to rely on? Danvirk the runners-up and Creston to the IFCC? And Cordasfjord, Brenville, Meadow Ridge, and Cannons all mediocre? What a season. The issue, essentially, is that I pushed things off until the last week as I normally do. But this time, I was swamped with homework and commitments, and found myself unable to actually do the writeup. Luckily, I already had the previews done, or this would have been a complete disaster. Player awards will be forthcoming with short writeups since there was none in the main results this time and will certainly be released before I do the next season, so if your player is on the better side of the league, you will certainly get to see how they performed.

I will not have much activity in the upcoming transfer window, and will instead focus on the World Cup of Hockey and on getting the next league done in advance.

If you want to list your players in my league in the upcoming window, go ahead. I completely understand and my clubs will give the Y for any offers, regardless of price. Similarly, I will be providing landing places for any of my players abroad should they be transfer-listed, but I will not be actively looking to fill needs and sell players into top leagues.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Fri Jul 14, 2023 4:55 pm

CNHC Previews

The CNHC is the new top Cordian hockey league. There are now 24 teams in the top division, split into three divisions: Fjords, East Isle, and Northwest. Each team will play each of the other 23 teams in the league 4 times apiece. They will be ranked within their division, with the top four in each division going to the divisional playoffs. Divisionals are a double-elimination format with each matchup decided in a best-of-3 series. The champions and runners-up in each division advance to CNHC Nationals. The third-placers will battle each other in a single round-robin tournament to decide the final two qualifiers to the national field of eight. From there, it's pretty straightforward. Normal bracket, best-of-5 series, may the best team win.

Fjords Division

AC Diamond
Stadium: Vestarsson Shipyards Sports Center (16,000)
Colors: Navy and White
Key Player: G Aron Person
The Story Thus Far: Diamond are in a similar predicament to Platinum - there is enough money in the city for two top-level clubs, but not good ones. And with Platinum claiming the city’s lone honor, Diamond has to rely more on corporate funding, and even then their income is far less than their crosstown rivals’. Their money, like Platinum’s, can’t go as far, and there is less of it at Diamond.

AC Platinum
Stadium: Gilded City Ice Center (25,000)
Colors: Light Blue and Black
Honors: 1x Regular Season Champions
Key Player: C Randolf Karlsson
The Story Thus Far: AC Platinum have some of the best facilities in the CNHC, and yet, they still suck relative to dominant Cordasfjord Central, or even Mountainview. There is not too much homegrown talent over in Gilded City, which is perhaps why Platinum’s money doesn’t seem to go as far as the better-known organizations’.

Cordasfjord Central
Stadium: Central Arena (23,000)
Colors: Red and Gold
Honors: 2x CNHC Champions, 1x CNHC Runners-Up, 2x Regular Season Champions, 1x Regular Season Runners-Up
Key Player: RW Rurik Dirsson
The Story Thus Far: With a roster featuring no less than three national teamers and a very intriguing 19-year-old prospect in Daniella Jansson, who has played on the top defensive pair for the Cordian U-19s since she was 16, Cordasfjord is generally predicted to finish first in the league and are, as usual, a force to be reckoned with.

East Fjord AC
Stadium: The Barn (5,500)
Colors: Maroon and Gold
Key Player: G Ivor Helgisson
The Story Thus Far: With few prospects for the future and a small if fiery fanbase, East Fjord does not look like a competitors for many championships in future seasons.

Mountainview AC
Stadium: Mountainview Arena (12,000)
Colors: Maroon and Green
Key Player: D Svein Svensson
The Story Thus Far: If you were looking for the antithesis to the Gilded City clubs, here it is. Mountainview is home to an explosion of talent given the city’s predisposition to the cold and hometown player Svein Svensson’s impressive success on the international stage. The team’s depth is completed by several midlevel prospects, as well as a pair of former NTDP/national team potential players in Berit Ask and Gerhard Nordstrom, as well as Svensson himself. This is a very dangerous team that with a bit of luck could give even Cordasfjord a run for its money.

Shelter Cove AC
Stadium: Cove Arena (16,000)
Colors: Yellow and Black
Key Player: D Carolina Henriksson
The Story Thus Far: Shelter Cove is an area traditionally without too much hockey talent - that is found more often in the Northwest, where it is one of a few things to do, or in the East, where it is lucrative. This shows in their hockey team, which has a prospective national teamer in Carolina Henriksson, but really not much else at all. It would be impressive and a surprise for them to make the playoffs.

Skalton East AC
Stadium: Cordian Orchestra Arena (15,000)
Colors: Gold and Royal Blue
Key Player: LW Jennifer Vosun
The Story Thus Far: Skalton East are a decently competitive but not exactly notable team that should make the playoffs and should, barring exceptional circumstances, not do much there. They have a solid player in Jennifer Vosun and a good goaltender in Percy Aberg and could improve in the future, but expect just some high-level mediocrity from Skalton East this season.

West Skalton AC
Stadium: West Skalton Arena (8,000)
Colors: Navy Blue and Red
Key Player: N/A
The Story Thus Far: With no star player and little funding, West Skalton gets hit hard by the lack of talent in Skalton as a whole. They will not be very good this season, and they had better hope relegation doesn’t get introduced anytime soon.

East Isle Division

Brenville AC
Stadium: Brenville Indoor Stadium (10,000)
Colors: Light Blue and Gold
Key Player: RW Agneta Bjorn
The Story Thus Far: Brenville has always been more of a football city than a hockey city, with its football club one of the best teams in the nation. Its hockey team, on the other hand, has lagged far behind due to the relative strength of teams to the north like the Jutland squads and Lakeshore. Agneta Bjorn is a homegrown talent signed to the club with fringe national potential; hardly significant in the incredibly competitive East Isle Division, but it’s what they have to work with. Expect Brenville to miss the playoffs, but not by too much - they remain somewhat close to Thor’s Thunder.

Danvirk Wall
Stadium: The Keep (14,000)
Colors: Royal Blue and Orange
Key Player: D Anneli Swensson
The Story Thus Far: With a quite nice arena built alongside the Castle outdoor arena that belies their not-so-great performance, Danvirk are a club that have failed to keep the talent in their city with such good programs nearby. Anneli Swensson, a fringe NT candidate like the abovementioned Bjorn, is the team’s best player and they have a solid team behind her that could compete with Brenville and Thor’s Thunder if they have a good year.

Dreadnought AC
Stadium: Westside Sports Center (15,000)
Colors: Navy Blue and Gray
Honors: 1x CNHC Champions, 1x CNHC Runners-Up
Key Player: C Martin Kordsen
The Story Thus Far: Crosstown rivals of Jutland Eastside, games between the sides will see two of the top talents in the Isles go head-to-head, as Dreadnought have Martin Kordsen. One of the best talents from the Isles and quickly making a name for himself on the international stage, Kordsen is backed by RW Signy Macleod and the Leifssen brothers on defense, making Dreadnought the favorites for the division title.

Jutland Eastside
Stadium: East Jutland Arena (17,000)
Colors: Royal Blue and Orange
Honors: 1x Regular Season Champions, 1x CNHC Runners-Up
Key Player: C Alicia Sorensen
The Story Thus Far: Eastside still have an incredible talent in their hands in Alicia Sorensen, one of the best players in the nation, and, dare we say, the world. She’s already made an impact on the national team in two World Cups of Hockey and is set to keep producing at the national and club level for many, many more. Eastside have built their team around her, with few other stars, which has led to some questioning the club’s ability to win team championships.

Lakeshore Warriors
Stadium: AirCordia Center (20,000)
Colors: Navy Blue and Ice Blue
Honors: 1x Regular Season Champions, 1x CNHC Runners-Up, 2x Regular Season Runners-Up
Key Player: LW Justin Perreau
The Story Thus Far: Bankrolled by AirCordia and toting national team star Justin Perreau, far and away the best player in the Isles, the Warriors are still going strong. However, much of their support behind Perreau has dropped away, leaving him with massive responsibility as he continues in his thirties. When he leaves, it will be a very sad day for Lakeshore fans - just not quite yet.

North Bay AC
Stadium: Lookout Point Arena (8,000)
Colors: Purple and Yellow
Key Player: N/A
The Story Thus Far: Lacking star talent or much of a team, North Bay still has one thing nobody else in the league can lay claim to: the beautiful view of Lookout Point, gazing out onto the bay. Let that be solace for fans as they watch their beleaguered team this season.

Riverside AC
Stadium: South City Arena (6,000)
Colors: Navy and Green
Key Player: N/A
The Story Thus Far: Riverside illustrate perfectly the divide in this division. The third team from Jutland in the division, they consistently lose players to the two much bigger local programs and must deal with the rest. They haven’t produced a national-caliber player in years, and they are picked to finish dead last in the division.

Thor’s Thunder AC
Stadium: North Island Ice Arena (15,000)
Colors: Purple and Black
Honors: 1x Regular Season Runners-Up
Key Player: C Mona Mattson
The Story Thus Far: A team built on grinding and hard work, that wears on them late in the season and they have a tendency to underperform come the playoffs. The loss of Will Egilsen will hit them hard, and the team’s new star in Mona Mattson will have huge shoes to fill entering her second season with the team, and her first without Egilsen.

Northside Division

Creston Wolves
Stadium: Creston Center (8,500)
Colors: Dark Green and Black
Key Player: RW Astrid Headlund
The Story Thus Far: Creston is in the far north, with a small but loyal fanbase. There’s not much to do other than hockey, and the Wolves have an impressive array of talent - the best of which is Astrid Headlund, an expected future national teamer. A member of the Northside’s Big Four clubs, expect Creston in the playoffs and then we’ll just have to see; it’s quite a competitive division.

Eriksson AC
Stadium: Academy Arena (6,000)
Colors: Maroon and White
Key Player: RW Helmer Lundquist
The Story Thus Far: Another of your solid northwestern programs, Eriksson consistently produces a level of talent far outpacing the size of the city. That has manifested in Helmer Lundquist, an expected national teamer for the next cycle despite his age - only 19 years old. Eriksson have a solid base around him, too, with quite a bit of talent. Expect them to compete at a high level in this competitive league.

Icecliff Bears
Stadium: Icecliff Sports Center (6,500)
Colors: Navy and Gold
Key Player: N/A
The Story Thus Far: The small city in the far north has some good players, but nobody of special note. Another grindy team in a division that is full of them, Icecliff will look to compete but are the consensus pick for last - and yet, as we’ve said, it’s a highly competitive division, and seeing them in the playoffs would not be entirely out of place.

Norport AC
Stadium: Norport Ice Center (10,000)
Colors: Blue and Gray
Key Player: LW Janne Carlsson
The Story Thus Far: A good team but not a great one, Norport hail from their namesake gritty port city and their play reflects that. This is a tough, physical squad that can wreak havoc on the opposition if let into their opponents’ heads. This will be critical for them as they are on the outside looking in to secure a playoff spot this season.

Northlake Elite
Stadium: Northlake Center (5,000)
Colors: Blue and White
Key Player: N/A
The Story Thus Far: A good all-round team that has cohesion instead of star power, and they make it work better than you would expect. They’re in the hunt for a playoff spot but will have a hard time of it playing in the most competitive division as they are.

Valley Fold AC
Stadium: North Valley Ice (7,500)
Colors: Purple and Red
Key Player: D Charles Larsson
The Story Thus Far: Charles Larsson, one of the top Cordian prospects from a couple years back, signed with his hometown and will make an impact for his club. After two cycles on the national team, he’s an established player at the highest levels - and with backup from legend Chris Ericsson at goalie and a top-class center in Jimmy Strom, this is a team to watch.

Vik City AC
Stadium: Vikland Arena (18,000)
Colors: Black and Red
Key Player: C Verna Fredricksson
The Story Thus Far: The best-funded team and generally held to be the best in the division, Vik City makes up in consistency what they lack in pure talent - and they feature Verna Fredricksson, a current national teamer, at center, making that a somewhat concerning statement. Picked to win the division, this team has a gritty way of play and will be looking to shut down the hometown talent that pervades in the northwest.

Vik East AC
Stadium: Eastern Arena (9,000)
Colors: Red and Orange
Key Player: D Niclas Henriksson
The Story Thus Far: It’s not easy being a rich team when the richest team in your division is right next door. Vik East struggle to create an identity of their own - almost as much as they struggle to find stars to sign. Henriksson is good but without much to back him up, it's not looking good for Vik East. He may be on the outs as well if it's a bad season for the club which, given the state of the squad, seems quite likely.

by **The Cordian Isles** » Sat Jul 15, 2023 6:53 pm

CNHC Regular Season

The teams are set, the fans are frothing at the mouth (which is rather concerning considering that we put our budget money into sports instead of health this year but whatever), and without further ado, let the CNHC regular season begin!

CNHC Top Level             Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Brenville AC             23   13   7   3    77   52  +25    33
 2 Dreadnought AC           23   14   1   8    86   63  +23    29
 3 Jutland Eastside         23   13   3   7    75   60  +15    29
 4 Lakeshore Warriors       23   14   0   9    75   54  +21    28
 5 Cordasfjord Central      23   13   2   8    84   61  +23    28
 6 Vik City AC              23   12   3   8    78   63  +15    27
 7 Thor's Thunder AC        23   12   2   9    71   65   +6    26
 8 AC Diamond               23   10   4   9    70   63   +7    24
 9 Creston Wolves           23   10   4   9    66   65   +1    24
10 Vik East AC              23    9   6   8    58   55   +3    24
11 East Fjord AC            23   10   3  10    76   80   −4    23
12 Mountainview AC          23    9   5   9    58   69  −11    23
13 Valley Fold AC           23   10   2  11    77   88  −11    22
14 AC Platinum              23    9   4  10    65   66   −1    22
15 Eriksson AC              23    9   3  11    64   71   −7    21
16 Shelter Cove AC          23    9   3  11    71   87  −16    21
17 Northlake Elite          23    8   5  10    60   69   −9    21
18 Norport AC               23    8   4  11    65   77  −12    20
19 Skalton East AC          23    7   6  10    59   72  −13    20
20 West Skalton AC          23    8   3  12    64   82  −18    19
21 North Bay AC             23    7   4  12    50   59   −9    18
22 Icecliff Bears           23    5   8  10    62   68   −6    18
23 Riverside AC             23    7   2  14    56   69  −13    16
24 Danvirk Wall             23    6   4  13    65   74   −9    16

A quarter through the season, where the best way to judge performance is via the overall rankings. Towards the end you'll start seeing divisional rankings as the playoffs loom. The top of the board features the usual suspects - wait. Brenville? Yes, Brenville. Turns out Agneta Bjorn is one hell of a player and has developed quite nicely since her stint on the U-19 National Team's fourth line several years ago. She's making a name for herself as a very good two-way player, and Brenville's position as the league's best defense is thanks in no small part to her. Eventually, Brenville will likely return to earth but for a team expected to be in the middle of the table, this is a very nice surprise. AC Diamond below them are overperforming, as are unheralded Vik East and East Fjord, while Mountainview, the consensus pick for second in the Fjords Division, sits all the way back in the middle of the table along with Valley Fold, both teams considered among Cordia's best. Towards the bottom, the biggest surprise is Danvirk in dead last, while teams they should absolutely be beating, like Riverside, East Fjord, and even AC Diamond sit far above them in the standings. As we go into the second quadrant of the season, expect a return to earth for some teams and a return to normal levels for others; a massive part of this table seems very much unsustainable.

CNHC Top Level             Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Jutland Eastside         46   28   6  12   148  106  +42    62
 2 Lakeshore Warriors       46   26   4  16   158  113  +45    56
 3 Dreadnought AC           46   24   7  15   164  126  +38    55
 4 Cordasfjord Central      46   24   7  15   171  136  +35    55
 5 Mountainview AC          46   24   7  15   139  126  +13    55
 6 Brenville AC             46   22  11  13   139  111  +28    55
 7 Creston Wolves           46   22   6  18   148  131  +17    50
 8 AC Platinum              46   22   6  18   133  134   −1    50
 9 Thor's Thunder AC        46   22   5  19   138  142   −4    49
10 Vik City AC              46   22   4  20   132  119  +13    48
11 AC Diamond               46   21   6  19   130  128   +2    48
12 Vik East AC              46   17  13  16   129  122   +7    47
13 Shelter Cove AC          46   20   6  20   139  158  −19    46
14 Skalton East AC          46   17  12  17   117  125   −8    46
15 West Skalton AC          46   19   5  22   133  162  −29    43
16 North Bay AC             46   17   7  22   126  126    0    41
17 Norport AC               46   17   7  22   128  149  −21    41
18 Danvirk Wall             46   16   9  21   146  146    0    41
19 Eriksson AC              46   16   8  22   122  143  −21    40
20 Northlake Elite          46   14   9  23   111  131  −20    37
21 East Fjord AC            46   14   8  24   125  159  −34    36
22 Icecliff Bears           46   13  10  23   117  133  −16    36
23 Valley Fold AC           46   14   7  25   141  166  −25    35
24 Riverside AC             46   12   8  26   109  151  −42    32

The top of the board is back to normal with Brenville down to sixth with nine wins in 23 games. Eastside has a six-point lead in first, but that can change very soon - there are still 46 games left on the season. Vik East is still hanging around in the midtable somehow, not too far behind powerhouse divisionmates Vik City - something that will have City fans pissed. The biggest shock of the second quadrant is an astonishingly horrible performance from Valley Fold, a side often picked to represent the Northwest at CNHC Nationals. Four wins and five draws, plus fourteen losses in 23 games? This is an absolute trainwreck for Valley Fold at the halfway mark, and they need to fix their team before it gets any worse, with their playoff hopes very much at risk. Also concerning is the fact that Valley Fold, leading the league in goals allowed, has two national teamers in defensive positions - Charles Larsson at D and Chris Ericsson at goalie. This leads naturally to questions about their future on the national level, with Larsson widely considered the future of the Cordian defensive corps. We go into the third quadrant with five teams within four games of leaders Eastside, so expect some fireworks as they continue to pursue the national regular season title.

Fjords Division         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
Cordasfjord Central      69   40   8  21   237  177  +60    88
Mountainview AC          69   35   8  26   215  191  +24    78
Skalton East AC          69   30  16  23   202  193   +9    76
AC Platinum              69   34   8  27   218  201  +17    76
Shelter Cove AC          69   31   8  30   199  219  −20    70
West Skalton AC          69   27   7  35   176  225  −49    61
AC Diamond               69   25  11  33   180  217  −37    61
East Fjord AC            69   23  11  35   181  226  −45    57

East Isle Division      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
Jutland Eastside         69   40  10  19   223  165  +58    90
Lakeshore Warriors       69   37   9  23   232  173  +59    83
Dreadnought AC           69   36  11  22   251  195  +56    83
Brenville AC             69   32  16  21   215  173  +42    80
Thor's Thunder AC        69   31  12  26   205  205    0    74
Danvirk Wall             69   26  12  31   206  201   +5    64
North Bay AC             69   23  11  35   177  204  −27    57
Riverside AC             69   17   9  43   173  247  −74    43

Northside Division      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
Creston Wolves           69   34  10  25   228  192  +36    78
Vik City AC              69   30   9  30   205  192  +13    69
Eriksson AC              69   28  12  29   188  202  −14    68
Norport AC               69   26  12  31   186  212  −26    64
Vik East AC              69   23  17  29   196  213  −17    63
Valley Fold AC           69   24  11  34   216  237  −21    59
Northlake Elite          69   23  13  33   178  200  −22    59
Icecliff Bears           69   20  15  34   195  222  −27    55

The playoff picture is coming into clearer view with 23 games left on the regular season. In the Fjords, AC Diamond have fallen far with fourteen losses in the last quadrant and no longer factor as contenders, fifteen points behind the cutoff. Cordasfjord seem safe, leading the division by ten points and eighteen ahead of the playoff line. Shelter Cove is the team sitting in fifth, and the only one still with a real chance at making it, six points behind two of the top four and eight behind Mountainview. A good quadrant from them and a stumble from those above and we could be seeing them in the playoffs. In the East, it's the usual suspects plus Brenville. The Big Three eastern clubs lead the division with little fear of being caught. Brenville in fourth lead the Thunder by six points - that could be a battle that goes right up to the finish. In the Northside, the leaders in Creston have just 78 points, with Vik City in second averaging just one point per game. However, the Northside is still the closest division - every team remains, inexplicably, within nine points of the playoffs. The most interesting race will be there; which subpar team will take fourth in the division and go to the playoffs? The top three teams have enough of a buffer that they should be fine.

CNHC Top Level             Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
 1 Cordasfjord Central      92   54  10  28   321  238  +83   118
 2 Jutland Eastside         92   49  15  28   297  242  +55   113
 3 Dreadnought AC           92   48  16  28   332  261  +71   112
 4 Lakeshore Warriors       92   49  12  31   303  230  +73   110
 5 Creston Wolves           92   48  14  30   316  260  +56   110
 6 Brenville AC             92   42  20  30   276  228  +48   104
 7 Mountainview AC          92   47   9  36   273  245  +28   103
 8 AC Platinum              92   43  15  34   280  258  +22   101
 9 Vik City AC              92   42  14  36   260  233  +27    98
10 Thor's Thunder AC        92   40  18  34   272  264   +8    98
11 Skalton East AC          92   39  20  33   273  271   +2    98
12 Valley Fold AC           92   40  12  40   304  306   −2    92
13 Eriksson AC              92   38  14  40   256  274  −18    90
14 Danvirk Wall             92   36  18  38   272  266   +6    90
15 Shelter Cove AC          92   37  12  43   261  298  −37    86
16 Icecliff Bears           92   34  18  40   271  285  −14    86
17 West Skalton AC          92   38   8  46   236  287  −51    84
18 Norport AC               92   33  18  41   243  271  −28    84
19 North Bay AC             92   32  15  45   255  277  −22    79
20 Vik East AC              92   27  23  42   250  294  −44    77
21 AC Diamond               92   32  12  48   240  302  −62    76
22 Northlake Elite          92   28  16  48   215  262  −47    72
23 East Fjord AC            92   28  12  52   245  301  −56    68
24 Riverside AC             92   23  13  56   221  319  −98    59

Fjords Division         Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
Cordasfjord Central      92   54  10  28   321  238  +83   118
Mountainview AC          92   47   9  36   273  245  +28   103
AC Platinum              92   43  15  34   280  258  +22   101
Skalton East AC          92   39  20  33   273  271   +2    98
--------------------------------------------------------------
Shelter Cove AC          92   37  12  43   261  298  −37    86
West Skalton AC          92   38   8  46   236  287  −51    84
AC Diamond               92   32  12  48   240  302  −62    76
East Fjord AC            92   28  12  52   245  301  −56    68

East Isle Division      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts 
Jutland Eastside         92   49  15  28   297  242  +55   113
Dreadnought AC           92   48  16  28   332  261  +71   112
Lakeshore Warriors       92   49  12  31   303  230  +73   110
Brenville AC             92   42  20  30   276  228  +48   104
--------------------------------------------------------------
Thor's Thunder AC        92   40  18  34   272  264   +8    98
Danvirk Wall             92   36  18  38   272  266   +6    90
North Bay AC             92   32  15  45   255  277  −22    79
Riverside AC             92   23  13  56   221  319  −98    59

Northside Division      Pld    W   D   L    GF   GA   GD   Pts
Creston Wolves           92   48  14  30   316  260  +56   110
Vik City AC              92   42  14  36   260  233  +27    98
Valley Fold AC           92   40  12  40   304  306   −2    92
Eriksson AC              92   38  14  40   256  274  −18    90
--------------------------------------------------------------
Icecliff Bears           92   34  18  40   271  285  −14    86
Norport AC               92   33  18  41   243  271  −28    84
Vik East AC              92   27  23  42   250  294  −44    77
Northlake Elite          92   28  16  48   215  262  −47    72

In the Fjords, little has changed. Cordasfjord wins, Platinum and Skalton hold off Shelter Cove convincingly to make the playoffs.In the East, Brenville keeps the Thunder, somehow, six points away to advance to the playoffs - a very impressive showing for a squad handpicked for irrelevance by most pundits. An impressively horrible season from Riverside has led to renewed calls for promotion and relegation in the league after its recent reformation not to include the practice - with several solid clubs in the second division of the CNHC, there's backing behind it, too. The most incredible story, however, is Valley Fold. The side managed an incredible performance over the last quarter, with sixteen wins, a draw and only six losses to make the playoffs. Other than that, a close race did result, with Norport faltering from fourth down to sixth and Eriksson winning on the final day in a situation that scared the daylights out of their fans - Icecliff, a name we were not expecting to cite as playoff contenders, lost later on the final day, making the win moot. With the field set for the divisional round of the CNHC playoffs, it's time to get excited - it's the time of year where trophies are handed out, and heroes and villains are made.

CNHC Playoffs

The format here may be a bit confusing, but here it is. The top four teams from each division play a double-elimination tournament to decide the divisional champions. This is important because the divisional champions, plus the national champions, qualify for the Hockey Champions League. The divisional champions and runners-up automatically qualify to nationals - an eight-team, best-of-5, single-elimination tournament. The third placers battle it out in a single round-robin, the top two advancing to round out the field of eight. From there, it's straightforward - get nine wins, get a national championship. Should the national champion also be a regional champion, the next-best non-qualified team from the overall standings will advance to the HCL. The national champions and runners-up will go to the AOICE as well.

Divisionals - Round 1
Cordasfjord Central 1–3 Skalton East AC
Skalton East AC 0–1 Cordasfjord Central
Cordasfjord Central 5–4 Skalton East AC

Mountainview AC 0–0 AC Platinum (1–0 OT)
AC Platinum 4–3 Mountainview AC
Mountainview AC 0–0 AC Platinum (1–0 OT)

Skalton East manage to make a series of it against Cordasfjord, scaring the daylights out of the regular season champions with a first-game away win, then losing by but a single goal in the last two games, despite a disallowed goal for offsides in the first period of the second game and holding a 4-2 lead halfway through the third game. Central showed their grit and their skill in taking the series victory. In the other series, Mountainview took a pair of low-scoring overtime wins to advance past Platinum into a second-round matchup with Cordasfjord, while Platinum and Skalton East will play each other for a chance to advance in the losers' bracket.

Jutland Eastside 6–2 Brenville AC
Brenville AC 3–2 Jutland Eastside
Jutland Eastside 6–2 Brenville AC

Dreadnought AC 4–2 Lakeshore Warriors
Lakeshore Warriors 3–1 Dreadnought AC
Dreadnought AC 4–0 Lakeshore Warriors

Eastside deals handily with Brenville taking 4-0 leads and 5-1 leads going into the 3rd period in the first and second games, respectively. Dreadnought and Lakeshore looked to play a classic in game three - but a dreadful performance from the Warriors handed Dreadnought a Jutland Derby in the second round and sent the Warriors to a losers' bracket tilt with Brenville.

Creston Wolves 7–0 Eriksson AC
Eriksson AC 5–3 Creston Wolves
Creston Wolves 3–6 Eriksson AC

Vik City AC 5–0 Valley Fold AC
Valley Fold AC 2–4 Vik City AC

Eriksson pull off the first upset of the playoffs, taking a crushing game one defeat to Creston in stride, then striking back with a pair of wins for the reverse sweep, putting the division champions at risk of going out early and not making it to CNHC Nationals. Vik City, on the other hand, handles Valley Fold convincingly in the only sweep of the first round.

Divisionals - Round 2

Cordasfjord Central 3–0 Mountainview AC
Mountainview AC 0–3 Cordasfjord Central

AC Platinum 5–4 Skalton East AC
Skalton East AC 4–3 AC Platinum
AC Platinum 1–5 Skalton East AC

Cordasfjord deliver a crushing defeat to Mountainview and will get a rest before the divisional championship series. Skalton East won a grind of a series after blowing it wide out with a 5-1 victory at AC Platinum in game 3 - they will play Mountainview next matchup to decide which will automatically qualify for nationals.

Jutland Eastside 3–0 Dreadnought AC
Dreadnought AC 3–2 Jutland Eastside
Jutland Eastside 3–0 Dreadnought AC

Lakeshore Warriors 6–1 Brenville AC
Brenville AC 3–0 Lakeshore Warriors
Lakeshore Warriors 6–1 Brenville AC

A story of the home teams over in the East. Eastside records a pair of 3-0 victories to secure qualification to nationals and the divisional championship. Lakeshore wins two games 6-1 - 6 seeming to be an unlucky number for Brenville - to send the latter out of the tournament and end the Cinderella story of the season.

Vik City AC 6–1 Eriksson AC
Eriksson AC 1–6 Vik City AC

Creston Wolves 1–0 Valley Fold AC
Valley Fold AC 4–3 Creston Wolves
Creston Wolves 3–5 Valley Fold AC

Vik City get a second sweep, crushing Eriksson to advance to the championship, while Creston, the regular season division champions, are gone after a pair of hard losses to Valley Fold. Valley Fold have gone from second-to-last in the league to now on the line of qualifying to nationals.

Divisionals - Round 3
Mountainview HC 4–1 Skalton East AC
Skalton East AC 2–3 Mountainview HC

Mountainview sweeps Skalton to confirm its place at CNHC Nationals. Skalton put up a good fight in the second game but must fight again in the Qualifiers if they want to make it to nationals.

Dreadnought AC 7–2 Lakeshore Warriors
Lakeshore Warriors 2–0 Dreadnought AC
Dreadnought AC 2–0 Lakeshore Warriors

Dreadnought deliver a crushing 7-2 win in the first game, but it still ends up going to three. Martin Kordsen will be the savior for Dreadnought as he so often has been; two goals from him, and it's Dreadnought to the championship to face Eastside again.

Eriksson AC 0–1 Valley Fold AC
Valley Fold AC 1–0 Eriksson AC

Valley Fold face off against Eriksson, and we get to see the sort of defensive hockey we expect from the rural side. A pair of 1-0 victories with an incredible bit of defense from Charles Larsson, and a goal to boot, and it's Valley Fold to the divisional championship and nationals.

Divisional Championships
Cordasfjord Central 3–1 Mountainview HC
Mountainview HC 3–3 Cordasfjord Central (4-3 OT)
Cordasfjord Central 4–2 Mountainview HC

A good, hard series between Mountainview and Cordasfjord, with a hard-fought game 2 set to be an instant classic, but Rurik Dirsson and Central are divisional champions.

Jutland Eastside 1–2 Dreadnought AC
Dreadnought AC 4–3 Jutland Eastside

Dreadnought AC 5–0 Jutland Eastside
Jutland Eastside 4–4 Dreadnought AC (4–5 OT)

Dreadnought put up one of the most astonishing performances of the season. After previously suffering a loss to Eastside, who only needed two wins to close out the tournament with a championship, it's Dreadnought who win four in a row, with a spectacular slap shot from Ivar Leifssen confirming a spot for Dreadnought in the HCL and a divisional championship.

Vik City AC 2–2 Valley Fold AC (3–2 OT)
Valley Fold AC 3–0 Vik City AC
Vik City AC 3–4 Valley Fold AC

Valley Fold AC 7–2 Vik City AC
Vik City AC 2–0 Valley Fold AC
Valley Fold AC 4–0 Vik City AC

It's not very often that a team goes from dead last to divisional champions. Even less often do they survive being on the brink again. Needing two wins in a row to push the series to another best of 3, they got the play they've been looking for from their star players the whole season and won the first series despite a Vik City onslaught to end the second game that was damned close to tying the score on several occasions. Riding their success, Valley Fold would record a 7-2 win and later a 4-0 to take the divisional championship - from second to last in the league, it's Valley Fold who will be representing the CNHC on the international stage.

CNHC National Qualifiers
Lakeshore Warriors 4–1 Eriksson AC
Skalton East AC 2–3 Lakeshore Warriors
Eriksson AC 2–3 Skalton East AC

Lakeshore wins two in a row and are headed to nationals. In a climactic third game, Skalton East upset Eriksson AC with a very good game from Jennifer Vosun including a pair of shots blocked leading the way to national qualification for Skalton.

Nationals - Round 1
Cordasfjord Central 2–2 Skalton East AC (3–2 OT)
Cordasfjord Central 0–3 Skalton East AC
Skalton East AC 2–3 Cordasfjord Central
Skalton East AC 0–2 Cordasfjord Central

Skalton, unfortunately, will have to deal with Cordasfjord, and, of course, they can't. Three games to one, and Cordasfjord go through to the second round.

Jutland Eastside 0–1 Mountainview HC
Jutland Eastside 0–1 Mountainview HC
Mountainview HC 0–1 Jutland Eastside
Mountainview HC 1–1 Jutland Eastside (2–1 OT)

With some incredible defensive play, Mountainview pull off a huge upset to knock Eastside out of the tournament. Svein Svensson was up to his usual big-hitting hijinks and knocked off Eastside's powerful attack before scoring the game-winner in the fourth game to head to the semifinals and another date with Cordasfjord.

Dreadnought AC 3–2 Lakeshore Warriors
Dreadnought AC 2–1 Lakeshore Warriors
Lakeshore Warriors 3–1 Dreadnought AC
Lakeshore Warriors 1–0 Dreadnought AC
Dreadnought AC 1–1 Lakeshore Warriors (2-1 OT)

A rematch of the divisional tournament for these teams, and the home team would take every single game in a very, very tight series - Lakeshore seem to be faltering alongside Justin Perreau, who at 32 has to be feeling the stress of a long career. Martin Kordsen was a factor as usual - he recorded four of his team's eight goals in the series.

Valley Fold AC 4–2 Vik City AC
Valley Fold AC 2–1 Vik City AC
Vik City AC 2–0 Valley Fold AC
Vik City AC 2–1 Valley Fold AC
Valley Fold AC 1–0 Vik City AC

Valley Fold, oh my lord! It only keeps getting better for them, and with their impressive defense again on display in a 1-0 game 5 victory, the sky may just be the limit for this plucky side from the West Isle's mountains.

Nationals - Round 2
Cordasfjord Central 1–0 Mountainview HC
Cordasfjord Central 0–2 Mountainview HC
Mountainview HC 2–1 Cordasfjord Central
Mountainview HC 1–1 Cordasfjord Central (1–2 OT)
Cordasfjord Central 1–1 Mountainview HC (2–1 OT)

Mountainview came ready to play after upsetting Eastside in the first round, but they were facing the most feared side in the CNHC - the powerhouses, Cordasfjord Central. Despite that, Mountainview pushed Central to the brink of elimination, and then all the way to overtime, twice! But they couldn't end it with that final goal when they needed it, and Cordasfjord barely escaped with the win.

Dreadnought AC 2–0 Valley Fold AC
Dreadnought AC 1–1 Valley Fold AC (2-1 OT)
Valley Fold AC 2–3 Dreadnought AC

Dreadnought had a much different series, but the games were still close. It would be Signy MacLeod scoring the decisive goal in game 2, against the pace of play after intercepting an errant pass from a Valley Fold third-liner, and game 3 was far more dominant than the scoring indicated; Dreadnought outshot Valley Fold 34-15, a credit to Chris Ericsson. The Valley Fold attack did convert when it had chances, but with precious few of those it was a game they were bound to lose.

CNHC Finals - National Championship Series
Cordasfjord Central 4–1 Dreadnought AC
Cordasfjord Central 1–1 Dreadnought AC (2–1 OT)
Dreadnought AC 0–1 Cordasfjord Central

Westside Sports Center was filled to the brim with screaming spectators come game 3, including many of the local faithful. But alas, it was not to be. It would be NT prospect Daniella Jansson who entered into the halls of Central history with the winning goal, using a Dreadnought defensemen as a screen and roofing the puck from the hashmarks on a rush at 7:29 to go in the second period. Cordasfjord held on for the win and the championship, and with that, the CNHC season came to a close.

It’s Cordasfjord’s third championship and fourth finals appearance, showing how it really has been their era of late in the CNHC. They will represent Cordia as the first seed come the Hockey Champions League and AOICE. For Dreadnought, it’s another finals loss, their second. However, their performance in the playoffs and divisional championship have secured them second seed honors in the HCL and AOICE. Valley Fold were the biggest surprise of the last few months of the season, and as Northside Division champions and semifinalists take the third seed. It’s a lucky break for Jutland Eastside - with Cordasfjord taking divisional and national titles, they will take the fourth seed as the next best regular season finisher despite their first-round exit to Mountainview.

Cordia Domestic Sports Newswire

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