Yeah, lots of strong teams throughout this age group. Some surprising bracket placements. I think SAC is going to have a long weekend in that top bracket. Same with Valor in the 2nd division. In general, lots of ECNL teams in lower brackets. Where is Arlington? |
Across the board, the placements show that nobody thinks BRYC belongs in ECNL. In every age group, they are placed BELOW Alexandria's second team and with PPA's second team. If they can't win those brackets, it's a sad state of affairs. |
In the 07 age group, BRYC's ECNL team is in the same division as Baltimore Celtic's, Maryland United's, and Loudoun's ECNL teams. This happens to be the 4th division! Some local teams in the same division as these ECNL teams are LMVSC, DC Stoddert, and GFR. Local teams in higher divisions than these ECNL teams are...in the 3rd division: Coppermine, Alexandria's B team, Touch Kings (Formerly Liverpool I believe), and Freedom. In the 2nd Division: Potomac, Valor, and Bethesda's B team. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. On a side note...I know alot of people complain about tournament hosts putting their teams in in appropriately lower divisions to get wins, but Bethesda did not do this here. They have their B team in the 2nd division and it would be very easy to justify a lower division...so good for them. I am and NOT a Bethesda parent! : ) |
And Arlington's second team in the 09 age group (an ECNL-R team) is in the top bracket with top teams from Bethesda, PPA, Alexandria, and SYC. Arlington's top team (ECNL) is not playing in the tournament. Lots of interesting seeding choices in the U13 (09 birth year) brackets. |
This is the first time in years since Bethesda 07 Academy has played in this tournament. They placed the teams well. |
Interesting is an understatement…looks like a majority of the 09 seeding was done by pulling names out of a hat. There’re going to be some truly lopsided games up and down they age group. |
| As a parent in the 05 age group, I find many of the placements baffling. I think Bethesda being an MLS Next club placed many MLS Next teams higher than they should have been and made a point to place ECNL teams lower. ECNL teams that (btw) have beat many of the MLS Next teams in tournaments/scrimmages and are highly ranked. Also having girls, I can tell you that team placements were not all that great on the girls' side either. Lots of complaints last weekend from multiple teams, including a number that said they are done with this tournament, which is such a money grab. There are better options for the girls (NCFC) but not for the boys who are stuck with this if they want to do a November tournament/showcase. |
| Bethesda 09's have been having a great run in MLSNext. They have not lost a game and have only given up one goal this year. That will be a tough bracket to come out of if you are not Bethesda. |
Not surprising, but the placements give all the Bethesda teams easy paths to the finals. I’m still pissed that we have to play at Muldoon’s Farm. Screw that. |
i don't care what bracket my DS is in as long as the level of competition is strong. I only focus on how my kid does and try (try being the operative word) not to care about the results. It is tough to not focus on the wins, but it helps create a less stressful experience if I focus more on how my DS kid is developing without having to worry about how the team is playing. I know I will probably get blasted on this message board regarding that, but that is how I deal with match days. Of course the flow of the game and touches relies on the whole team, but I try not to let that bother me when things go south. As far as the brackets go, I would have like to have seen 09 Pipeline in this tournament. A Bethesda, Pipeline matchup would have been fun to watch. |
Oh, come on. It’s a tournament…it’s fun to win. Lighten up a bit. And it would have been nice if BSC 09 had a little more competition in their bracket, but they should face either SYC’s MLS Next team, or the PPA team that has beaten them in the past in the finals. On a crappy Muldoon’s Farm field. |
Now you know this isn't true at ALL |
Sounding like a boys ECNL parent who is upset that alot of the MLS next teams are stronger. |
No one has mentioned Paragon. Are they not consider good competition? Their 2010 team beat bsc acadamey 1 at the last tournament in October 2-0. |
We’re talking about 09s here. Paragon 09 is a solid team, but I’d be shocked if they give BSC any trouble. |