2018-2019 SW ECNL Conference Discussion

Toepoke said:
My sleeper pick for this group would be Strikers. They looked good at Surf Cup and definitely added some talent. Made it to the finals in Super Black but lost to a very good Davis Legacy team that lost to Blues in the ECNL U17 finals. Arsenal also added a couple new girls to the roster that played well for them. I don't see the winner of this group going undefeated but knocking Blues out of the top spot will be tough. It's going to be a battle to earn the second automatic qualifying spot and fun to watch.
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You may be right. Strikers was competitive at this age group last season especially early on. Like you mentioned, only two slots available for U18's but I have heard that ECNL is considering adding a couple wildcard opportunities like U14. I don't see any updates to their 'post season competition' rules yet but I think that would be a nice addition. I know there may be some seniors that want / need to move on potentially for college but adding a couple teams IMHO wouldn't be that great a burden? There should be a rule update soon.
 
Sheriff Joe said:
Teri is the coach?
They had been at the bottom not that long ago if it is the same team.
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Coach Terri Patraw, yeah maybe but I'm not 100% certain. She was a Strikers coach last year if memory serves. I think she wrote a book One Thousand Showers or something like that? If they were at the bottom a season or three ago as you suggested, then that team is showing improvement it would seem.
 
GoWest said:
You may be right. Strikers was competitive at this age group last season especially early on. Like you mentioned, only two slots available for U18's but I have heard that ECNL is considering adding a couple wildcard opportunities like U14. I don't see any updates to their 'post season competition' rules yet but I think that would be a nice addition. I know there may be some seniors that want / need to move on potentially for college but adding a couple teams IMHO wouldn't be that great a burden? There should be a rule update soon.
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I heard the same about the addition of wildcard spots for U18's. I could definitely see a team from the SW conference at least one of those spots.
 
I've been impressed with what I've seen of Terri Patraw since she came to town a couple seasons ago. All of her teams have improved since she took them over. Her 02 SCDSL team was the #1 overall Europa team last season and will play Discovery this year (as Blues). And, as mentioned above, her Strikers 02 and 01 ECNL teams are thriving. Not many club soccer coaches around with Pac 12 head coaching experience (ASU). I'm surprised she doesn't get that much recognition. Maybe she will if her teams do as well as predicted this season.
 
SocalPapa said:
I've been impressed with what I've seen of Terri Patraw since she came to town a couple seasons ago. All of her teams have improved since she took them over. Her 02 SCDSL team was the #1 overall Europa team last season and will play Discovery this year (as Blues). And, as mentioned above, her Strikers 02 and 01 ECNL teams are thriving. Not many club soccer coaches around with Pac 12 head coaching experience (ASU). I'm surprised she doesn't get that much recognition. Maybe she will if her teams do as well as predicted this season.
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I hear she's a good coach. Strikers has some good players so this next season may be a good one for them as a club.

Speaking of 'next season,' anyone hear anything about the ECNL schedule and anticipated posting?
 
GoWest said:
I hear she's a good coach. Strikers has some good players so this next season may be a good one for them as a club.

Speaking of 'next season,' anyone hear anything about the ECNL schedule and anticipated posting?
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Schedule is now in the hands of DOC. Not posted online.

I also let that Pretender comment earlier in the week slide by:p. Great group of girls in Vegas. They just beat Blues last week at Surf Cup. Blues is a good team; a lot of girls with DA patches on their jerseys. We shall see how your predictions fair.
 
shales1002 said:
Schedule is now in the hands of DOC. Not posted online.

I also let that Pretender comment earlier in the week slide by:p. Great group of girls in Vegas. They just beat Blues last week at Surf Cup. Blues is a good team; a lot of girls with DA patches on their jerseys. We shall see how your predictions fair.
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Thanks. With games on the horizon would be nice to know sooner than later.

LOL Thanks for letting it 'slide by' and of course waiting until after (I looked at the results of Vegas versus Blues ... FC Heat 04?) getting a win to respond with confidence :) Last season the perfect storm for historically underperforming clubs in the SW ECNL conference was upon us basically leaving a Showcase to NAL level of competitive teams IMHO. Many great players but many SoCal teams that scrambled to fill the roster void lacked cohesion and chemistry. Lots of great players in Vegas and Phoenix but I don't know anyone that actually believed they would perform well enough down the stretch to finish with a trophy. Lotsa good talent no doubt. You seem to think at least one age group will sustain a high level of play so best of everything to you and your player. The league as a whole will be deeper I anticipate from what I have heard due to a rebalancing of rosters following last seasons chaos. I think we are all anticipating a great 2018-2019 season!

Again, best of everything to you and your player!
 
U16
Didn't take into account a couple changes
Top tier predictions
Slammers
Lafc slammers(formerly da)
Blues(formerly strikers)

2nd tier
Arsenal
Strikers
La breakers
Heat

3rd tier
Az arsenal
Del Mar
Phx rising


QUOTE="GoWest, post: 215096, member: 2716"]The 2018-2019 season is almost upon us. The ECNL SW conference season, it seems with the addition of some good to great clubs and roster rebuilds for several teams, that SoCal will be back on track in ALL age groups to seek a national championship trophy.

Blues and Slammers earned ECNL national championships in 3 age groups while others more so ended up "pretenders not contenders" --- Some questions going into the season:

• Will Blues Baker continue their dominant run?
• Will LAFC dominate like they did in GDA?
• Will FC Heat U15 prove to be a legit contender?
• Will LA Breakers make their presence known in a big way if the rumors of GDA defections to their rosters proves true?

IMHO here's my take on the top four teams in each age group listed in order of predicted finish:

U15
Blues
LAFC
Slammers
Heat

U16
Slammers
LAFC
Strikers
Arsenal

U17
LAFC
Blues
Slammers
Strikers

U18
Blues
Slammers
LAFC
Arsenal

Just my take but it's always fun to prognosticate LOL[/QUOTE]
 
Lvdepech said:
U16
Didn't take into account a couple changes
Top tier predictions
Slammers
Lafc slammers(formerly da)
Blues(formerly strikers)

2nd tier
Arsenal
Strikers
La breakers
Heat

3rd tier
Az arsenal
Del Mar
Phx rising


QUOTE="GoWest, post: 215096, member: 2716"]The 2018-2019 season is almost upon us. The ECNL SW conference season, it seems with the addition of some good to great clubs and roster rebuilds for several teams, that SoCal will be back on track in ALL age groups to seek a national championship trophy.

Blues and Slammers earned ECNL national championships in 3 age groups while others more so ended up "pretenders not contenders" --- Some questions going into the season:

• Will Blues Baker continue their dominant run?
• Will LAFC dominate like they did in GDA?
• Will FC Heat U15 prove to be a legit contender?
• Will LA Breakers make their presence known in a big way if the rumors of GDA defections to their rosters proves true?

IMHO here's my take on the top four teams in each age group listed in order of predicted finish:

U15
Blues
LAFC
Slammers
Heat

U16
Slammers
LAFC
Strikers
Arsenal

U17
LAFC
Blues
Slammers
Strikers

U18
Blues
Slammers
LAFC
Arsenal

Just my take but it's always fun to prognosticate LOL
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So that really good Strikers u15 (2017 season) all moved to Blues this season? RB have anything to do with that? That's an interesting move IMHO.
 
Unrelated...I love this time of year with club training kicking into high gear, private training schedule updated and league games on the horizon! College teams showing off their new recruits and hitting the pitch in anticipation of the season. NAIA to D1 all raring to go. It's all good! Just love it!
 
League play starts this weekend for many SW conference teams. I'm looking for that LA Breakers crew to get one 'shocker' before the weekend is over. So far it looks like a pretty normal opening weekend as teams begin working on getting their rhythm as the season moves on.
 
Looks like LA Breakers still has one more opportunity today to get that "shocker" althought they did better in the younger ages. How come it always takes Blues so long to post their scores?
 
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GoWest said:
I'm looking for that LA Breakers crew to get one 'shocker' before the weekend is over.
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Dang, you called it. Not sure which age group you were predicting but U17 Breakers taking down LAFC Slammers (last year's first place SW DA team) today is a surprise. The majority of those LAFC Slammers 02 players were starters on that DA 01/02 team... sure to fire up the anti-DA crowd in the ECNL v DA threads.
 
Mystery Train said:
Dang, you called it. Not sure which age group you were predicting but U17 Breakers taking down LAFC Slammers (last year's first place SW DA team) today is a surprise. The majority of those LAFC Slammers 02 players were starters on that DA 01/02 team... sure to fire up the anti-DA crowd in the ECNL v DA threads.
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LAFC Keeper received a red card on a 1v1 challenge so Slammers played down a man for a good amount of time.
 
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