ECNL Girls National Playoffs/Finals 2025 Thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DMV is still back tho right! 2 legit 2 quit

2 2010 teams in the round of 16 that are within 30 miles of eachother is legit. Charlotte made it from MA too.

people compare the entire state of Texas to the DMV and the entire state of California to the DMV. Whatever fits your narrative, I guess.

I keep forgetting that there aren’t any good players or coaches in the DMV though. Everything is a money grab. Nobody around here knows what they’re doing.

So now we are touting “round of 16” as some kind of major accomplishment? There are only 48 teams in the whole tournament! It’s a HUGE leap to draw conclusions about players and coaches based on making, or not making, the round of 16. Soccer parents are nuts.

Its just how ECNL parents are. Always trying to puff their kids up in whatever way possible. Im surprised they haven't started calling playoffs the CONCACAF to the finals. Gently hinting finals is like the world cup.

If ECNL is CONCACAF, what does the make GA? FXA?

[Anonymous]

no playoffs are CONCACAF qualifying, Richmond is the WC Final, keep up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:no playoffs are CONCACAF qualifying, Richmond is the WC Final, keep up!

There are still 8 teams left. That makes Richmond the quarterfinals

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike most people here my daughter is on a competing ECNL team but I'm not salty that Bethesda and Arlington are so good. Surprising that they're out because both of those teams were very impressive when we last played them. I figured one would make it to the finals. Great season and good luck next spring. We might have been happy to be there but outside of the SoCal blues game we hung in the other games, played more technical but couldn't score. Hit the post a few times, it is what it is, but a good experience nonetheless.

~MDU parent

You don't realize how much better soccer exists in SoCal, Dallas, etc. Teams that look "very impressive" here in the mid atlantic are routinely humbled this time of year. It happens over and over

Good question for these overhyped coaches everyone is running after in the DMV. It is in those tournaments when these coaches get humbled. Yet everyone is chasing. There is no good development in DMV. All clubs are money grab and these coaches are more like
Salespeople for the clubs. And the parents with extra income in the DMV are happy to shell and keep chasing air these coaches sell to them. FOMO, badges and lying to the kids making them think they are the best are the issues that need to be addressed in the DMV. Young players too pumped up then boom the reality hits in nationals.

Man what a hater. Im sorry your team didnt make it to San Diego.

It is not about hater. You need to wake up and see what the real issue is. It is not about San Diego or San Francisco. The reality question for everyone in this area is. Why California and and Texas teams are way better than the teams in the DMV? The DMV should have all the resources but honestly the coaching has never been there. It is a coaching and parents problem. Clubs never really develop anything. Bunch off sales people.

What’s different in California and Texas? Soccer culture. There are just more people who are soccer natives (coaches, parents, players) who have grown up with it, played with their friends and families, watched games on tv. NoVa and MD teams are made up of suburban kids whose parents don’t know the positions on a soccer field and are just trying to get them into name brand colleges.

I agree on the last point. For girl’s soccer in our area many if not most of the girls are using soccer to get to top colleges. This is as it should be. Not everyone is going pro. Even girls that could know they would be better off in a top college. Going pro in women’s soccer is not a great thing. It is not signing an NBA rookie deal or even an NFL minimum deal. At best it is a grind and if you have some success and are pretty or edgy you get marketing dollars. If not you become a Gypsy soccer coach. I also think by the times kids get to high school they are the drivers for this not the parents.

There are not more coaches in Texas or Cali that are soccer natives. Just not true. Also the parents are the same at least on the girls side. The real difference is the weather and the fanatical approach to sports in those places. California and Texas have the best football and baseball players as well. Not limited to soccer. Something is going on there that is more than what you are saying.

Really agree with these points. For my DD who is playing U16 ECNL and is on a Final 8 team, the biggest thing in her mind is what college she can go to and continue to play - and those schools all have large sports programs, particularly football, that is driving the bus. This really didn't become a reality for her until the last couple of years when she realized that if she kept working, good things could happen. At this point, Pro Soccer is not on her mind at all - goal is to get to college the least expensive way possible.

And as far as TX and California go, look at the teams that are succeeding - the demographic mix of the teams isn't all that different than what is going on here in the DMV. Heck, there are girls playing at SD Surf that live overlooking the fields. Meaning, this isn't some story of kids playing soccer in the streets with a rolled up ball of tape and making it. Same thing with may of those TX teams in the Dallas metroplex. Players from Highland Park aren't exactly hurting.

This is probably what is wrong about a lot of US soccer. Are oppurtunities afforded to those that most deserve it or is it who has the most $$ to get there?
+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike most people here my daughter is on a competing ECNL team but I'm not salty that Bethesda and Arlington are so good. Surprising that they're out because both of those teams were very impressive when we last played them. I figured one would make it to the finals. Great season and good luck next spring. We might have been happy to be there but outside of the SoCal blues game we hung in the other games, played more technical but couldn't score. Hit the post a few times, it is what it is, but a good experience nonetheless.

~MDU parent

You don't realize how much better soccer exists in SoCal, Dallas, etc. Teams that look "very impressive" here in the mid atlantic are routinely humbled this time of year. It happens over and over

Good question for these overhyped coaches everyone is running after in the DMV. It is in those tournaments when these coaches get humbled. Yet everyone is chasing. There is no good development in DMV. All clubs are money grab and these coaches are more like
Salespeople for the clubs. And the parents with extra income in the DMV are happy to shell and keep chasing air these coaches sell to them. FOMO, badges and lying to the kids making them think they are the best are the issues that need to be addressed in the DMV. Young players too pumped up then boom the reality hits in nationals.

Man what a hater. Im sorry your team didnt make it to San Diego.

It is not about hater. You need to wake up and see what the real issue is. It is not about San Diego or San Francisco. The reality question for everyone in this area is. Why California and and Texas teams are way better than the teams in the DMV? The DMV should have all the resources but honestly the coaching has never been there. It is a coaching and parents problem. Clubs never really develop anything. Bunch off sales people.

What’s different in California and Texas? Soccer culture. There are just more people who are soccer natives (coaches, parents, players) who have grown up with it, played with their friends and families, watched games on tv. NoVa and MD teams are made up of suburban kids whose parents don’t know the positions on a soccer field and are just trying to get them into name brand colleges.

I agree on the last point. For girl’s soccer in our area many if not most of the girls are using soccer to get to top colleges. This is as it should be. Not everyone is going pro. Even girls that could know they would be better off in a top college. Going pro in women’s soccer is not a great thing. It is not signing an NBA rookie deal or even an NFL minimum deal. At best it is a grind and if you have some success and are pretty or edgy you get marketing dollars. If not you become a Gypsy soccer coach. I also think by the times kids get to high school they are the drivers for this not the parents.

There are not more coaches in Texas or Cali that are soccer natives. Just not true. Also the parents are the same at least on the girls side. The real difference is the weather and the fanatical approach to sports in those places. California and Texas have the best football and baseball players as well. Not limited to soccer. Something is going on there that is more than what you are saying.

Really agree with these points. For my DD who is playing U16 ECNL and is on a Final 8 team, the biggest thing in her mind is what college she can go to and continue to play - and those schools all have large sports programs, particularly football, that is driving the bus. This really didn't become a reality for her until the last couple of years when she realized that if she kept working, good things could happen. At this point, Pro Soccer is not on her mind at all - goal is to get to college the least expensive way possible.

And as far as TX and California go, look at the teams that are succeeding - the demographic mix of the teams isn't all that different than what is going on here in the DMV. Heck, there are girls playing at SD Surf that live overlooking the fields. Meaning, this isn't some story of kids playing soccer in the streets with a rolled up ball of tape and making it. Same thing with may of those TX teams in the Dallas metroplex. Players from Highland Park aren't exactly hurting.

This is probably what is wrong about a lot of US soccer. Are oppurtunities afforded to those that most deserve it or is it who has the most $$ to get there?
+

Great post and good luck in the finals! CA/TX is nothing more than demographics and weather. Lots of kids and lots of time to play (ironically not now in TX). Culture is definitely "better" than the majority of the east coast, but plenty of soccer/futbol hotbeds with very passionate fans all around. Too bad everything shuts down or is indoors in cramped spaces for several months of the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike most people here my daughter is on a competing ECNL team but I'm not salty that Bethesda and Arlington are so good. Surprising that they're out because both of those teams were very impressive when we last played them. I figured one would make it to the finals. Great season and good luck next spring. We might have been happy to be there but outside of the SoCal blues game we hung in the other games, played more technical but couldn't score. Hit the post a few times, it is what it is, but a good experience nonetheless.

~MDU parent

You don't realize how much better soccer exists in SoCal, Dallas, etc. Teams that look "very impressive" here in the mid atlantic are routinely humbled this time of year. It happens over and over

Good question for these overhyped coaches everyone is running after in the DMV. It is in those tournaments when these coaches get humbled. Yet everyone is chasing. There is no good development in DMV. All clubs are money grab and these coaches are more like
Salespeople for the clubs. And the parents with extra income in the DMV are happy to shell and keep chasing air these coaches sell to them. FOMO, badges and lying to the kids making them think they are the best are the issues that need to be addressed in the DMV. Young players too pumped up then boom the reality hits in nationals.

Man what a hater. Im sorry your team didnt make it to San Diego.

It is not about hater. You need to wake up and see what the real issue is. It is not about San Diego or San Francisco. The reality question for everyone in this area is. Why California and and Texas teams are way better than the teams in the DMV? The DMV should have all the resources but honestly the coaching has never been there. It is a coaching and parents problem. Clubs never really develop anything. Bunch off sales people.

What’s different in California and Texas? Soccer culture. There are just more people who are soccer natives (coaches, parents, players) who have grown up with it, played with their friends and families, watched games on tv. NoVa and MD teams are made up of suburban kids whose parents don’t know the positions on a soccer field and are just trying to get them into name brand colleges.

I agree on the last point. For girl’s soccer in our area many if not most of the girls are using soccer to get to top colleges. This is as it should be. Not everyone is going pro. Even girls that could know they would be better off in a top college. Going pro in women’s soccer is not a great thing. It is not signing an NBA rookie deal or even an NFL minimum deal. At best it is a grind and if you have some success and are pretty or edgy you get marketing dollars. If not you become a Gypsy soccer coach. I also think by the times kids get to high school they are the drivers for this not the parents.

There are not more coaches in Texas or Cali that are soccer natives. Just not true. Also the parents are the same at least on the girls side. The real difference is the weather and the fanatical approach to sports in those places. California and Texas have the best football and baseball players as well. Not limited to soccer. Something is going on there that is more than what you are saying.

Really agree with these points. For my DD who is playing U16 ECNL and is on a Final 8 team, the biggest thing in her mind is what college she can go to and continue to play - and those schools all have large sports programs, particularly football, that is driving the bus. This really didn't become a reality for her until the last couple of years when she realized that if she kept working, good things could happen. At this point, Pro Soccer is not on her mind at all - goal is to get to college the least expensive way possible.

And as far as TX and California go, look at the teams that are succeeding - the demographic mix of the teams isn't all that different than what is going on here in the DMV. Heck, there are girls playing at SD Surf that live overlooking the fields. Meaning, this isn't some story of kids playing soccer in the streets with a rolled up ball of tape and making it. Same thing with may of those TX teams in the Dallas metroplex. Players from Highland Park aren't exactly hurting.

This is probably what is wrong about a lot of US soccer. Are oppurtunities afforded to those that most deserve it or is it who has the most $$ to get there?
+

Great post and good luck in the finals! CA/TX is nothing more than demographics and weather. Lots of kids and lots of time to play (ironically not now in TX). Culture is definitely "better" than the majority of the east coast, but plenty of soccer/futbol hotbeds with very passionate fans all around. Too bad everything shuts down or is indoors in cramped spaces for several months of the year.

Can't believe i forgot to include $$$$$$ but CA/TX have plenty of that where these dominate clubs are from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike most people here my daughter is on a competing ECNL team but I'm not salty that Bethesda and Arlington are so good. Surprising that they're out because both of those teams were very impressive when we last played them. I figured one would make it to the finals. Great season and good luck next spring. We might have been happy to be there but outside of the SoCal blues game we hung in the other games, played more technical but couldn't score. Hit the post a few times, it is what it is, but a good experience nonetheless.

~MDU parent

You don't realize how much better soccer exists in SoCal, Dallas, etc. Teams that look "very impressive" here in the mid atlantic are routinely humbled this time of year. It happens over and over

Good question for these overhyped coaches everyone is running after in the DMV. It is in those tournaments when these coaches get humbled. Yet everyone is chasing. There is no good development in DMV. All clubs are money grab and these coaches are more like
Salespeople for the clubs. And the parents with extra income in the DMV are happy to shell and keep chasing air these coaches sell to them. FOMO, badges and lying to the kids making them think they are the best are the issues that need to be addressed in the DMV. Young players too pumped up then boom the reality hits in nationals.

Man what a hater. Im sorry your team didnt make it to San Diego.

It is not about hater. You need to wake up and see what the real issue is. It is not about San Diego or San Francisco. The reality question for everyone in this area is. Why California and and Texas teams are way better than the teams in the DMV? The DMV should have all the resources but honestly the coaching has never been there. It is a coaching and parents problem. Clubs never really develop anything. Bunch off sales people.

What’s different in California and Texas? Soccer culture. There are just more people who are soccer natives (coaches, parents, players) who have grown up with it, played with their friends and families, watched games on tv. NoVa and MD teams are made up of suburban kids whose parents don’t know the positions on a soccer field and are just trying to get them into name brand colleges.

I agree on the last point. For girl’s soccer in our area many if not most of the girls are using soccer to get to top colleges. This is as it should be. Not everyone is going pro. Even girls that could know they would be better off in a top college. Going pro in women’s soccer is not a great thing. It is not signing an NBA rookie deal or even an NFL minimum deal. At best it is a grind and if you have some success and are pretty or edgy you get marketing dollars. If not you become a Gypsy soccer coach. I also think by the times kids get to high school they are the drivers for this not the parents.

There are not more coaches in Texas or Cali that are soccer natives. Just not true. Also the parents are the same at least on the girls side. The real difference is the weather and the fanatical approach to sports in those places. California and Texas have the best football and baseball players as well. Not limited to soccer. Something is going on there that is more than what you are saying.

Really agree with these points. For my DD who is playing U16 ECNL and is on a Final 8 team, the biggest thing in her mind is what college she can go to and continue to play - and those schools all have large sports programs, particularly football, that is driving the bus. This really didn't become a reality for her until the last couple of years when she realized that if she kept working, good things could happen. At this point, Pro Soccer is not on her mind at all - goal is to get to college the least expensive way possible.

And as far as TX and California go, look at the teams that are succeeding - the demographic mix of the teams isn't all that different than what is going on here in the DMV. Heck, there are girls playing at SD Surf that live overlooking the fields. Meaning, this isn't some story of kids playing soccer in the streets with a rolled up ball of tape and making it. Same thing with may of those TX teams in the Dallas metroplex. Players from Highland Park aren't exactly hurting.

This is probably what is wrong about a lot of US soccer. Are oppurtunities afforded to those that most deserve it or is it who has the most $$ to get there?
+

This is what’s wrong with soccer in the US, we have the richest kids only able to afford it and I’m not talking about team/club fees. If a player is on scholarship for financial need, their parents probably can’t afford to take a week off if work for a Thursday to Wednesday or a Friday to Monday Tournament in St Louis, North Carolina, Fl, Az or CA not to mention the cost to travel to those locations multiple times per year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unlike most people here my daughter is on a competing ECNL team but I'm not salty that Bethesda and Arlington are so good. Surprising that they're out because both of those teams were very impressive when we last played them. I figured one would make it to the finals. Great season and good luck next spring. We might have been happy to be there but outside of the SoCal blues game we hung in the other games, played more technical but couldn't score. Hit the post a few times, it is what it is, but a good experience nonetheless.

~MDU parent

I watched MDU play for a bit. They have a weak midfield who can’t connect passes to their own team or be playmakers. Their midfield tends to play backwards or try to force the ball forward rather than using open players. Defense resorts to kick ball in the end. They need to learn to be a team.

Bethesda and Arlington know how to work as a team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike most people here my daughter is on a competing ECNL team but I'm not salty that Bethesda and Arlington are so good. Surprising that they're out because both of those teams were very impressive when we last played them. I figured one would make it to the finals. Great season and good luck next spring. We might have been happy to be there but outside of the SoCal blues game we hung in the other games, played more technical but couldn't score. Hit the post a few times, it is what it is, but a good experience nonetheless.

~MDU parent

You don't realize how much better soccer exists in SoCal, Dallas, etc. Teams that look "very impressive" here in the mid atlantic are routinely humbled this time of year. It happens over and over

Good question for these overhyped coaches everyone is running after in the DMV. It is in those tournaments when these coaches get humbled. Yet everyone is chasing. There is no good development in DMV. All clubs are money grab and these coaches are more like
Salespeople for the clubs. And the parents with extra income in the DMV are happy to shell and keep chasing air these coaches sell to them. FOMO, badges and lying to the kids making them think they are the best are the issues that need to be addressed in the DMV. Young players too pumped up then boom the reality hits in nationals.

Man what a hater. Im sorry your team didnt make it to San Diego.

It is not about hater. You need to wake up and see what the real issue is. It is not about San Diego or San Francisco. The reality question for everyone in this area is. Why California and and Texas teams are way better than the teams in the DMV? The DMV should have all the resources but honestly the coaching has never been there. It is a coaching and parents problem. Clubs never really develop anything. Bunch off sales people.

What’s different in California and Texas? Soccer culture. There are just more people who are soccer natives (coaches, parents, players) who have grown up with it, played with their friends and families, watched games on tv. NoVa and MD teams are made up of suburban kids whose parents don’t know the positions on a soccer field and are just trying to get them into name brand colleges.

I agree on the last point. For girl’s soccer in our area many if not most of the girls are using soccer to get to top colleges. This is as it should be. Not everyone is going pro. Even girls that could know they would be better off in a top college. Going pro in women’s soccer is not a great thing. It is not signing an NBA rookie deal or even an NFL minimum deal. At best it is a grind and if you have some success and are pretty or edgy you get marketing dollars. If not you become a Gypsy soccer coach. I also think by the times kids get to high school they are the drivers for this not the parents.

There are not more coaches in Texas or Cali that are soccer natives. Just not true. Also the parents are the same at least on the girls side. The real difference is the weather and the fanatical approach to sports in those places. California and Texas have the best football and baseball players as well. Not limited to soccer. Something is going on there that is more than what you are saying.

Really agree with these points. For my DD who is playing U16 ECNL and is on a Final 8 team, the biggest thing in her mind is what college she can go to and continue to play - and those schools all have large sports programs, particularly football, that is driving the bus. This really didn't become a reality for her until the last couple of years when she realized that if she kept working, good things could happen. At this point, Pro Soccer is not on her mind at all - goal is to get to college the least expensive way possible.

And as far as TX and California go, look at the teams that are succeeding - the demographic mix of the teams isn't all that different than what is going on here in the DMV. Heck, there are girls playing at SD Surf that live overlooking the fields. Meaning, this isn't some story of kids playing soccer in the streets with a rolled up ball of tape and making it. Same thing with may of those TX teams in the Dallas metroplex. Players from Highland Park aren't exactly hurting.

This is probably what is wrong about a lot of US soccer. Are oppurtunities afforded to those that most deserve it or is it who has the most $$ to get there?
+

This is what’s wrong with soccer in the US, we have the richest kids only able to afford it and I’m not talking about team/club fees. If a player is on scholarship for financial need, their parents probably can’t afford to take a week off if work for a Thursday to Wednesday or a Friday to Monday Tournament in St Louis, North Carolina, Fl, Az or CA not to mention the cost to travel to those locations multiple times per year.

Check how many showcases the CA teams do, We do one or two, and avoiding traveling to Richmond.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unlike most people here my daughter is on a competing ECNL team but I'm not salty that Bethesda and Arlington are so good. Surprising that they're out because both of those teams were very impressive when we last played them. I figured one would make it to the finals. Great season and good luck next spring. We might have been happy to be there but outside of the SoCal blues game we hung in the other games, played more technical but couldn't score. Hit the post a few times, it is what it is, but a good experience nonetheless.

~MDU parent

I watched MDU play for a bit. They have a weak midfield who can’t connect passes to their own team or be playmakers. Their midfield tends to play backwards or try to force the ball forward rather than using open players. Defense resorts to kick ball in the end. They need to learn to be a team.

Bethesda and Arlington know how to work as a team.

There is no need to rip on this MDU team. They went to SD and worked hard as the ultimate wild card. Way to fight MDU.
- Arl Parent

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is cracking me up. Union 10s early on laughed at for their loss last year, then no props for being one of the few to make Richmond. Then criticize their coaching at the same time gloating that those same coaches are moving to your club. Stay classy Bethesda.

Or it could be a VDA coach that doesn’t want to play those players next year again.

[Anonymous]

No matter what you think, the parking situation at the Surf complex in San Diego still suck balls. GA>ECNL on this point. I can't believe people put up with paying $60 for parking only to drive around and around for the privilege of finding 1 in 300 parking spots for 20+ fields of action. The weather is better, but the facility needs to expand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:0 Union 2010s are going to Bethesda

About 3-4 were actively recruited to cross the line, none of these players made the decision to go.

I call this the typical bs you find on this forum. I directly asked ML this question and he told me that they didn’t talk to any 2010s so that they were focused on doing well and ending his time with the girls on a high. He did tell me about the 09s and 08s coming to Bethesda so I don’t know why he would lie about the 10s.

[Anonymous]

Well I know he approached players in other years to move.

[Anonymous]

They did approach a few 2010 players to leave.