DC Season 2

Shortly after completing the first, I moved right in to a second season of my Druid Cycle league in Sensible Soccer. Two new teams have joined the mix -- the Riverton Gauntlets and the Prospect Pioneers -- giving us six franchises in all. To accommodate the larger number of teams, the regular season increased from 6 games per team to 10 games per team.

For the second straight year, the Troya Nova Paladins and Prifddinas Golden Dragons finished first and second, respectively, while the expansion Pioneers and the Troya Nova Imperials claimed playoff spots as the third- and fourth-ranked teams. Both of Riverton's franchises brought up the rear, with the Gauntlets squeaking past the hapless Racers. Among individual performers, Belisarius of the Paladins led the way with an astounding 10 goals in 10 games, followed by Agrippa of the Imperials with 8 and Niall of the Dragons with 7. 

The first-round playoff pairings will be really compelling. In one matchup, the two teams based in the sprawling metropolis of Troya Nova will duke it out for a spot in the finals. The Paladins had the league's best offense (2.40 goals per game) and best defense (1.30 goals against per game), but the Imperials were surprisingly stingy as well, with only 1.50 goals allowed per match. If superstar striker Agrippa can work his magic, the Imperials might just upset the defending champions. In the other first-round contest, the Dragons have a nightmare matchup against the expansion Pioneers, who went 2-0-0 against the Prifddinas side during the regular season, outscoring them by a total of 7-1. The Pios don't have a star of Niall's caliber, but they come at you with a balanced and relentless attack; forwards Remi, Josias, and Vico each had 4 goals, and the slick Siriano led all the league's midfielders with 3 tallies. 

The playoffs begin later this week!