Toyota Arena to Host Playoffs
March 19, 2021 - Major Arena Soccer League (MASL)
Ontario Fury News Release
The Ontario Fury will open its run for the Ron Newman Cup at Toyota Arena on March 24, as they will take on the Dallas Sidekicks in Game 1 of a best-of-three first round series.
Ontario, which finished the Major Arena Soccer League regular season as the second seed, had its choice of teams to face in the first round, and chose the Sidekicks. With one game remaining in the regular season, Dallas will complete the season with the fewest wins in the MASL.
Although the Fury have the higher seed, they will play the deciding games of the series at the Allen Events Center outside Dallas due to arena availability issues. Should the two teams be tied at one win apiece after two games, a 15-minute mini-game will be played to break the tie.
Ontario has never lost to Dallas in seven previous regular season meetings. The Sidekicks appeared in Ontario's first-ever regular season game, a 6-5 Ontario victory at Toyota Arena. The two teams did not meet in the 2021 regular season.
The March 24 game will kick off at 6 p.m. at Toyota Arena, with no fans in attendance due to the continued Covid-19 pandemic. It will also kickoff three days of arena soccer action at the arena that weekend.
Because of arena issues, the Tacoma Stars and San Diego Sockers will play their home games against one another at Toyota Arena. Neither Tacoma, the fifth seed, nor San Diego, the sixth seed, were chosen by third-seeded Kansas City as their opening round opponent, leaving the two West Coast rivals to face one another in the first round.
Game 1 of the San Diego-Tacoma series will begin at 7:30 p.m. on March 26. The second game, and potential mini-game, will take begin at 5 p.m. on March 28. Fans will not be allowed at either game.
All of the games will be broadcast as part of the MASL's pay-per-view playoff package on Facebook Live. Fans can purchase a pass to see every playoff game for $39.99, a cost of $3.33 per game. Fans who purchased the complete regular season package will have access to the playoffs at no extra cost.
The winners of the first round series will advance to the semifinals, which will be hosted by the Kansas City Comets April 1 and 3 at Cable Dahmer Arena. The Florida Tropics, the top seed, will have its choice of remaining teams to play in the semifinals, with the remaining two teams meeting in the other best-of-three series.
The championship series will be played at one of two venues. Should two West Coast teams survive (Ontario and either Tacoma or San Diego), the series will be played at Toyota Arena. If not, then the series will be hosted by the St. Louis Ambush at the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. Games for the championship series will be played April 9 and 11.
The playoff schedule is subject to change due to Covid-19 protocols.
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