# November 05 Showcase: Predictions and Commentary



## Kante (Nov 1, 2018)

Here's stats on how SoCal teams did last year. Short version is that 05 SoCal teams went 32-4-3 at the 2017-18 showcase, and outscored their non-SoCal opponents 146 - 20.

FYI, the USSDA's definition of a non-competitive game is any match where the match winner outscores the opposition by more than three goals.


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## Kante (Nov 2, 2018)

So, first prediction: Socal Teams win all games and outscore opponents an average of 5 goals to 0 goals. Kidding. Mostly. The top teams will likely have good match-ups but SoCal teams lower down the rankings could have a field day against the competition. We'll see.

Second prediction: Have run the numbers of the LA vs SD group matchups. Here's what I got. Good luck all! (will take a look at the other groups and see what I can do quickly) Wish there were more of these LA vs SD games. 

*Sunday:*
11:25am *SDSC 1 vs Pats 2 *@ field #11 (this is suspect since FCG is a stronger team, in my view, than Pats, but the algo says it's so, so...)

*Monday:*
9am *SDSC 1 vs FC Golden State 1* @ field #11

11:50am *Strikers 7 vs Santa Barbara SC 1* @ field #6 (last year, SBSC won first match-up 3-0 and then lost 0-4)

1:15pm *Real SoCal 0 vs Arsenal 1* @ field #2 (last year, RSC won 2-1 the first time and Arsenal won the 2nd time 2-1)

2:40pm *LA Galaxy 3 vs SD Surf 1* @ field 5 (LAG is such a different team in 2018-19 - nine new players - that it doesn't make sense to compare outcomes from last year. Suffice to say that this year's LAG beat LAFC 3-0 in a decisive win playing one man down - on a ridiculous red card - the last 15 minutes of the game. A Friday Night Light quote comes to mind.. Coach Taylor: "What's going on out there? Player "They're big. And they're fast, coach." Coach Taylor: "Ok, Ok... But what's going on out there?" Player: "They're big. And they're fast.")

2:40pm *Legends 1 vs Strikers 3* @ field #3


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## ferbert (Nov 3, 2018)

Good luck to all southern Californian teams at the showcase. 
Regardless of the unnecessary internal fanaticism, hoping to see local support and beautiful soccer from our teams. Let's go SoCal!!


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## Kante (Nov 4, 2018)

Here's results from Sunday. Key is to remember that these are *not* standings. 

US Soccer attempts to match teams from one geo group with other like teams from other groups. The challenge for 05 SoCal teams is that the quality from other groups, after the top teams, drops and the US Soccer match-ups can be uneven. 

The numbers below do *not* indicate that FC Golden State is better than LAFC, just that FCG did better against the teams they were matched with than LAFC did.

Speaking of which, got to see some of the LAFC v. CO Rapids match and was surprised to see it end up a tie. In the play I saw, LAFC had the ball 80-90% of the time in COR's half. Any commentary on this game or the other matches? Looks like LAUFA had a bit of a tough time as well.

And in the only LA vs SD match-up on Sunday, it was a 0-0 tie SDSC v Pats. Predict had been a SDSC 1 - Pats 2 result.


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## Box2Box (Nov 5, 2018)

SD Surf - 2 
Galaxy - 2 

This game should be a tie but only coz the game is only 60 minutes. Surf usually puts their opponents away in the second half, when  they have fully adjusted to the defense.


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## numero15 (Nov 5, 2018)

3-0 surf.


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## Box2Box (Nov 5, 2018)

numero15 said:


> 3-0 surf.


Statement game. Congrats to surf


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## justneededaname (Nov 6, 2018)

Props to the LAG goalie who stepped in after the starting goalie got a red card in the RSL game. He was the most entertaining goalie I saw the whole weekend.


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## Kante (Nov 6, 2018)

Here's results of LA teams vs SD teams. Well played SD, well played. Would have been nice to see more LA vs SD matchups.

LA: 0-4-2
SD: 4-0-2

*Sunday:*
Predict: SDSC 1 vs Pats 2 
*Actual: SDSC 0 vs Pats 0*

*Monday:*
Predict: SDSC 1 vs FC Golden State 1 
*Actual: SDSC 2 vs FC Golden State 0*

Predict: Strikers 7 vs Santa Barbara SC 1
*Actual: Strikers 5 vs Santa Barbara SC 2*

Predict: Real SoCal 0 vs Arsenal 1 
*Actual: Real SoCal 0 vs Arsenal 0*

Predict: LA Galaxy 3 vs SD Surf 1 
*Actual: LA Galaxy 0 vs SD Surf 3*

Predict: Legends 1 vs Strikers 3
*Actual: Legends 0 vs Strikers 2*


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## Kante (Nov 6, 2018)

Here's how everybody did. Again, *not* standings. If a team posted an average of three points per game, that just means that they weren't matched very well by US Soccer this weekend. If US Soccer was spot on in their matchups, then all teams would have averaged one point per game. 

For example, in the case of SD Surf, they were better than most of the best teams in the west (a match-up with Sac Republic would have been better than De Anza). But in the case of the Strikers, they should have had a tougher showcase schedule to really get a sense of what kind of quality they have this year.

SoCal had the same challenge last year. The top teams from the West groups are close in quality but after that top tier, quality from the non-SoCal groups drops quickly and competitive match-ups get scarcer.

Couple of addt'l notes:

SD Surf beating LAG 3-0 was a clear statement plus the few SD v LA match-ups definitely went in SD's favor. Would have liked to see more LA vs SD match-ups due to the striking similarity in stats below.
Speaking of SD Surf, LAG was missing a couple of key players for that match. Wondering if folks familiar with LAG thought those absent players had an impact on the result.
Impressed by TFA's performance
Thought RSC showed they are close to being an elite team but still missing several pieces. 
Thought the field sizes - seemed like fields were about 2/3's the size the boys typically play on - led to some funky results. Was probably fine for u13 but the u14 games felt crowded.


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## Kante (Nov 6, 2018)

Here's write-up from Top Drawer on top SoCal prospects from the West showcase. Not sure what to think. A lot of it makes sense, but there's some items that look questionable. Both who is mentioned and who is left out.

_Miles Mukherjea-Gehrig, San Diego Surf - Mukherjea-Gehrig scored five goals in the first half in the win over De Anza Force on Sunday. The Northern California team had no answer for the center forward. He was dominant in the run of play and finished goals in a variety of ways. _

_Diego Lopez, San Diego Surf - Lopez was a standout in the center of the field for Surf. He controlled the game and made great decisions with the ball. He also intercepted a number of passes with his positioning and anticipation. _

_Xavi Gnaulati, San Diego Surf - Gnaulati recorded a few assists in the game. His energy and pressure on the ball made life difficult on De Anza. He is a high-activity ball-hunter with good skill to go with his determination. Terron Williams, Massimo Erfani, and Jacob Zapien were also excellent for Surf in the first half of the massive victory. _

_Diego Ceja, Los Angeles Football Club - Ceja had an excellent strike on the first goal of the game in a 1-1 draw against the Colorado Rapids. He has a good first touch and made a couple of excellent passes. _

_Alixson Soukup, Los Angeles Football Club - The post denied Soukup a goal in the first half, but the potential is there for a winger or outside back at the next level. He has game-changing pace and a knack for getting past defenders. _

_Victor Murillo, Total Futbol Academy - Murillo was a standout for TFA. He was good on the ball and the focal point of the attack for TFA. He scored twice in the 2-2 draw against Pac Northwest. _

_Jorkaef Aguirre, FC Golden State - Aguirre was one of the standouts for FC Golden State in the big win over Washington Rush on Sunday. He was calm on the ball and did well in tight spaces. Rodman Martinez and Anthony Lopez were also among the standouts for FC Golden State. _

_Brayden Joanis, OC Surf Soccer Club - Joanis did well converting from the spot in the second half in OC Surf’s game against Crossfire. Sidney Dina was also a standout for OC Surf. Dina did a bit of everything for his team in the game. _

_Mataar Moskowitz, Real So Cal - Moskowitz scored a great goal on Sunday in the 2-1 win over San Joaquin Valley Soccer Association. Chialuka Ohadike was also influential in the win for Real So Cal. _

_Jonathan Ruvalcaba, LA Galaxy - Ruvalcaba was a standout in the center of the field for Galaxy. He scored the opening goal and controlled much of the first half. _

_Luis Medina, LA Galaxy - Medina scored a great goal in the first half in the win over Sacramento Republic. He caught the goalkeeper off the line and placed a shot over his head and into the net. He was one of the top performers on the day. _

_Miguel Gonzalez, LA Galaxy - Gonzalez, the left back, was a dominant force in the game. It felt like he won every duel and was always running past a defender down the wing. _

_Marcus Vasquez, Santa Barbara SC - Vasquez scored two goals and recorded two assists in win over Santa Rosa. Carver Jensen was also a standout for SBSC with his control in the center of the field._ ​


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## 66 GTO (Nov 6, 2018)

Arsenal was missing 2 key players for Monday’s games and injury on the first game for another 
Our boys ran thin but managed thru the games 
Arsenal didn’t win any games but the competition they were matched with was very good 
Clearly San Diego region was better in terms of results in head to head vs LA region 
I'dsaid it before 3 top teams in LA and the rest are very average 
Those of who say that the competition in LA is better should look again Surf was amazing vs LA Galaxy saw the first half  and those boys were on.


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## justneededaname (Nov 6, 2018)

2005 is a good vintage for San Diego. Remember the last year before the DA Strikers won National Cup, Albion won CRL, and Surf was second in CRL. Strikers has done an excellent job of keeping that team together and Surf has done an excellent job of vacuuming up the talent in San Diego to build on their solid base.


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## Kante (Nov 6, 2018)

Here's group standings from West Showcase. SoCal was not nearly as dominant as last year but there is still a step down from SoCal teams to the next best group.


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## whatithink (Nov 6, 2018)

I heard that the RSL-AZ team did well at the weekend, anyone see them play or know their results?


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## futbol10 (Nov 7, 2018)

whatithink said:


> I heard that the RSL-AZ team did well at the weekend, anyone see them play or know their results?


They are a pretty good team.  I still can't understand why AZ can't get DA (besides Barca Academy).

RSL 3 – Portland Timbers 0
RSL 4 – De Anza Force 2
RSL 2 – LA Galaxy 0
RSL 4 – Pacific Northwest SC 3


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## whatithink (Nov 7, 2018)

futbol10 said:


> They are a pretty good team.  I still can't understand why AZ can't get DA (besides Barca Academy).
> 
> RSL 3 – Portland Timbers 0
> RSL 4 – De Anza Force 2
> ...


Thanks for that. Yes, they are a good team who play ECNL, have won 9 of 10 games this season with a +43 goal difference. They only came together in May.

Its bizarre why the Phoenix metro area doesn't have a couple of DA programs for the boys. It can easily support it. Barca's program is between Phoenix & Tucson and so not local.


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## Wez (Nov 7, 2018)

justneededaname said:


> Remember the last year before the DA Strikers won National Cup


ManCity, SurfCup and Vegas as well.


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## what_the?? (Nov 7, 2018)

futbol10 said:


> They are a pretty good team.  I still can't understand why AZ can't get DA (besides Barca Academy).
> 
> RSL 3 – Portland Timbers 0
> RSL 4 – De Anza Force 2
> ...



They also did pretty well in the SurfCup this past summer (a little bumpy in the final though)


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## whatithink (Nov 7, 2018)

what_the?? said:


> They also did pretty well in the SurfCup this past summer (a little bumpy in the final though)


Its not surprising. Tryouts for the team were in May, after which they played ManCity (not well), then as with all AZ teams basically had a break. I think they got back together early July and played Surf DA 2-3 weeks later. I was surprised they won 3 of 4 games TBH.

Since July they've play 2 DA events, winning 7 and losing 1. They've played 10 ECNL game, winning 9 and losing 1.


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## turftoe (Nov 7, 2018)

Kante said:


> Here's group standings from West Showcase. SoCal was not nearly as dominant as last year but there is still a step down from SoCal teams to the next best group.
> View attachment 3373


good to see SoCal continue to do well


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## Kante (Dec 7, 2018)

Favor to ask. Have been posting a variety of things. It's all interesting to me and relatively easy to do. But, I don't want to waste people's time and clutter up the forum with information that is not useful. In the poll below, there's a number of ideas for post. If you could vote on what you prefer, that would be helpful. Thanks! Feliz Navidad!

http://www.socalsoccer.com/threads/poll-what-are-the-most-useful-postings-here.16377/


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