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Some teams may have different monikers and hail from different cities, but a familiar cast of characters will be returning to the 2011 WPS playoffs.

The WNY Flash – complete with eight members from defunct defending champions FC Gold Pride – claimed the regular season title with a 2-0 victory against the Atlanta Beat. The Beat put forth a resilient performance against the Flash’s scattergun attack, but a waterlogged pitch, tepid finishing, and some fine goalkeeping (Allison Whitworth!) and defending by the Beat (Heather Mitts!) kept the score line respectable.

Marta scored the second goal of the match and with it, her third consecutive Golden Boot award. The cute finish brought her level on goals with teammate Christine Sinclair, but Marta’s superior goals-per-game average made the difference.

A similarly front-heavy side also cruised into the playoffs in fiery form. magicJack - direct descendants of last year’s fourth place finishers the Washington Freedom – continued to rampage through the bottom end of the regular season with a 2-1 victory against the Philadelphia Independence. A brace from Lisa De Vanna separated the two teams early on, and Amy Rodriguez’s late contribution proved to be little more than a consolation goal.

Philadelphia will have six days before the team gets a chance to return to the WPS Championship game. The Independence will host the winner of magicJack/Boston Breakers at PPL Park in the Super Semifinal.

magicJack have rarely yielded to Boston this season, and never at home. The South Florida club holds a 3-1-0 record against the Breakers and have outscored the team 6-0 in their previous two meetings.

The Breakers’ famed flying finish in 2010 helped them to the Super Semifinal against Philadelphia. Lauren Cheney was on target in that match, but Boston was ultimately denied by Danesha Adams’ controversial late goal.

This year, Boston’s form has been significantly more inconsistent. However, Cheney was similarly effective tonight as a lightning quick pair of goals downed a shell-shocked Sky Blue FC side at Harvard Stadium. Boston nabbed a victory for the first time in six matches, and what a time to do so. [Check out the post-match quotes below and Ray Curren’s live commentary beneath that.]

Wildness and unpredictability have been no strangers to the 2011 regular season. The finish was fitting, maybe.

(P.S. Just how wild and unpredictable, you ask? For one thing, no one came close in our preseason predictions. Out of the 12 people polled, only two managed to get all four playoff teams right!)

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