Anybody saw any of the games in this tournament? It's held at the Nike campus this weekend. You'll see some of the top teams in the US at this age level. I watched a few games yesterday and I was in awe of how good these teams are. It made me realize how far our local teams have to go to be competitive with the rest of the country. Check it out. They're amazing and the games are fun to watch.
-
-
I agree it's excellent soccer. I disagree that many teams have a long way to go to be "competitive." LO did fine last year and 3 OR girls were pivotal parts of the winning team. THUSC Mercury's games have all been close this year. Not a deep state of course, but we're playing with numbers. Many of the top OR teams continue to travel out of the state and do well. I guess it's all in your definition of "competitive." If an OR team goes to a national showcase tourney and loses, e.g., 2-1 or 1-0 in a close game in the semis (as happpens frequently), does that mean they weren't competitive? All in the eye of the beholder I suppose.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post -
I have to disagree. I watched Mercury's game yesterday and although the score was only 1-0, the game itself was not even close. I guessOriginally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
-
Yes, that was a guess. 1-0 sounds close to me. You did not go. The game was fought hard with a defensive mistake to allow a goal. Mercury are going through a transition at the moment. The girls will bounce back and be even stronger for next years state cup. You heard it here first!Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
-
Actually, I was there and my impression was Mercury was not up to par with the other team. Just so you know the other team played all of their bench players as they were getting ready for a bigger game in the quarterfinals. I'm sorry, I don't mean to hurt your feelings. I do give credit to that one girl who played in the middle for THUSC. She had a good game.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
-
-
-
-
THUSC was asked to put together a team after the G94's only had enough players for one team. The schedule had them breaking into two teams and that left the tournament missing a team.Comment
-
The prize for winning this tourney is an all expense paid trip to Europe. Only the top teams in the nation get invited to play. The teams who participated are borrowing players left and right even paying for these borrowed out of state players trip just to play for them. That's how serious they are. One would think that this would be a good opportunity for a local club to put together a very good team with the hopes of winning the tourney if they care at all. According to one parent from SURF they sort of combined teams ( to meet age requirement) so that means those who came don't normally play with each other during regular tourneys. As I watched them play no one would think that they came from 2 teams as they played together well.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
-
Congrats to those who have the opportunity to play the Manchester Cup!! Great tournament with a great purse for the winner ... all expense paid trip.Comment
-
"That one girl who played in the middle" is a play up from THUSC Sodium. She is exceptional, rest of the team fought hard but were out of league.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
-
Teams
The team can be put together from the same club. Otherwise you're allowed 3 guest players. In the past LO and FC alternate putting teams in as the host club. This year there should have been FCs year. Don't know why there weren't teams. Either the program ended, or FC didn't think it could field competitive teams. Boys winner goes to Manchester (the tournament is world wide) to play other tournament winners. Girls go to Sweden (I think) for a similar tournament.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
-
From what I hear, the days of FC and LO alternating as host for Man U are over. Sounds like the Oregon State Cup winner will be the host going forward as long as they're a Nike sponsored team.Comment
-
Yes, girls go to Sweden (Gothia Cup); boys to Manchester. All expense paid trips. This year was FC's turn but the team wasn't competitive enough. I would like to see the OR teams take it more seriously. Perhaps there are feelings at stake. While admirable, it hurts the team's chances in this tourney. Most (perhaps all) of the out of state teams don't just take their U14 teams "as is" for this tourney. They have some of their best club kids play up and some of their best club kids play down, so long as they fit within the qualifying age range. (This year, on or after 8/1/96 on the girls side; on or after 1/1/96 on the boys.) They they can bring in 3 guest players. So, for example, a team you would play in this tourney would not necessarily be the same as the team you would play in a regular tourney. That means some "regulars" (as many as 6-8 in some cases) would be left off the normal team for this tourney, but if you want to compete and challenge for the championship, that is what is necessary. OR gets an automatic qualifier every year and I would like to see them take advantage of it.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
Comment