here's predicts for the Galaxy Cup Tournie Thursday games today (4/18).
Nomads 2 vs Arsenal 0
note: two SD group teams with Nomads trending positive on both sides of the ball and Arsenal trending the other way. last time these teams met, result was 6-2 Nomads. (thx 66gto for the correction!)
LAGSD 1 vs Legends 2 * good LA vs SD match to watch *
note: Legends had been improving significantly on the goal scoring side over most of the 2018-19 season to go with a very good defense but seem to have lost a bit of their goal scoring mojo against LAFC and then RSC yesterday. on the flip side, LAGSD has been pretty consistent this season with an OK offense and a good defense. be interesting to see the result here.
FC Golden State 2 vs Albion 2 * good LA vs SD match to watch *
note: for reference, FCG just lost to SD Surf 0-5. by comparison, Albion recent results against SD Surf were 1-4 the first match and 0-1 the 2nd match, so FCG should not underestimate Albion. having said that, the SD Surf shock and awe is something to see the first time out, so it may have been a one-off lopsided result vs FCG.
Last match at the Albion Tournie btw Albion vs FCG was 0-0 but sounds like there may have been an arbitro issue. (thx redcard for this last bit of commentary!)
LAUFA 1 vs Seattle United 1 * match to watch *
note: the algo had this at 1-3 Seattle, even after discounting for the easier WA group that Seattle plays in. However, the algo also had Seattle 6-1 over Arsenal and the actual result was 2-1. So, calling it 1-1 but rooting LAUFA to pull out a win.
Seattle had two players called up to the US Soccer West Regional Camp whereas LAUFA didn't have any, and Top Drawer has Seattle #12 while ranking LAUFA at #25.
Pacific Northwest 1 vs LA Galaxy 3 * match to watch *
note: the algo has this one at 1-3 LAG. However, LAG is the type of team - big/fast/strong - that PNW had some challenges with at the showcase. Plus, LAG is a step up from quality wise from those teams. Drawing Albion 4-4 does not bode well for PNW against LAG today. On the flip side, JO - 17 goals in 19 games - may still be out with an injury and LAG has a significant reliance on him offensively.
TopDrawer has LAG at #16 in the country while not ranking PNW. With Seattle ranked at #12 but w/ PNW beating Seattle 5-3 in April, not sure that PNW not being ranked makes sense.
US Soccer seems to think the teams are roughly equivalent with LAG having five players called up to the US Soccer West Regional Camp and PNW having four players called up.
No Data for algo-based predicts:
Sporting KC vs SD Surf. * match to watch *
note: SKC had a solid 2-1 win over LAG yesterday but SD Surf beat LAG 3-0 in a 50 minute game at the showcase. (saw that match and thought it was closer than the result with LAG getting unlucky/not being clinical on some of their opportunities but that's a different conversation...)
SD Surf has had nine players called up to the US Soccer Regional Camps (8 at the west and 1 at the central) and SKC had four players called up. Top Drawer has SD Surf as the #1 u14 team in the country.
best guess is SKC 1 vs SD Surf 3.
Real Salt Lake vs Real SoCal
note: RSL seems to be very strong defensively and have a good but not great offense. At the showcase, RSL beat PNW 4-3, and RSC lost to PNW 0-1. RSC has trended worse offensively since but their defense is solid.
RSL had five players called up to US Soccer West Regional Camp, and is ranked #2 in the country by TopDrawer.
best guess is RSL 3 vs RSC 0.