Tournaments this weekend 07/25

[Shu's Daddy]

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[SodiumFan]

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

SD - We are also playing in the Oswego Nike Cup. Our first game is Friday morning at 9:40. Tough on working parents. Thank God I have a home office because I would hate to miss it!

Best of luck to your girls this weekend. =D>

Cheers.

[eggy]

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

Eggy and DD fly out for the Mustang on the 7th. The Nemesis is not playing in the Oswego Cup. Hopefully we will enter the Chinook at the last minute.

[Small Town]

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

SD- We are playing it LO Tournament. We play Ireland at 3 pm Friday so we will be ther by 2 pm. We will have to leave around 10:30 she will need something to eat before we get there. It takes us around 3 hrs to get there. So much for working that day. Dynamite is phycial team, I can't remember how many ODP player they have their goalie is one and I believe most of the ODP player that are 95's are from the U13 team. Yestereday almost didn't have practice because of the lighting. We had to wait about 20 minutes it was a good thing we waited lighting hit a tree that has less than a 1/4 of a mile away on highway 97 and started a little fire. Saturday at 7pm looks like the only time our teams will be close to each other, because all the teams are playing at the same time.

[Shu's Daddy]

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

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[SydelineView]

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

As ST said, Ireland is also playing in the LO Nike Cup. I like the bracketing... All three flights have two strong teams that should battle it out to advance. I see the groups playing out this way...

BLUE: Favorites - LOSC Dynamite & WSM Harambee; Others - CFC United & CFA Red Hots. The CFC United team (formerly called Athletica) is now back with their original club after a year as FC Willamette's Salem extension. Like Corvallis' Red Hots, they are solid team with some good players, but still lacking a couple pieces of the puzzle to seriously threaten the Gold level teams. Dynamite & Harambee are both good teams, and both SHOULD win their respective games vs the other two teams. Not doing so would be a major red flag about their ability to move into the upper eschelon of the Gold Division. Saturday evening's game between LOSC & WSM decides who gets into the semis, because the loser will NOT get the wild card. Based on depth and advantage at Fwd & GK, I gotta go with Dynamite (Sorry, SD). But... if game ends in a tie, I'll take Harambee to win in PK's! Call it a hunch.

WHITE: Favorites - FCP Marine & GRFC Patriots Blue; Others - LOSC Fire & THUSC Sapphire. Sapphire (2007 President's Cup Champions) and Fire (LOSC's B Team) are almost a carbon copies of the CFC & CFA teams... solid 2nd tier teams that need a couple key spots upgraded in order to compete @ Gold. Should be a good game between the two, but I give LO the edge; they're one of the best B teams in the state; however, neither have what's necessary to beat the bracket's "big kids". Each bracket should have its drama and Saturday's 7pm game @ Athey Creek will settle this flight one way or the other. I know the Marine team well, and they have some fabulous talent at several positions, including a new striker recently wooed away from OSA, but I'm going out on limb and predict the Patriots win by one goal, probably 2-1.

RED: Favorites - Oregon Rush Nike & SSC Ireland; Others - EMFC Phoenix & Wolfpack United. WOW! What a bracket...
EMFC Phoenix is a solid Silver-level team out of Eugene, and Wolfpack United are the Idaho State Cup runners-up, but I'm pretty sure Ireland and/or Bend make it out of the RED Group. The long-awaited "Shoulda-Woulda-Coulda Cup" will be played on Friday @ 3pm. The two teams generally expected to be last season's GU13 State Cup Final will finally play one another in a tie-breaker match, after splitting home & home wins in the 2007 Gold Fall League. It will be close, no more than a two-goal margin, but based on the player advantage in couple key positions (FYI, Both teams have player advantages at some positions, and Bend has a deeper corps of reserves), I have to be a homer and go with Ireland to advance.

WILD CARD: As head/head competition is not an option, goal differential becomes paramount. As often happens in this scenario, deserving teams in the tougher brackets get hosed. Same deal here. Principal victim: Oregon Rush - Even if they were to get the 4 goal maximum differential against EMFC, I can't see them beating Wolfpack by more than three, and even if they keep Ireland within a single goal, their goal diff comes out to +6. Principal benefactor: FCP Marine - They get to beat up on Fire & Sapphire and will likely get the 4 goal max in each game; figuring a 2-1 loss to GRFC, they exit with a goal diff of +7. Sorry, ST. I would REALLY like to see Bend advance. Your DD and her mates are an awesome team, and I'd like to see them play Ireland twice this weekend! :( By the way, I hope her knee is better. I saw her go down at Friendship Cup at feel very bad for her not being able to continue. As a fellow knee sufferer, I know how it feels...

Semi-Final #1: Dynamite v. Marine - Marine has handled LO pretty well for the past few years, and I don't see it changing this weekend... Marine

Semi-Final #2: Patriots v. Ireland - Both teams played at Crossfire two weekends ago. The GRFC did not advance past the first round (although they did have Crossfire-Red to deal with) and SSC lost to Xfire in the Final while banged-up and missing a two key players on defense. Both will be back and the wounded have had time to heal... Ireland

Final: These two teams always play one another close, but the Ireland D & GK advantage should muffle Marine's attack, some holes on the FCP defense will provide goal opportunities for SSC's talented front line. Final score: 2-0 Ireland

That's how I see it. Of course I also confused Dos-Red with the Seattle Sounders, so..... #-o GOOD LUCK TO ALL TEAMS!!!

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

Wow SV, that was a very nice analysis. You obviously gave some good thought to it. I don't agree with all of your assessments and conclusions, but it looks like you are in the ball park. If the final game ends up being Ireland v. Marine as you say, it should be an exciting match. If FC plays like last fall, it could be a nail biter. Good Luck, Have fun! btw, don't you go by a different moniker elsewhere?

[Small Town]

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

Thanks, SV- DD is donig well her knee seem to be back to normal. Had to pull her from ODP and that gave her the time to heal.

Hope you are wrong with your prediction. :smt003
So if your DD plays for Ireland see you there it should be a good game. We are missing only 1 player she is in Mexico visiting Grandparents.

[SydelineView]

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

Thanks, GW. A bit of thought and bunch of opinion is my formula. :D Right or wrong, it's all in the spirit of enjoying our kids at play. Fortunately, my DD is not yet in high school, so I get to enjoy this a few years more. In response to your question, SydelineView is my only alias. I try to be easy to identify for those who know me. Like many on this site, I used to post a fair amount on OregonLive, but that forum got overrun with negative folks and those baiting others. I got fed up and stopped posting for several months. Picked it up again recently; both here and on WPS. It's good to be back!

Glad to hear Cora is doing better, ST. Will look forward to seeing you this weekend. Friday's game is going to be a good one. I bet it will be the first of many between our DD's teams this season. :smt001 Have a safe trip over the pass.

[Shu's Daddy]

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

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[Small Town]

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

SV- you might want to rethink the first bracket the Cascade FC United is a Washington team. They played well at the Crossfire Tournament.

Ireland is missing 1 defender to rhe regional team and 1defender was hurt not sure if she is playing this weekend. Do you know?

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

Thanks, GW. A bit of thought and bunch of opinion is my formula. :D Right or wrong, it's all in the spirit of enjoying our kids at play. Fortunately, my DD is not yet in high school, so I get to enjoy this a few years more.

Having an opinion or two myself, I can relate. As for enjoying the kids at play, it certainly is fun and beats the heck out of yard work. The thing about prognostication though is that no matter how much you know (or think you know) about the team and players, there's just no way to know who will be up and who will be down. Summertime just makes it that much more challenging with so many kids on vacation or in ODP or whatever. Marine I know will be missing four players and filling in with players from Aqua. Ireland is apparently missing a player or two, Dynamite has been missing players, Harambee has been missing players etc. etc. Then there are coaches missing, or coaching changes. Sometimes you get coaches trying new formations or experimenting with moving players around to other positions. So maybe that's why I avoid my own predictions. But I applaud your efforts. Whatever the outcome I'm sure the kids will have fun, and I hope all the players finish in one piece. At least the weather looks like it will be nice.

Regarding Oregon Live. I don't post there, but it can be interesting to observe (in a Jerry Springer Show - throwing chairs sort of way). They could install a couple of wind turbines in there and generate some energy from the blowhards. :D

[Shu's Daddy]

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

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Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

The off-season nearing an end, some observations:

Bend - I thought they were the strongest team of the bunch in April. The merger should only help.

Southside - So strong coming out of YDP, others appear to have caught them. The question is whether they develop a team not so reliant on the strong backline. Did they add anything in the off season?

LO - Their foundation in the art of soccer continues to move them up as the group matures. Also, they've improved by adding non-local talent.

Marine - Another team loaded with talent and schooled in the art of passing. The coaching change raises questions.

FCW - Having coalesced the Eugene/Springfield talent pool coming out of YDP, they were the real deal in State Cup. However, four months is a long time if they did not add players.

Eastside - Because their foundation is in athleticism, it is hard to compare this team to the others. They will increasingly knock smaller forwards/wings off the ball, but passing teams could run circles around them.

Westside - They are truly on the bubble. Will they perform as the team of last year's QT's or last year's Fall season? My sense is that the program and the bones are too strong for this team to lose contact with the other six.

The Rest - Teams with weaker YDP programs will tend to move up as they collect the diamonds in the rough. Who does so and when is what keeps it interesting.

ODP - Some are suggesting that ODP results show this group to be weak. First, this is still youth soccer; most players have not even fully taken ownership of their careers. Beyond that, these teams compete well on their own in regional tourneys, so the issue probably resides with OYSA.

[SydelineView]

Re: Tournaments this weekend 07/25

I dunno, ST. I think I'll stick with my predictions for the Blue Bracket. I couldn't find a listing to confirm what club is actually being represented. What I do know is the LOSC site lists the team as "Cascade FC United"; which is the same name that CFC lists as the GU14 team (see their website: http://www.salemunited.com/frameset.php). The team that participated at Crossfire was "Casacde FC G94". If it is the WA team, I would only say the games between LO & WSM may be closer, but the end result is the same. Cascade FC G94 participated in Crossfire's Elite (Silver) division, not the Premier (Gold) division that Ireland & LO participated in. The teams they played were FC Vancouver Xplosion (tied once, lost once), OSA Milan (won 4-1), Crossfire's C team (won 4-1), an ESU Reading (won 2-1). With no disrespect to Xplosion, Milan or Reading, I would take either Dynamite or Harambee against them.

Our one defender was the only Oregon 95 player held over, but she returns Friday afternoon. I doubt she will play v. Rush, but she will be available on Saturday & Sunday. Our other defender who was injured at Crossfire, thus missing the Final and the ODP Regional camp is better and will play. We do have one player who missed practice due to illness, but we hope to have her back this weekend. Our head coach is also back from ODP after four weeks, so Ireland may be close to being whole again... if not 100% at Nike Cup, they certainly will be for QT's and Chinook Cup.

I hope Crossfire Red comes down for Chinook. It would be interesting to see how a healthy, complete Ireland stacks up vs. Crossfire-Red. =P~

If you're at an Ireland game this weekend, stop by our "sydeline" and say hello. I'll be wearing my navy blue Southside cap. Regardless of the distance travelled, everyone drive safe tomorrow, and GOOD LUCK TO ALL TEAMS!