The top four teams in the WPS standings at the conclusion of the WPS regular season will advance to the WPS Playoffs, which consists of a unique format that heavily rewards the team that finishes atop the 2010 WPS Regular Season table. The top team during the regular season will become WPS Regular Season Champion and earn an automatic place as host of the WPS Championship, the league’s championship game. (View regular season standing tiebreakers.)

In the First Round of the playoffs, the No. 4 team in the regular season will face the No. 3 team at No. 3’s stadium on Sept. 19. The second place team in the regular season will receive a bye into the Super Semifinal and host the winner of the First Round on Sept. 22/23. The winner of the Super Semifinal will then travel to the top-seeded team for WPS Championship on Sept. 26. The benefits of this system are many:

• By generously rewarding the top team in the regular season with a home championship game, WPS stays true to soccer’s European roots in which the team that wins the regular season is rewarded for its performance over the course of the year.
• By receiving a first round bye as the No. 2 team and hosting a game as the No. 3 team, each of the other playoff teams are uniquely rewarded for their performance in the regular season.
• The format is skewed heavily towards regular season performance. To become WPS Champion means a No. 1 team that played well in the regular season and then won the WPS Championship, or a team that overcame the odds to win several elimination playoff games.
• The format provides an added storyline towards the end of the regular season as teams chase the regular season title and the opportunity to advance to the championship game as hosts. The format also guarantees three consecutive must-see WPS games for television viewers with a “win-or-go-home” theme.

WPS Playoff Rules

If a game ends in a tie after regulation, the game will feature two 15-minute overtime periods played in full.  If the game is still tied, the game will be decided on penalty kicks under FIFA Laws of the Game.