National Cup 2017

I've seen where they have the 3 team brackets play against each other so they all get 3 games in. Not sure how this will be handled.
 
Cal South makes it difficult for teams (who played in the highest level within their leagues) to petition to play SC who have poor records.
True, outside of the following 3 teams:

SCDSL Flight 2 - Crescenta Valley
CSL Silver East - Riverside MGFM Soccer Devils
SCDSL Flight 2 - Legends Riverside

Everyone else was in the category to play National Cup. I think it shows how watered down Flight 1 was this year and the ability for directors to place their teams in Flight 1 in for a variety or reasons, some valid and others ridiculous. 32 teams in this tournament would have been perfect, good competition for opening group rounds and leading into a knockout round of 16.
 
True, outside of the following 3 teams:

SCDSL Flight 2 - Crescenta Valley
CSL Silver East - Riverside MGFM Soccer Devils
SCDSL Flight 2 - Legends Riverside

Everyone else was in the category to play National Cup. I think it shows how watered down Flight 1 was this year and the ability for directors to place their teams in Flight 1 in for a variety or reasons, some valid and others ridiculous. 32 teams in this tournament would have been perfect, good competition for opening group rounds and leading into a knockout round of 16.
See your already handicapping teams. :D
 
True, outside of the following 3 teams:

SCDSL Flight 2 - Crescenta Valley
CSL Silver East - Riverside MGFM Soccer Devils
SCDSL Flight 2 - Legends Riverside

Everyone else was in the category to play National Cup. I think it shows how watered down Flight 1 was this year and the ability for directors to place their teams in Flight 1 in for a variety or reasons, some valid and others ridiculous. 32 teams in this tournament would have been perfect, good competition for opening group rounds and leading into a knockout round of 16.

I don't think any team played Flight 1 this past season that did not fully understand what they were getting themselves into. Sand & Surf and Arsenal West both elected to play Flight 1 this Fall after having good runs in Flight 2 last Fall. Legends Riverside elected to stay in Flight 2 and it was a much tougher road for Sand & Surf (2-6-4) and Arsenal West (2-6-4) than it was for Legends Riverside (11-0-1). Which teams made the right decision in terms of growth? Only they know for sure but I never criticize any team for choosing to compete week in and week out knowing that the deck is stacked against them.

Similarly here, any team that voluntarily chooses to play in the toughest division has my respect. It is a likely one and done weekend for all of these teams, but perhaps they didn't find it as worthwhile to play in Presidents and figure out who is the 43rd best team in the 06 division.
 
Since I'm on a conference call and don't really need to pay attention, I looked at the National Cup groups and a 16-team seeded single elimination tournament bracket.

Assuming no upsets and that all of the top teams win their groups (a big assumption), here's what a potential round of 16 looks like utilizing the Cal South seeding. No idea if this is how it will work however.

Screen Shot 2018-01-24 at 11.44.19 AM.png
 
I would also add that seeding was based on CRL results after the first 6 games, so there are some talented teams that aren't playing CRL that perhaps deserved to be seeded, or can definitely win their groups. Slammers CB, WCFC, RSC, Anaheim Surf e.g.
 
IMO only 3 teams have a chance of winning, LAGSB, Legends, and S.D. Surf Academy simply because they have fewer potentially bad matchups. Based on this season's results I can see Albion, Blues or Ana Surf getting knocked out in the round of 16 or quarterfinals based on getting a bad matchup.

Good luck to everyone.
 
I would also add that seeding was based on CRL results after the first 6 games, so there are some talented teams that aren't playing CRL that perhaps deserved to be seeded, or can definitely win their groups. Slammers CB, WCFC, RSC, Anaheim Surf e.g.
I think there are several heavy favorites in the group, leading to most of the top seeds advancing. However, you are right that there are some groups that could see a lower seed advance. It feels like there are at least a dozen teams that really don’t have any chance whatsoever to play beyond group play. Picking wildcards is difficult because it can really come down to how strong the 3rd/4th teams are in the group. I also think the size of the fields and size of the goals could be a factor for some of these teams. My thoughts on the groups for you to pick apart...

Group A (LAGSB I #4, Pats IER #20, Albion Hughes #30, Crescenta #77); LAGSB is the clear favorite here. They have some of the best talent in the middle and up top for this age group. They have only lost to Legends, Albion and Blues over the last eight months, so It would be shocking to me if they don’t advance easily. They are one of the top four teams and I’d be surprised if they are knocked out before semifinals.

Group B (CDA Cerritos #7, Slammers AW #18, FC Golden State #33, DMCV #51); CDA has some good athletes and can challenge the top teams on any given day. I’m not a huge fan of the screaming from the coach, but his approach seems to work for these girls. While the smart money is probably on them to win this group, Slammers AW (I am assuming this is Slammers AWCB 2 by the way) has had some good games and at least has a chance to win if everything falls their way in the game against CDA.

Group C (San Diego Navy #19, Slammers CB #9, Eagles #21, Beach Torres #31); San Diego Navy is the top seed in this group, but Slammers (I am assuming this is Slammers AWCB 1 here) are ranked higher per YSR. The two played to a tie in league back in October, but I think Slammers is a team on the rise lately. They have taken some time to gel over the course of the season, but have had some sold games as the year progressed. SD Navy surprised most last year at State Cup though, so don’t count them out. I give the slight nod to Slammers to win this group over SD Navy, but it seems like the 2nd place team should move forward with a WC spot.
 
Group D (Blues #5, So Cal Academy #14, Riverside MGFM #28, OVC #40); Blues is the favorite in this group and has the potential to make a deep run in the tournament. They don’t give up any cheap goals with that defense and goalie, and won every game in SCDSL league play (including a win over SD Surf A). However, they tend to let lesser teams stay close in games and have tied So Cal Academy twice this year. So Cal Academy has had some good showings this year, but also some bad losses. They have shown that they can compete with Blues in any given game though, so they have a shot. If not, they certainly could get a WC spot.

Group E (Albion #6, Legends FC #15, CZ Elite #35, LAGSB II #50); Albion is the favorite to win the group. They are fast and organized. They have only lost to four teams in the last eight months (Blues, Anaheim, Legends and SD Surf A), but they aren’t helped by playing in a weaker league. I would say they should easily advance out of this group and can beat anybody in a given game as they advance to the next weekend. Legends should be able to stay close in the game against Albion, but things will have to fall their way to win that game. They have a good chance to advance with a WC spot if they can’t beat Albion in that game.

Group F (Legends #1, West Coast #16, LAGSD #26, Sand and Surf #56); Legends is ranked #1 on YSR and rightfully so. They seem to have an endless amount of talent. Similar to LAGSB, I would be pretty surprised if they don’t at least make it to the semifinals. West Coast plays some pretty soccer and can actually dominate possession in games against some of the top teams. They will need to find ways to finish their opportunities and not give away possession in the back against pressing teams in order to win games though. I would be surprised to see them beat Legends in group play, but it is a game I will enjoy watching.
 
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