Champions!

Congratulation to the 2008 MN High School Champions!!

Girls A - Mahtomedi HS (2nd to Holy Angels, 3rd to Benilde and 4th to Rochester Lourdes)

Girls AA - Woodbury HS (2nd to Eden Prairie, 3rd to Wayzata and 4th to Eastview)

Boys A - Blake HS (2nd to Totino-Grace, 3rd to Duluth East and 4th to Rochester Lourdes)

Boys AA - Osseo HS (2nd to St. Louis Park, 3rd to Bloomington Jefferson and 4th to Coon Rapids)

'08 Boys Sectionals

Similar to last year, 10-12 teams have a chance to win state at AA and A. Many good teams but no dominant team that will steam roll into state. This should be one of the most competitive tournaments is quite some time.

Section brackets:

Section 1: A -- AA
Section 2: A -- AA
Section 3: A -- AA
Section 4: A -- AA
Section 5: A -- AA
Section 6: A -- AA
Section 7: A -- AA
Section 8: A -- AA

'08 Girls Sections

An exciting season is moving into sectional play. The top 5 or 6 teams in AA and A have a real shot at winning state.

Section brackets:

Section 1: A - AA
Section 2: A - AA
Section 3: A - AA
Section 4: A - AA
Section 5: A - AA
Section 6: A - AA
Section 7: A - AA
Section 8: A - AA

Gopher Women

The 2008-2009 Gopher Women are off to an outstanding 12-1 start and giving the U of M faithful something to follow this fall. MD has them playing some very solid at the back and in the midfield. The attack looks very dynamic at times and consistent goal production has not been a problem They are moving into their tough part of the Big 10 season. Can they make this a dream season by advancing deep into the NCAA tournament?

I think they will! Go Gophers!!

'08 MN D3 Soccer - MIAC, UMAC and UofM

OK the UofM men's team is club, but I had a request to include them in this years thread. I should also mention the growing talent level at UofM-Morris, who I believe are the only public men's D3 program in MN. The MIAC should be competative again. On the Men's side I will guess the top four will include Gustavus, Augsburg, St. Olaf and St. Thomas or St. Johns. Sorry, I don't know much about the ladies programs.

'08 MN Players @ D1 Programs

Minnesota has another large college freshmen class on the girls side heading to D1 program. The boys numbers were a little smaller this year, but they are represented by some very talented players. Which programs will improve this year? Will any MN player stand out as Granstrand (GK-Brown) did last year?

'08 MN Girls HS Soccer

As captains practice is getting near, who will be the top teams and players in this falls MN Girls HS league?

'08 MN Boys HS Soccer

With surprise winners at last years Boy's finals, who are some of the favorites coming into this fall season? Who are some of the top players in the metro area?

MYSA, MRL, US Club Premier Leauge

Here is a spot to continue discussion on MYSA, Midwest Regional League and the US Soccer Premier League that is forming this fall.

MN Fairbault U18 Boys 2nd at Nationals

Enough on this topic. Again congratulations to the SSM Boys U18s. You made MN proud. Good luck next year!

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Congratulations to the Shattuck U18 boys for a great run at the National Tournament! Finishing 2nd behind repeat champions Andromeda of North Texas. They are the first MN boys team since the early 90s to qualify for nationals.

Results:

ANDROMEDA 90 (NTX) 2 - 2 T
MPS MCLEAN FC (VA) 2 - 1 W
CISCO TOROS (AZ) 2 - 0 W

FINAL ANDROMEDA 3 SSM 0

Thunder + Bangu + Wings

This post has certainly created a lot of interest and I will leave it open for a while longer. The MTA will be an interesting option. Please try to stay on topic.

Thunder - Are They For Real?

The Thunder have fallen on hard times with no wins since May. They seem to have fallen back into their old ways of finding ways to loose games. Can they turn it around?

'08 Boys Regionals

The Regional tournament schedule is set. MN had resonable draws, if previous year or historical performance has anything to do with expected results. My picks for best chance to get out of their group are 18s, 17s and 19s. My pick for teams to not win a game are 16s and 15s.

Link with most Regional information is: http://www.region2.com/2008Cup/teaminfo.html

'08 Girls Regionals

The MN girls draw is probably not as good as the boys. But generally I think the quality of the MN girls teams is higher than the boys (in comparison to the competition at Regionals.) That said, the girls with a chance to get out of their group are the 14s and 18s. All other teams should at least be competative.

Link with most Regional information is: http://www.region2.com/2008Cup/teaminfo.html

'08 Boys State Cup - Let the Games Begin

Time for the kids to take the field and show us what they've got. Good luck to all the players and teams. This should be a great cup with many outstanding match ups in the group stages.

Schedule and results here: http://www.mnyouthsoccer.org/events/statecup.cfm#sched

'08 Girls State Cup - Let the Games Begin

With all the nonsense in the previous posting, its time to let the kids play. Looks like MN weather will keep the games from starting for a few more days. Hopefully the fields will hold up. Good luck to everyone in the tournament!

Schedule and results here: http://www.mnyouthsoccer.org/events/statecup.cfm#sched

Blog Administrator Wanted

It's been fun, but I am moving out of the area and will no longer have time to keep this blog up to date. If you have interest in taking over, please send me an email at mnfutbol@yahoo.com with your thoughts and ideas on what you would do with the blog (a couple of sentences will do.)

'08 Boys State Cup

The MN state cup draw was held this past weekend and the draws are now available at the MYSA web site. There appears to be many interesting groups at many of the age levels. If the weather and fields hold up, it should be a great tournament.

The U16 bracket is the largest on the boy’s side with 16 teams. Can the MUS U14 boys repeat? Will the U16 AFC SE team be able to repeat with a change in club and roster? Or will their arch rivals BNG finally get their chance at Regionals? Will BNG’s dominance at U17 finally be broken by CDA or EDP? Will the U18 age group be dominated by Shattuck? With the U19s be a toss up like recent years?

'08 Girls State Cup

With a regional champ at U13 last year, the hopes for up and coming regionally-competitive girls teams is high. The girl’s draw shows 16 teams entering at U16 and 17 teams at U13. Can the BNG U14s repeat? Will WDB keep a strangle hold on the U16 age group? Can the BNG 17s maintain their dominance? Can the Shattuck U18 girls really compete with the likes of BNG, TNK and WBL? Can anyone give the SCV U19 girls a run for their money this year?

Thunder Youth Development Plan

With all of the talk of the Thunder trying to build a youth program or academy and building a competitive A League team, they should be very busy this spring and summer. There have been rumors of some local clubs joining forces with the Thunder to seed an academy at several age groups.

League Speak – MYSA, MRL and National

Midwest league officially started over the past few weekends. At least 1 MN team has already traveled south to face MRL competition. With the expanded MRL format, it will be interesting to see how MN teams compete this spring.

Club Scene – A Kinder and Gentler Soccer Community

I shut down the previous “club scene” post hoping this newer version might offer a chance for reconciliation and a more positive, upbeat discussion on club happenings. ;)

MN Boys Winter Tourney News

As winter tournaments and USYSA national league starts to ramp up, please use this post to keep us up to date on MN boys teams heading to warm soccer climates.

MN Girls Winter Tourney News

Since the girls blog shut down, I haven't heard much about the girls team winter tournament plans. Please use this post to let us all know how the MN girls teams are performing at Winter events.

Word of Warning

For those who don't know, posting as anonymous is not really "anonymous."

In the event you provide untrue accusations or accounts and slander or liable someone, a club or an organization, your comments can and will be traced back to you.

Just read MYSA's site to learn about the lawsuit they won against a group of parents. Of course the BLOGSPOT and your ISP would probably only cooperate and provide your identity if they were ordered to do so by a court.

Please send me an email at mnfutbol@yahoo.com if you would like to have me remove a comment on your behalf. If you are a registered user, you can remove your own comments.

If you have been posting lies on this site you are no longer welcome.

2008 State Cup

With the February State Cup meeting coming around, its time to create a post about MN State Cup. Should be an interesting tournament with some of the team and player movement and all of the hard work put in by players so far this winter.

Were Back

I hope everyone had a good week off. Lets try to keep the bickering to a minimum and focus on exchanges opinions and ideas.