SCIAC current standings
Photo Courtesy of SCIAC
In a couple of weeks the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) playoffs are going to begin for five Chapman sports teams. With only a handful of games remaining for these squads, every win will be crucial to ensure they advance.
There is a new structure this season for soccer, water polo and volleyball. The top five teams will be in the playoffs. The schools ranked fourth and fifth will play each other, and the winner of that game will face the first placed school. The teams in second and third place will play, and then the winners will compete for the SCIAC championship.
These are the current standings, remaining games and scenarios for each team.
This is the only sport with a different playoff structure, as only six schools have football teams in the conference. There are two divisions of three teams, the Sun and Surf, and the regular season leader for both of those will play in the championship game. Currently Chapman sit tied first in the Surf division with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps colleges, but hold the tiebreaker after beating CMS earlier this season.
Photo via SCIAC
Chapman has three regular season games remaining. They will play division opponents California Lutheran University (away) and CMS (home) before finishing up against La Verne University (away). If they win out they are guaranteed a spot in the championship game, but beating CMS and one other opponent would also be enough. Their destiny is in their hands.
After a rough stretch to start the SCIAC season, losing their first three games without scoring a goal, men’s soccer is now in a great position to make the playoffs. Chapman currently is in fourth place, with 14 points. They are four points behind Occidental College, and three points ahead of Cal Lutheran who are in fifth. After beating Whittier College this weekend, they opened up a solid four point gap between themselves and the teams outside of the playoffs. Cal Lutheran has played one less game than Chapman so they could be tied for fourth if they win their game in hand.
Photo via SCIAC
Chapman will play away at La Verne and Cal Lutheran, before finishing the season at home against Occidental. With games against the schools right below and above them, the Panthers can climb up the standings (or free fall down them). They will most likely finish somewhere between third and fifth, and two more wins would secure their place in the playoffs. Two losses and they will have to rely on Whittier not winning their remaining three games. Again, Chapman controls their future.
This has been a very up and down season for women’s soccer, with multiple winning and losing streaks. They currently have 13 points and are in fifth place, four points ahead of sixth place Redlands University and three points behind fourth place Whittier. Chapman got back on track after two straight losses this weekend, with a 3-1 win away against Occidental. It was their third straight away game and the win has now put them in a firm position to make the playoffs.
Photo via SCIAC
Women’s soccer’s remaining three games are at home against California Institute of Technology, away at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and their final match is at home versus Whittier. They will want revenge after losing 1-0 to Caltech this past week, but the most important game of this stretch is their final one. Pomona-Pitzer, who sit in second on 22 points, are beyond Chapman’s reach. A win against Whittier, however, could put them on even points if both teams win their next two matches. Winning out would likely secure Chapman fourth place, meaning they would host the fourth versus fifth play-in match. They could realistically jump up to third, but CMS would need to only win one of their final three games. Two more wins guarantee the playoffs for Chapman.
While Chapman is currently on the outside of the playoffs, water polo has the majority of their schedule left to play. The Panthers have seven SCIAC contests left, with the opportunity to change the fate of a lackluster early season. They have two wins and three losses in the conference and are in sixth place, but the landscape for water polo is interesting because most teams have played a different number of games. If they win their next matchup they would be even in fifth place with Whittier, so there shouldn’t be much concern for their playoff hopes at the moment.
Photo via SCIAC
Chapman plays away at Caltech before three straight home games against Occidental, Whittier and La Verne. They will play away at Occidental, at home against Cal Lutheran and then their final game is against Whittier away from home. With two games against the school directly above them in the standings, Chapman can easily climb the standings. They also play the only three teams below them, so wins are vital to create distance between the Panthers and the rest of the pack. There are a ton of scenarios at play with this many games remaining, but playing Whittier twice will be the key to whether or not they make the playoffs.
The biggest uphill battle to make the playoffs lies with volleyball, as they sit tied for sixth place with three wins and five losses. Even with that record, they aren’t far off the playoffs as Redlands sits in fifth with four wins and four losses. They also aren’t in any danger of falling further down the standings because Caltech and Occidental have one combined win. With eight games remaining, the most of any fall sport, Chapman’s chances to make the playoffs are far from over.
Photo via SCIAC
Chapman plays every SCIAC team one more time, meaning that they can finish basically anywhere in the standings. They have won two of their last three SCIAC games, so there could be some momentum going into the back half of the season. The games are split between four at home and four away. If they can win at least five matches then the Panthers should be able to make the playoffs (especially if they beat Redlands and Cal Lutheran).
Each Chapman sports team currently has a fighting chance to make the playoffs, and while some are more in control than others there is a world where all five of these teams are playing for some silverware at the end of the season.
