ECNL Playoffs in Seattle

Final tally for SW conference regular season winners during Seattle playoffs:

u14 .... #1 rep Heat FC lost in pool play

u15 ... #1 Striker (and #2 Slammers) headed to Virginia

u16 ... #1 Blues (and #2 Surf) headed to Virginia

u17 ... #1 Blues headed to Virginia

u18 ... #1 rep Heat FC lost in pool play

Congrats to all the players that moved on! See you in Virginia first weekend in July :)
So did the U15 Strikers and Slammers team both advance on PKs? Do you know how many PKs were scored? I hate the way the TGS system reports playoff games that end on PKs. https://tgs.totalglobalsports.com/public/schedules.aspx?eid=737&fid=3538
 
Watching some of the semis and finals, is anyone else surprised at how many of the goalkeepers don’t take their own goalkicks?
 
So it is official - California has the best soccer. 3 So Cal teams and 1 Nor Cal team won national ECNL championships today
Yes, and all the teams in so cal that played these teams and beat them, tied them or only lost by one, demonstrate the quality of players in so cal.
 
If you think out scoring a second tier team is an accomplishment then you are deluded. An ECNL national championship is not a meaningful accomplishment. Last year it meant something. Congrats to the winners, however.
 
If you think out scoring a second tier team is an accomplishment then you are deluded. An ECNL national championship is not a meaningful accomplishment. Last year it meant something. Congrats to the winners, however.

I beg to differ. I know for a fact that the Surf 02 ECNL wasnt built with 2nd tier players. They were players choosing not to play DA and were still playing HS soccer. Several of the girls on the team are on the youth national team as with the blues 02 ECNL team.
 
If you think out scoring a second tier team is an accomplishment then you are deluded. An ECNL national championship is not a meaningful accomplishment. Last year it meant something. Congrats to the winners, however.

I agree, last year it did mean more in terms of prestige. I guess the same could be said about the DA championships this year. Since the talent pool was devided/diluted this season, I think either league’s championships are less of an “accomplishment” compared to last years national championships. Unfortunately, that isn’t the fault of any of the teams who made it to their respective championships. It just is what it is.
 
I beg to differ. I know for a fact that the Surf 02 ECNL wasnt built with 2nd tier players. They were players choosing not to play DA and were still playing HS soccer. Several of the girls on the team are on the youth national team as with the blues 02 ECNL team.

I do not know their full roster, but my own DD showed me a social media post of their current semis ‘02 ECNL team, and most of their former ODP girls, and their national pool/team player (who I believe is/was a full time DA 01/02 player) where all there. Guess ECNL does not qualify as outside competition for Surf DA.
 
If you think out scoring a second tier team is an accomplishment then you are deluded. An ECNL national championship is not a meaningful accomplishment. Last year it meant something. Congrats to the winners, however.
Along with @Pitch pop, I agree with most of what you said other than it not being a "meaningful accomplishment." A national championship is difficult to come by. I agree with others that the chaos caused by the upstart GDA league took many great players / teams but left many great players / teams in ECNL. For both leagues, again echoing PitchPop, the 2017-2018 trophy isn't at the level of prestige it was in seasons past nor how it will be in the 2018-2019 season. In the ECNL it felt more like the North American Cup / League of last season playoffs. Today GDA is still rocking along with playoffs but California teams are doing quite well are no surprise IMHO.

I repost my thoughts from another ECNL thread here because I think it is relevant to these comments as we look to the next season in both leagues:

"Quickly glanced at the u15 through u18/19 GDA age brackets and the conference leaders / playoffs. It's definitely a positive thing (for clubs that were just at or below average) that 8 or so of the elite clubs are vacating GDA and returning 'all-in' / new to ECNL. Some of the remaining GDA clubs will potentially get a bump up in the standings and the season will feel better with a few more wins that potentially will get them in the playoffs. Happened to the SW conference this season so it was a good thing for clubs that generally are relegated to the North American or Showcase of the ECNL post season.

Are these the only clubs or are there more that I missed:
Eclipse Select
Michigan Hawks
FC Stars of Mass
Concorde Fire
Seattle United (Reign)
Crossfire United (split away Crossfire Premier??)
LAFC Slammers
Virginia Dev Academy"

I am very happy to get the next ECNL season underway soon. In the SW conference Arsenal, Blues, LAFC Slammers and Slammers FC will be the cream of the crop in most if not all age brackets. Several of these players will continue to represent in national training camps / pools and on national teams.

Best of everything to all players in all leagues just trying to do the best they can given their individual situations!
 
I beg to differ. I know for a fact that the Surf 02 ECNL wasnt built with 2nd tier players. They were players choosing not to play DA and were still playing HS soccer. Several of the girls on the team are on the youth national team as with the blues 02 ECNL team.
And not a small point here, DA for 02's did not exist this past season. Lol!
 
Still... you can't say in general ECNL is dilute if the 02s elite players played ECNL and not up a year on a 01 DA team.

Let me rephrase that for you. "Still... you can't say in general 02 ECNL is dilute if most 02s players played ECNL and not up a year on a 01 DA team."
 
Back
Top