UPDATED through games of Saturday, May 23

With PDL qualifying coming down the home stretch, USOpenCup.com takes a look at how each of the divisional races stand heading into the final weekend. Be sure to check back each day, as we will update the outlook of each division after each day’s games.

Eastern Conference (Standings/Full Schedule)

Mid-Atlantic Division (Maximum points in parenthesis)

Win and You’re In
Reading Rage (10)
Reading took a huge step towards qualifying by thrashing the Carolina Dynamo 5-2 on Friday. The result eliminated Carolina, and if Reading win their final qualifying game at Cary today, they will clinch a spot in the Open Cup for the first time since they were a professional club (Pro Soccer League) back in 2003.

Need Help

Fredericksburg Gunners (7), Cary Clarets (7)

For all you tiebreaker lovers, here you go. For Frederickson to get in, they need Cary to beat Reading by two goals, and the Gunners need to defeat Northern Virginia by three goals on Monday. This would leave all three tied at 7pts. Since they have not all played each other, head to head is out. Reading & Cary would have a +2 goal difference, while the Gunners would have +3. For Cary to get in, they of course need to beat Reading and either need Frederickton to lose or draw, or see the Gunners end up with a goal difference lower than them, since they cannot catch Cary on the goals scored tiebreaker should the Clarets win.

Eliminated

West Virginia Chaos, Hampton Roads Piranhas, Carolina Dynamo, Northern Virginia Royals, Virginia Legacy

Mid-Atlantic Division – Key Games

Central Conference (Standings/Full Schedule)

Great Lakes Division

Drivers Seat 

Chicago Fire (10)
The Chicago Fire can make it really easy on themselves by just winning their final qualifier at home against the Fort Wayne Fever. Although, as the Michigan Bucks learned on Wednesday, that’s easier said than done. The Great Lakes Division is notorious for surprising results in Open Cup qualifying. If the Fire draw on May 24, it may open the door for a couple of teams, but since their game is the second to last game, the division race could be more clear by then.

Need Help

Kalamazoo Outrage (8)

Kalamazoo can advance with a win over Cincinnati and a Chicago loss. A draw by Chicago would mean that Kalamazoo would have to defeat the Kings by 3 to overtake Chicago in the tiebreaker. The tiebreaker would then be determined by the score of Chicago’s draw. If Chicago/Fort Wayne tie 2-2 or more, Chicago advances on goals scored. If they end up scoreless, Kalamazoo moves on using the same criteria. If they tie 1-1, we come to the final tiebreaker: the lottery. This has been done before only once, in 2006, as Des Moines and Boulder finished tied on all levels. Des Moines took full advantage of the win by winning 3 games and advancing to the Third Round against the Kansas City Wizards. Cincinnati can advance by winning both of their remaining games (at Michigan, at Kalamazoo) and having Chicago fail to win against Fort Wayne.

Need Some Major Help
Fort Wayne Fever (7), Michigan Bucks (7), Indiana Invaders (7)
Miracles are not outside the realm of possibility in Open Cup qualifying. The shining example of this comes from 2006, City when BYU and the Ogden Outlaws defied the odds and qualified on the final weekend.

Fort Wayne Fever
* Must defeat Chicago
* No one else can surpass 7 points ... which means: Kalamazoo cannot win, Bucks cannot win twice, Indiana cannot win, Cinncinnati cannot win twice.

If they finish tied for first place with Chicago, they will advance to the Open Cup on the head-to-head tiebreaker. If there are multiple teams tied with 7 points, then it becomes a tiebreaking mess.

Michigan Bucks
* Must win final at Indiana
* Fort Wayne must defeat Chicago
* Cincinnati must earn a win or a draw vs. Kalamazoo

After that, they will have to hope they come out on top in the tiebreaker. 

Indiana Invaders
* Must win final game at home vs. Michigan
* Fort Wayne must defeat Chicago
* Cincinnati must earn a win or a draw vs. Kalamazoo

Then, like the Bucks, they would be at the mercy of the tiebreakers.

Get all that?
 

Eliminated

Cleveland Internationals, Cincinnati King

Great Lakes Division – Key Games

Southern Conference (Standings/Full Schedule)

Mid-South Division (Maximum points in parenthesis)

Drivers Seat

El Paso Patriots (9)

Controls Their Own Destiny, sort of

Laredo Heat (9)

With El Paso's 3-0 win over DFW on Saturday, everyone but Laredo was eliminated in the Mid-South. The clear cut way for Laredo to get in is if they defeat Rio Grande Valley by three goals on Memorial Day, which will give them the goal difference tiebreaker advantage. However, should Laredo score three goals or more, but only win by one, they'll be even with El Paso in all the tiebreakers, and the infamous coin flip will be needed.

Eliminated

Houston Leones, Austin Aztex U23s, West Texas United Sockers, Rio Grande Valley Bravos, DFW Tornados

Mid-South Division – Key Games

Southeast Division (Maximum points in parenthesis)

Drivers Seat

Mississippi Brilla (10)

Need Help

Bradenton Academics (8)

Bradenton's 3-1 win over Atlanta on Saturday makes this a two-horse race, and Bradenton's horse is already back in the barn. They will have to sit and watch for updates as Mississippi travel to Central Florida.  A draw will be not good for Brilla, as Bradenton has the advantage on goal difference, so it's "Win and You're In" for Mississippi. 

Eliminated

Nashville Metros, Baton Rouge Capitals, New Orleans Jesters, Central Florida Kraze , Atlanta Blackhawks, Panama City Pirates

Southeast Division – Key Games