U13 Girls Spring Predictions Thread

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Dr. Z starts a new thread................................

The old thread went into a whole bunch of different directions. The offseason was also tough on the thread. So let's get back to unbiased analysis and crystal balls!

With little information available on the Junior ECNL, the real kickoff to the Spring is the Scorpion Bowl. The Preseason Power Rankings won't be official until after the NEFC event. In the meantime, there is Scorpion Bowl, Jefferson Cup, and the NEFC tournament to look forward to.

Onto Scorpion Bowl...........................

U13 United - Scorpions did the right thing for them and put themselves opposite CFC Wolves. CFC is the cream of the crop in the division. Finished only:

Bracket A

1st CFC
2nd Stars (they will give CFC a good contest, but fall short)
3rd Pioneers (tough road for them, but will beat the NY team)
4th Alleycats (obviously got into the first division because they are from out of state, this is not a good team)

Bracket B

1st Aztecs
2nd Scorpions (might be able to draw with Aztecs, but they aren't consistent enough to win both other games. There will be a trip up somewhere, might not be a loss, but Aztecs woill win their other games)
3rd Southeast
4th MPS (this year's MPS team is not as good as others before it, seems to be a trend)

Final Game - Aztecs get close, but CFC wins

Notes from other divisions

Chelsea - very competitive bracket, I thing Shooting Stars and Seacoast are the favorites, but lots of close games.

Arsenal - some more close contests. Crusaders might have the upper hand.

Tottenham - North Shore, Stars, Bayside seem to stand out.

City - Doesn't seem fair to these teams to pick.

Weather - I hope the event goes forward, we need these events here in Massachusetts to help raise the level of play!

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Chelsea - very competitive bracket, I thing Shooting Stars and Seacoast are the favorites, but lots of close games.

I would go with Stars vs Seacoast with Seacoast taking it

Arsenal - some more close contests. Crusaders might have the upper hand.

I'm thinking NH Classics vs Aztecs with Aztecs winning. Agreed on the close games throughout

Tottenham - North Shore, Stars, Bayside seem to stand out.

Agree with North Shore and Stars. FCU and ACM would be my alternate picks. Confused why Bayside stands out to you. They were shut out by Stingrays and Nova last fall that are in the same bracket.

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Dr. Z says.........................................

Bayside girls are improving, and I'm positive Bayside will be a better team this spring.

There's not a lot between those teams.

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Dr Z .. Scorpions supposedly lost one of their top players to NEFC. How does that effect your assessment of their chances in the tournament? You seem to think pretty highly of the Stars, did they do land an impact player to improve themselves or are you thinking that their winter training program will be the difference?

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Dr Z .. Scorpions supposedly lost one of their top players to NEFC. How does that effect your assessment of their chances in the tournament? You seem to think pretty highly of the Stars, did they do land an impact player to improve themselves or are you thinking that their winter training program will be the difference?

I heard they lost their goalie as well.

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I heard they lost their goalie as well.

That is no surprise based upon the way she was treated by FM. That must mean he is finally going to convert his other forward to more of a full time keeper.

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Dr. Z says.............................................

Without belittling the little ones, I don't feel goalkeeping was really a strength with the Scorpions.

The other Scorpions loss will be NEFC's gain.

Scorpions U13 has been a stable of athletic talent since they were U11. Talent leaving is an issue. But talent they still have. They haven't really ever been able to put it together since winning the Andre Cup. They are the current #1 according to GotSoccer, but I don't think there are many in and around U13 Girls that feel their wide gap is justified. They remain part of the group, and I argue still not as strong as Aztecs, Stars or now NEFC.

To make a long story short, the Scorpions have enough athletes to survive the loss. Losing a player of that magnitude might not be good for the future of the team though, particularly if she has a good experience at NEFC.

FM has always had tenuous relationships with his teams. This is a very interesting group to watch to see how it plays out. I would not be surprised to see a coaching change in this age group if the spring doesn't go as planned. FM will want to pay more attention to his U10 group anyway.

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You seem to think pretty highly of the Stars, did they do land an impact player to improve themselves or are you thinking that their winter training program will be the difference?

Dr. Z says.............................................. ..............

Do you mean overall or in this group?

Stars United U13 isn't as good as either of the Stars U14 girls teams, or the Stars U12 team relatively speaking, but they are a good team. I still feel the top four are Aztecs, Stars, NEFC and Scorpions. While I favor the Aztecs, all three of the other teams have had good games against one another.

In this tournament I picked them to finish second in their group. Alleycats is the weakest team in the United division. And Pioneers is not in that top four, no matter how loudly they shout about it. So of course that means Stars will finish second.

None of the Massachusetts teams right now are on par with CFC.

So, while I do like Stars as an organization, and while I do like this team, I don't think there is any reason to be surprised by my picks in that division.

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FM is already losing many of his u10s. His methods only work when there are no viable options. People are getting fed up with his arrogance and abusive methods.

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FM is already losing many of his u10s. His methods only work when there are no viable options. People are getting fed up with his arrogance and abusive methods.

As we all know, people are free to take varying views of FM. Care to substantiate this?

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Dr. Z says....................................

I am all for the open exchange of ideas, but I would like to respectfully suggest that we try to stay on topic. The U10's is a separate topic.

FM is a very successful coach, you cannot argue with that. He is by far the best coach in that club. That is a two edged sword though, since finding a successor will be so difficult. My prediction is the search is already underway and a decision may have already been made as to who will coach that team next year.

But these are just predictions and not always based on good inside information.

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I'd have to disagree. FM was a great coach when he had a monopoly on talent. He is not the best coach in that club and his personality is driving away talent that have options not previously available. He will cling to this group to maintain an ecnl presence once his u16s move on.

[Unregistered]

Dr. Z starts a new thread................................

The old thread went into a whole bunch of different directions. The offseason was also tough on the thread. So let's get back to unbiased analysis and crystal balls!

With little information available on the Junior ECNL, the real kickoff to the Spring is the Scorpion Bowl. The Preseason Power Rankings won't be official until after the NEFC event. In the meantime, there is Scorpion Bowl, Jefferson Cup, and the NEFC tournament to look forward to.

Onto Scorpion Bowl...........................

U13 United - Scorpions did the right thing for them and put themselves opposite CFC Wolves. CFC is the cream of the crop in the division. Finished only:

Bracket A

1st CFC
2nd Stars (they will give CFC a good contest, but fall short)
3rd Pioneers (tough road for them, but will beat the NY team)
4th Alleycats (obviously got into the first division because they are from out of state, this is not a good team)

Bracket B

1st Aztecs
2nd Scorpions (might be able to draw with Aztecs, but they aren't consistent enough to win both other games. There will be a trip up somewhere, might not be a loss, but Aztecs woill win their other games)
3rd Southeast
4th MPS (this year's MPS team is not as good as others before it, seems to be a trend)

Final Game - Aztecs get close, but CFC wins

Notes from other divisions

Chelsea - very competitive bracket, I thing Shooting Stars and Seacoast are the favorites, but lots of close games.

Arsenal - some more close contests. Crusaders might have the upper hand.

Tottenham - North Shore, Stars, Bayside seem to stand out.

City - Doesn't seem fair to these teams to pick.

Weather - I hope the event goes forward, we need these events here in Massachusetts to help raise the level of play!

Interesting that you rate the MPS team as a step down from previous years. Any particular reasons for that?

[Unregistered]

Dr Z .. First off I want to thank you for your insight. I personally enjoy it and find it very thought provoking. That said, I think it is time for you to disclose your club affliation and how you are connected to it so that we can understand your biases. Please understand that I have no problem with a bias, everyone has them, but I think it important to understand where people are coming from so that we can give their comments proper weight.

[Unregistered]

I'd have to disagree. FM was a great coach when he had a monopoly on talent. He is not the best coach in that club and his personality is driving away talent that have options not previously available. He will cling to this group to maintain an ecnl presence once his u16s move on.

Youth soccer has passed a guy like FM by. You can't treat kids the way he treats them in todays world. Recognize that his days of monopolizing all the talent on the south shore are over and families don't have have to put up with his abuse any longer. Way too many options.