Shocker, Legends gets caught cheating at ECNL Play Offs

full90 said:
So legends can use college players if they are a discovery player?
Do we know if legends did this or used college players without the discovery tag?
Do we know if their composite u18/19 team was short in players and needed extra bodies and college kids were willing to go?

if we don’t know either of these things (if they were in fact “discovery” players and if the roster was short handed) then let’s hold our outrage until we know. One Internet article isn’t enough to light the club on fire.
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The rules are clearly written, you can take a look at the link:

1) A player from a college roster can play u18/19, as a Discovery Player (up to 4 per team). They cant have another roster designation.
2) There are NO DPs allowed to play Composite. There is a good reason for this rule...but wont spend time explaining. So, no college rostered players can play Composite.

So, either they didn't know the rules (highly doubt this), or just assumed they wouldn't get caught.
 
gefelchnik said:
2) There are NO DPs allowed to play Composite. There is a good reason for this rule...but wont spend time explaining. So, no college rostered players can play Composite.
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Could you please explain this? As a parent, I am primarily concerned with development. Isn’t the whole point of competitive club soccer as opposed to recreational soccer exposure to better players? If so, why all the outrage about a club putting the best players on the field to maximize development?
 
MacDre said:
Could you please explain this? As a parent, I am primarily concerned with development. Isn’t the whole point of competitive club soccer as opposed to recreational soccer exposure to better players? If so, why all the outrage about a club putting the best players on the field to maximize development?
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I certainly don't have a soft and fuzzy approach to club soccer. High level club soccer is designed to serve one purpose - play at the next level.

If you DD meets the requirement, participates in meaningful practice, and plays meaningful minutes, then good. ECNL/GA will serve its purpose. If you DD is not getting meaningful minutes and you feel practices and development overall is lacking, then you should look somewhere else - another club or another level of play. If you decide to stay, then it's on you. A club with available roster spots doesn't mind a paying customer who doesn't play as much as others.

I think the question is did Legends knowingly violate a rule? I'm not privy to anything legends but would assume their RL teams were their top teams this year. I don't know if they had a composite team (don't really completely grasp it, since I have players split between leagues). I would venture to say there wasn't a composite Legends team since they were an ECRL club, with their 2nd teams in GA.

Maybe the club misunderstood the rules, an honest mistake - wink wink.
 
full90 said:
So legends can use college players if they are a discovery player?
Do we know if legends did this or used college players without the discovery tag?
Do we know if their composite u18/19 team was short in players and needed extra bodies and college kids were willing to go?

if we don’t know either of these things (if they were in fact “discovery” players and if the roster was short handed) then let’s hold our outrage until we know. One Internet article isn’t enough to light the club on fire.
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I don't understand the reason to have any Discovery Players.
 
espola said:
I don't understand the reason to have any Discovery Players.
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I don't understand why it matters if players are in college. For the previous 14 years it did not matter that players were in two different years in school. There were kids in middle school playing with elementary age. Kids in high school playing with middle schoolers. If the kid is age appropriate and an amateur then let them play.
 
According to the ECNL web-site:
"ECNL U18/U19 COMPOSITE DIVISION
The ECNL U18/U19 Composite Division is an optional platform for all ECNL member clubs to participate in, should they choose. This division was created alongside the birth year amendment in the 2017-18 Season to accommodate for the quantity of players only eligible to participate in the oldest age group. The U18/U19 age group is comprised of high school juniors and seniors."

And maybe reaching college is kind of the goal:

"College Impact
The ECNL College Impact series catalogs the impact the ECNL has had on college women’s soccer and the various collegiate athletic conferences across the United States. The “ECNL player” has become the epitome of the next generation collegiate soccer player. The ECNL College Impact is measured by the number of ECNL alumni that have moved on to collegiate soccer, and the increase in this number every year since the league’s inception in 2009."

I thought the point of ECNL was to help in college recruitment. If you are in college, why would you still play in ECNL? My take is that the club that got caught values winning over showcasing their players in an effort to get them into college.
 
timbuck said:
If this was done with intent (and it sounds like it was) ECNL needs to drop the hammer. There are plenty of clubs in SoCal that would sell their first born child to get ECNL status. Kick them out or put them on double secret probation for a year.
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The game was against FC Stars of MA. FC Stars owner is one of the ECNL board members. Brilliant.
 
What is crazy is that Legends was playing its top team in the Composite division (because they do not have ECNL status this season) against everyone else's second team. Yet, they still used illegal players. :rolleyes:
 
MacDre said:
My grandma used to tell me that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Sometimes things don’t work out despite the best of intentions, it doesn’t mean that the organization is shady for not playing a kid that ain’t got it and ain’t gonna get it.

My kid wanted to be good at art. I enrolled her in an art class and she still sucks despite the teachers best efforts. Doesn’t make the teacher shady because my kid sucks at art. Sometimes we have to accept the fact that there are things our kids aren’t good at.
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And also to your point, some clubs are just run by assholes. And having someone from another team, league, club or college play over your kid isn’t always about your kids talent. Sometimes it’s the coach making handshakes under the table and your kid just happens to be in the wrong position at the wrong time. But that also lends itself to how the club is run.
 
You know the old saying...."It ain't cheating until you get caught". Lots of teams will pad their rosters to look better to get more players to join, which equals more $$$$.
I have 3 examples of teams doing questionable stuff:
#1 - Last weekend of Discovery league, an 05 team had to forfeit it's last two games for using players from other clubs.
#2 - An 04 team going to Nationals has ECRL players on it that didn't play on that team during the season.
#3 - An 05 ECNL team has a player that also plays semi-pro for a WPSL team.

Now, are these teams actually "breaking the rules"??? Example #1 is definitely yes cause SCDSL changed their 2-2 score to 0-1 and told them not to show up for the last game.
As for #2 and #3, I honestly don't know but if I were on the opposing team, I'll be pissed that the other team may of brought in some ringers. Call me old fashion, but I believe a team going to playoffs shouldn't bring in players from a higher level team (ECNL/RL or GA down to Flight 1) so they have a better chance at winning.
Integrity and fairness have been lost in the world of club soccer which IMO is pretty sad. It's turned into win at any cost (Yeah, I know....big shocker).
 
RedCard said:
You know the old saying...."It ain't cheating until you get caught". Lots of teams will pad their rosters to look better to get more players to join, which equals more $$$$.
I have 3 examples of teams doing questionable stuff:
#1 - Last weekend of Discovery league, an 05 team had to forfeit it's last two games for using players from other clubs.
#2 - An 04 team going to Nationals has ECRL players on it that didn't play on that team during the season.
#3 - An 05 ECNL team has a player that also plays semi-pro for a WPSL team.

Now, are these teams actually "breaking the rules"??? Example #1 is definitely yes cause SCDSL changed their 2-2 score to 0-1 and told them not to show up for the last game.
As for #2 and #3, I honestly don't know but if I were on the opposing team, I'll be pissed that the other team may of brought in some ringers. Call me old fashion, but I believe a team going to playoffs shouldn't bring in players from a higher level team (ECNL/RL or GA down to Flight 1) so they have a better chance at winning.
Integrity and fairness have been lost in the world of club soccer which IMO is pretty sad. It's turned into win at any cost (Yeah, I know....big shocker).
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In your #3, (if it is the player I think it is) that player plays for that team during the season and plays WPSL in the summer. That is not uncommon.
 
Kicker4Life said:
In your #3, (if it is the player I think it is) that player plays for that team during the season and plays WPSL in the summer. That is not uncommon.
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If players are playing in ECNL and are of the eligible age, then playing for WPSL is no different than “playing up.” I know several high schoolers who play WPSL also.
 
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