The U17 team from Bloomington is a very athletic and well coached team. How they are doing in their bracket does not surprise me in the least. I don't have a daughter on the team nor do I even coach for that club, just a fellow coach that has followed the team the last couple of years through a mutual friend. They will do very well in the U17 Premier league this summer, and have a shot at pulling off a win on Sunday. Congrats to that group, it's great to see new teams in any age bracket being developed to challenge the old stand-by's. It makes all of the teams in that age bracket better in the long run. Well done!
5:14, That is the MTA 2nd team at U17. The top MTA team is the "true U17 group" playing in the U19C1 league coached by Storlien. I'm not taking away anything from the BLM girls as I'm sure they're a nice side but that is MTA's "B" squad.
6:30 - take a peak at the MYSA State Cup standings. That was the "blue" team coached by DS. The MTA 2nd team played EP today. Instead of anyone downplaying the MTA teams, everyone should be giving some serious props to the Bloomington team. They've now played very solidly two weeks in a row - they are no flukes.
The MTA ECNL team tied the Bloomington Premier team. Guess they didn't need to fly all over the country for competition after all. Good thing they are an in an "elite league".Don't they fly out to seattle in a few weeks to compete for "nationals"AKA 10th place in the B bracket? What a waste of money.
Not sure what you want to call them, but the U17 team that DS coaches tied Bloomington today. No matter what happens tomorrow, EP will advance. U17's are very interesting....SSM tied Dakota Rev, Wayzata (defending champs) tied Three Rivers. Should make for an interesting Sunday.
8:19---"scholarship dollars"? Will you grow up and quit living through your kid. she deserves better. maybe you should earn a better living and you won't need to worry about her "scholarship dollars".
7:26, why do you care or have to chime in about traveling for soccer? if the teams decide to go across the county or if they play local...let them without the childish remarks. you sound either jealous or bitter!
my guess is your bitter about something...one of those parents who has a chip on his shoulder...and girls soccer is gonna be your release.
The U17's have become quite an interesting bracket. Tomorrow should be interesting for this age group. In the end I think the top 2teams will rise to the top (WYZ MRL and EDP MRL), but it is fun to see some parity develop across the brackets and have some advancement come down to the last day. Good luck to all of the teams. Who knows, maybe we'll get a major upset along the way that will make it even more fun to watch.
Rumor is the REV 16 girls had a lot of off the field issues to deal with the weekend of the NSSA game and it caught up with them, not an excuse they should still have taken care of business last weekend as well as yesterday, however it is a very tight and hard working group hopefully they will learn from there mistakes and move on.
The REV 16 girls are a well coached team, but have not separated themselves from the rest of the pack at the age group, and are not likely to do so. The NSSA result was a small surprise, but not at all shocking.
Other than MTA Blue, there are several good teams but no elite teams at U16.
Too bad for SSM, heard they had 5 players out/suspended for breaking school rules so 5 other players had to play injured. No subs, sad way to end the year.
Nope. Wrong. No excuses from the SSM camp. The facts stayed above are true...however that is no one's problem but our teams. TCF did what they had to do to advance. In the end, even though we had some pretty gutsy performances by some very injured players, the SSM 17s did not have what it took to advance. No excuses. Time to reload and give it a go next year.
Good luck to everyone left in the hunt, and good luck to whomever the U17 representative for Regionals will be.
SSM good to see you at the field after your game. Think you know who I am don't writte her anymore but figure I say hi, the SSM kids have nothing to be ashamed of they gave it one hell of an effort.
Whne it's all said and done, it appears that MTA will have 7 semi-finalists on the girls side and 8 on the boys side. The club will most likely put 15 teams in the semis. Yeah 1124, that is horrible (sarc).
By the way, as a point of clarification...I purposely did not count the U19s in the above post, beause the two teams (1 girls, 1 boys) that MTA entered in the tournament are in the finals by virtue of entering. there are only two teams entered.
So, technically there are at least 19 teams that are in the semi/finals.
Not a good weekend for REV. The 14s couldn't overcome their injuries and they are done too. Hope that team can stay together and still have a good year. 2 years in a row not getting out of pool play. MTE should have the easy road now
19 semifinalists out of 57 teams entered? Not a great percentage. other clubs have better averages...clubs that don't promise the world to every landon and mia just so they can get them into the system to fund all the blue scholarships. imagine being sold by the mta spin and losing a playin game. impressive.
9:42 try to spin it however you like. The MTW teams that lost playin games do not pay one dime to the elite program for scholarship dollars. The West/Wings program is still a seperate entitiy, they have their own checking account and a their own board. Good try lumping them into the mix. Anyway you look at it, no other club has advanced more that one team into the semi-finals and MTA has done it at multiple age groups. Its ok to continue to try and poke holes in MTA but the bottom line is they are the best club hands down and no one is a close second.
We see the jealous wannabes spouting off on this blog every year about this time when their kid's team doesn't make the semis and MTA has teams from almost all age groups sitting in those slots. It's just the whiners who wish they were there. MTA will end up with 4-5 championships in girls brackets and 4-5 from the boys. It happens like clockwork every year since about 2006.
11:39, not is the same age group. That was my point!! No club has that depth or talent to put two teams in the semi's in one age group and MTA is going to do it at 13, 14, and 16 on the girls side.
On another note, MYSA should really look at moving the Semi's and Finals from LWB. The fields are in terrible shape and are not worthy of a state cup final. Even the fields that look ok from the sidelines are in bad shape. They are too hard, are very bumpy and some fields are really really bad. Players are going to get hurt and it does not allow for quality soccer to be played.
11:46 - I'm sure they would if they could. The local associations/communities who run the fields have to want to do it and submit their bid. Unlike many other RII states, MN really doesn't have a premier multi-field location. In a perfect world, NSC would make the most sense, but that would require a lot of work/$$, potential field enlargement, and cooperation between MYSA and NSC. Championship games on the stadium field would be pretty cool.
12:33, read the post, it is the age groups that have two MTA in the semi's. Not who is going to win. If I were a betting man I would bet on MTA to win 13, 14, 15, 16 and 19 this year. The are the better team in all those age groups.
How about MYSA renting McMurray for the finals. Two fields side by side, boys on one girls on the other,games at 9,11,1,2,3 and 5. All games on Turf with 120x80 dimenstions and would be a great atmosphere for the finals with the hills behind the goals and a quality surface.
is turf acceptable for usys state cups? i don't have any issues with it, but i believe mysa policy defaults on this to usysa which defaults to fifa. fifa's never been a fan of turf for tournament play at any level, but not sure if there is an absolute stipulation/bylaw in place stating that.
Although changing venues will NOT happen. I believe FIFA has made an official stance that turf is acceptable, but prefers natural. Maybe 3, 4 years ago, but not certain.
You know what, I think the conversation on here is actually improving. There is one person who seems to long for the good old days of bashing MTA with every other post and they're trying to keep it going, but I say we all ignore that lone wolf and actually talk about the game without all the bickering.
It's encouraging to think we could actually have a conversation without bashing, maybe even congratulating teams that are doing well and progessing.
I actually like the break-down of some of the games.
I think regardless of who wins at each level, we need to realize they will go on to represent the state and we should all be behind them.
Or maybe I'm asking for too much? I haven't been here in a while, but maybe I'll hang in there...
MTA has a stated purpose of fielding a nationally competitive Blue team and a regionally competitive White team. They recruit their players from the entire metro region. I have absolutely no problem with that.
No other club attempts this. The CCs and other soccer clubs draw from smaller geographic regions. Occasionally the best players join a CC team like Inferno or EP17.
I DO have a problem with the absolutely idiotic comparisons of MTA's "club" State Cup record with other "club" records. The MTA teams should win State Cup, at every age. If they fail to produce the best team, it is a failure of their mission considering the pool of talent they draw from.
The biggest concern I have with the girls playing soccer under the MTA style regimen is the number of ACL injuries when girls play the amount of soccer required to achieve national caliber teams.
I'm not sure it can be mitigated under the current environment.
Whats wrong with EP U-17 team likely state cup winner getting humilated 4-1 in bracket play. Could be brutal if they go to regions. That same pattern seems to have occured with the year older team.
10/5/10 9:37 PM What is the color of the sky in your world? The game is played because not everyone who should win does. That's why real fans love sports. Go seek therapy please, your hatred is amazing.
ACL's happen, not just because of the "MTA style regimen". Explain ACL's in non athletes. More car accidents happen when more cars are on the road. What is your point captain obvious?
I obviously am not an EP parent....however has anyone ever thought that EP viewed the final pool game as a "throw away"? Why would you play your starters and risk any injury or other unforseen incident when you don't have to?
I don't think that I would put any stock in the result of the final EP game. But, if that is what MTA needs to hold their heads up, so be it.
Agreed especially after they had a season ending injury earlier in state cup. Seems like a smart and humble move to put team health in front of bragging rights.
SSM- I might agree with you except EP has never beaten MTA blue. I can guarentee the girls wanted to win that game. Even though the result did not matter in the standings it did matter to the players. The game also exposed EP for what they are, a team with great attacking players but very weak in the back. And it seems that the coach hasn't figured out that defense wins games. You are not going to be successful giving up 3-5 goals against good competition.
at least the coach figured out how not to tie Bloomington and MTA white......... i think 11:57 might be closer to reality as losing players to injuries (big ones like the one that had just occurred or even small nicks and dings) puts the bigger goals in jeopardy. maybe lose a battle but hoping to win the war was the better option.
If you watched the game, you'd know that EP played every single player and started most of their regulars. The one exception is that they didn't bring their big goalscorer on until 10 minutes into the second half (when the score was 3-0).
1204 and 239, MTA Blue didn't get the job done, enough said! You can speculate all you want about EP trying or wanting to win but you will never know what the outcome would have been if the game would have mattered. I haven't watched either team play ever or do I care to, just commenting because I want to.
Maybe I'm missing the whole point of this game discussion - what was it again..........? If the MTA apologists want to hang their hats on beating EP (regardless of who thinks who played or how much they played or who was injured) then go for it. If the EP apologists want to hang their hats on still winning the pool then go for it. For virtually all the players the game has most likely already turned into a distant memory, quickly over-shadowed by the important things in life like school, tests, proms, friends, etc... It only lives on the minds of us parents.
I don't know of any quality team that concedes a State Cup game (well, maybe an MA coached team). If EP tanked four goals to a team they can beat, shame on them.
Shame on them and shame on the Indianapolis Colts and shame on the New Orleans Saints and shame on the Cleveland Cavaliers and shame on......and shame on.......and shame on.........
agreed, 3:00. most of the girls were probably ogling the boys warming up on the next field. Why these parents/mta coaches get so up in arms over a single soccer game is beyond me. gotta find value in you small little world, i guess.
12:04; BS defense only wins games in your sheltered un creative little world. A balanced,OFFENSIVE minded team that can use the entire width and length of the field is the way of the future. Unfortunately, none of the U17 coaches at this years State Cup have grasped the concept fully. When will we see a complete team that doesn't play kickball 80% of the time? Thats when MN Girls soccer will be a power outside our little world.
8:25 am - the color is a beautiful sky blue. I don't hate MTA - I have several acquaintances with daughters on Blue teams. Thankfully, they all seem interested in their daughter's teams, and avoid asinine pride(??)in the performance of other MTA teams.
If it is "obvious" as you state that playing soccer on a year-round basis from early teens on will result in potentially life altering knee injuries, the regimen should be questioned, and your sanity is definitely open to debate.
Have you seen those new bag tags that reward intentionally missed PKs? 5 points if you shoot at the keeper, 10 points if you put it just wide, and 50 points if you hit the crossbar.
Just looked in, Wow. I'm kind of surprised. SSM has two of the five teams they entered into the State Cup not even make it thru pool play. That pretty bad.
7:06 your just a flat out idiot. This is youth soccer not La Liga. At U17 there are no teams that have the talent to play the game you hope to see. Its not the coaches, its the talent level spread out through 5 or six teams. The only way you are going to see that type of play in MN is if we can get the 18 best players on the field with one team. Even then that might be stretching it a bit. How about you send your great coaching resume to us and we will get you the players so you can show us the game the way it is supposed to be played. Oh wait, you have never coached and the only soccer you know is from your fat ass sitting on the couch and watching it on TV.
PLease someone hurry and get 1245's medication before it is to late. Bootball (Direct)is taught by 99.9% of the coaches in Minnesota because that is what they learned growing up in Minnesota. They never played anything other so why would you expect them to teach anything other than that. It also much easier to coach and easier to get results with the least amount of work.
i hope a lot of folks out there don't sprain any ankles getting down off of their high horses.... although, in all honesty, the vast majority of the comments on this subject were created merely to stir things up.
At the end of the day, how many games really count for anything? Most girls play to have fun, test themselves, and see how well they can do every time they step on a field -- its a great "life lesson."
If EP really tanked their game against MTA (i.e., its not just an after-the-fact excuse), they are learning some poor lessons. Besides, how much fun is it to tank a game?
No one tanked anything. EP was already through to the semi's. MTA was already eliminated. You all need to get over yourselves. If you wanted a meaninful game MTA blue should have figured out how to beat MTA white and Bloomington to set up a meaningful game. EP was smart to keep their eye on the bigger prize (semi-finals and finals) at the risk of losing a meaningless game.
12:25 reasonable predictions. Not sure about TCF at u15 over burnsville. they did have big wins (scores) in state cup pool play but their first 2 u15 premier results are awful. MTE will still probably win although this looks like the biggest toss up age group
Resting your starters and giving your weaker players some quality time in the field is not the same as throwing a game. It is just plain smart, especially when the outcome is not significant and it is early in the season.
Let's see what happens if we agree that this is about a beautiful game played by youth and all of us wanted every kid to have the best experience for them, get quality coaching, and give us the pleasure of watching them develop. I notice the craziness doesn't happen when we are talking high school, despite the fact that certain schools dominate every year. Why does the presence of a dominant club (or a weaker club) or any particular club at all have to matter even a little bit? Get over yourselves, haters, and the rest of you, thanks for keeping it positive. I love watching these kids strive!
How is EP throwing a game different from the MTA PK fiasco last year? Yet there is NO PRESS over this. Further proof that people can't deal with MTA success.
Serious 6:43? Every team in every sport will play there second team when they are able. This is at EVERY level and EVERY sport. It is not any different then playing the bench when you are up in a game. The more playing time that the non starters can get only helps the team in the end.
EP doesn't have a "second team." They have a handful of subs that play regularly. If they didn't win "because it was a meaningless game," it was because they didn't give 100%.
There is no way 643 is serious as that is one of the most idiotic comments posted on here. Julie is focused on winning State Cup not beating MTA - as she should be.
U17 MTA Blue was eliminated in pool play after two games because EP handled two opponents that MTA Blue did not. As a result, the game was as meaningless as a winter scrimmage.
What I'll keep repeating is the ECNL team was eliminated from pool play by a MN team that was very recently Classic 1. Keep crushing teams in those winter scrimmages.
Unfortunately selfish coaches have caused the talent in this age group to become quite fragmented. It's highly unlikely the U17 winner will have success at regions. It's a very similar dynamic to that of the U18 boys team/players. They are a very talented age group but due to talent being spread over 3-4 teams failed to accomplish much at Regions.
It's always very easy to point fingers at the coaches. In the case of the current U17's, the core group of that EP team has been together since U9 and has been successful - why leave? The MTA team came together at U13? and has also been successful - why leave? The scenario here in MN is no different than in most other states. The talent is spread out amongst a few teams in each age group. The reason the Eclipse's, Hawks, etc... traditionally do better is that the talent pool is larger. If there are 10 "A" level kids in MN spread out over 2-3 teams those teams will have a harder time beating teams in states where there are 20 "A" level kids spread out over 2-3 teams. It's a population and player depth thing (IMO). Now occassionally a team comes along in a state like KS that is really strong, but those players have been together since U12. You are starting to see some signs of this here in MN with some of the younger MTA teams like the U13 and U14 girls, but even more so on the boys side where parents will start trying to get ahead of the USSF DAP curve early before the teams are formed at U16. Funny, the kids don't seem too bent out of shape about having some super consolidated team (who knows maybe they would like to play with their current friends/teammates), most of the angst seems to come from the parents.
The most suprising stat of the U16 tournament is that TCF scored on MTA Blue. I think that is the first goal scored against the MTA team or its previous incarnations in State Cup.
It is even more surprising that it was TCF that scored. They are a good Classic 1 team, and try to control the ball during play. However, I saw most of their game against Eagan, and they didn't have the speed to penetrate the attacking third.
The MTA team has always been fun to watch. Unfortunately, they have adopted one undesirable trait of their current coach - the players now whine loudly about the refs during games. It detracts from a highly competitive, skilled team.
Totally convinced that the "E" in EP stands for excuses. Face it! JE pushed the panic button 10 minutes into the second half and sent the remaining 3-4 "starters" into the game when her team was getting beat pretty badily. It's bad when EP parents make calls to MTA parents after the game to say that the game was purposely blown!
I think it's pretty much common knowledge that EP did not go into the game looking to win or at 100%. That's not an excuse, I believe that might be a fact. The issue is does it really matter and who it seems to affect. I bet if you polled 100 coaches the vast majority would not have major issues with what the EP coach did (knowing all the background details such as major player injuries, heavy MRL schedule, semi's and hopefully finals ahead). They may not have done what she did, but I believe they would understand her decision and not burn her at the stake. If you follow the major int'l soccer leagues like EPL, La Liga, etc... major teams do not always field their top squads in league matches with no bearing on their table placement to give quality time to all squad players while also resting others if an important match is on the horizon (Champions League, Europa, country championships). Happens all the time. Personally, I believe this issue in many ways is serving as an outlet for parental frustrations in regards to team outcome disappointment.
I think most coaches rather be healthy and take care of the big picture. A more important question other than to rest or not to rest players in a meaningless game is: Wht couldn't MTA with their high powered coach and their ECNL resume not beat 2 very beatable teams? MTA can't answer this question so they are doing a great job of deflecting attention elsewhere again. Only last year they had MA to steal the spotlight from their lack of on the field succeess.
11:22 am Wanted to find out if this was a generalization (one player that whines about calls & maybe always has = whole team that picked up this habit from their coach). Seems like a stretch to me, but wanted to see if 9:33 am was going to be able to be more specific in their claim.
On a lighter note, I read this on IMS and could not help but laugh.
After last month’s supporters meeting a temporary committee was put together who have now drafted a set of bylaws. That document will be discussed tonight, Thursday, May 13, 2010, 7 PM, at the Sweetwater Bar & Grille.
What the hell do you need bylaws for a supporter group for?? I can only guess what they say.
ByLaw 1 You must cheer ByLaw 2 You must cheer some more ByLaw 3 Cheer, Cheer, Cheer ByLaw 4 Sing loud Bylaw 5 Drums and flags are allowed Bylaw 6 Failure to sing, cheer, wave you flag or drum your drum will get you kicked out of the supporter group
98% of the U17G parents on here = idiots. This "debate" is comical. MTA parents can't handle that they lost in State Cup, EP parents can't handle that they've have never beaten MTA on the field so are using the Regional berth to bash their peers over at MTA. This is FANTASTIC. You can't make this stuff up!
I do agree with the above poster though that this age group could have been fantastic, save for the fact that a certain female coach with a huge "look at me! I can coach like the guys!" chip on her shoulder couldn't swallow her humongous pride long enough to pull this age group together for the benefit of the top players. For that fact alone, though I may appear to defend her at times, she will never have my respect as a coach worth any salt.
You people are all nuts. I would bet that all the noise is coming from parents from these two teams whose kids have yet to be asked to "commit". Anyone?
My thoughts are this: The state's most successful coach at the older girls age group offered to ASSIST Julie at MTA and work with her to help bring all the top U17 players from the Inferno team, as well as help solidify the decisions of other talent from EP and Wayzata, to all play together. This would have been an opportune time for both coaches to put aside egos for the best of the players involved. What was the motivation for Julie to spurn this offer? I don't know, but she obviously posts here so we'll all hear soon enough I'm sure.
Consolidate under EP? And leave the opening for a parent-driven board to make decisions that could impact the development of a team of this caliber? That would have been a good idea.
I've said all I'm going to say on this matter. Choose to agree or disagree - won't change my lack of respect for the woman. I'm sure she feels the same for me.
Klear - don't know if what you say is true, but we all do tend to see things through our own eyes (my hunch is the spin on this came from the MTA side) Question - in your comments you mentioned "both coaches to put aside egos...", but you lay all the blame on her. Kind of sounds like in the end none of the egos were put aside.
One last question......who are we to say what is in the best interests of the players? Shouldn's the girls involved have some say in that decision? Or is it more about parents and clubs patting themselves on the back for a team's success? What if some kids on one team had not desire to play with kids on the other team and vice-versa? Help me understand what is "for the best of the players involved"?
Not to change subjects, but how's the U14 DkRev situation? Last two years bowing out of group play, with the DOC coaching the team but can't get past the MTA white team??
How will Rev revive their lost season? Will their players return or will they jump to MTA for a chance to compete in the ECNL since they travel all over looking for great competition but can't make it happen when it counts.
Not an MTA parent or Rev parent but had a daughter in the age group that they tried to recruit. Funny, seems like I would have wasted money on an empty promise.
Unfortunately, the complaining to the refs from the U16 MTA Blue was not limited to the coach and one or two players. The players tend to emulate the coach.
I think Julie had illusions of grandeur and thought that somehow she might be considered for the coaching director post at EP once WH was out of the picture....just my opinion.
How about this.... MTA 17 s were in the same pool as EP this year because they are a second rate team. EP was a finalist last year and MTA was second rate then as well. The real story is this age group is that Wayzata choked. Absolutely the weakest semi final group in the state. I believe Three Rivers was beaten by BVL 15s last year twice in the same tourn. Who cares about the 17s.
How about this.... MTA 17 s were in the same pool as EP this year because they are a second rate team. EP was a finalist last year and MTA was second rate then as well. The real story is this age group is that Wayzata choked. Absolutely the weakest semi final group in the state. I believe Three Rivers was beaten by BVL 15s last year twice in the same tourn. Who cares about the 17s.
Granted State Cup is big...winner gets to go to Regions (doesn't matter who wins) team from MN will maybe go .500
IMO, age 13,14,15 is still about developement and having fun with friends. age 16,17,18 if your dd is good enough to get noticed it might be about college showcase and scholarships...here again you have to include fun.
Afterall, this is a game. Unfortunately, some parents don't see it that way.
Why in the world would JE want to be affiliated with MTA? At the point that she was trying to build the EP team was smack in the middle of the Abboud ordeal from last year's State Cup. Really! Why would anyone wish to be affiliated with cheaters? I am surprised that as many girls stayed with MTA as they did.
You can't lump all MTA into the same category as MA and his decision in last year's state cup. I think people choose their clubs for their own reasons - whether thas is coaching, community, friends, competition... sometimes you just get comfortable with where you are at and that works for you. I also agree that the younger years should have a focus more on development than on winning - that seems to be a big problem with youth sports in general, and we are missing basic fundamentals because of it.
If MA was given as a reason for not wanting to be part of MTA, then we'll see what happens this year when he's no longer a director. This is a cop-out excuse, unfortunately an easy one for others to rally behind.
I think everyone needs to stop speculating on why a young coach decided to go to EP and why she didn't go to MTA. KLEAR From what I've heard the majority of the top players from that age group are on the EP team, why didn't the other good players from MTA go to EP team??
Can you image if the U17 blue team would have beat the white team? Then all the haters would have accused MTA of conspiracy to throw the game just so the Blue team would advance. Wow - I should have started that one myself - it would have been juicy.
First of all, 11 is a lot more than 8. And I cannot see ANY reason to lay into a team that hard. 8 is ALMOST understandable, If you get up 5 or 6 to 0 and start to posses, your bound to have a chance or two.
I wonder about a teams motivation when they keep the pedal to the metal and go into the double digets. Is it arrogance? Most likely with this group.
It's a 3 goal difference not 5 or 6. You just want to slam MTA, that's all your comment is about! Maybe 6 or 7 different girls scored for MTA. Were you at the game?
7:41AM, were you at the game?? Did you see that the Lakeville coach continued to try and run a high line/offside trap the entire game and it didn't work. What was MTA supposed to do, miss the many breakaways on purpose or stop running at goal. That would have been more humiliating than the final score.
9:37 makes a great point, State Cup is to find the best teams to advance to regionals. It is not you local CC tournament. If you cannot compete, don't sign up. To many teams enter state cup that have no chance of winning and should not be there. We need to stop making state cup this big happy get together that MYSA wants it to be and make it was it is supposed to be, an elimanation event to find the top team in MN that advances to regionals.
yeah, same with the olympics. get rid of the countries that have no chance of winning a medal. matter of fact why even send a U15 team to regionals since history has shown they can't compete there. 9:52's comments pretty much encapsulates much of what is wrong with youth sports today. win win win isn't the main purpose of sports is to COMPETE and to PLAY a sport that these kids love? isn't it better to have tried and failed then to never have tried at all? if you ask the players on the teams that have not fared well at state cup if they would do it all over again and i bet the overwhelming majority would say yes. just my opinion.
There were three PK's in the BVL game against the BH. How could you not score 8+. Plus the coach was on the sideline telling them to just ping the ball around and not to score.
10:07 If you want to compete and have fun do it at the Tonka Splash or other local tournaments. Not at state cup, it is a competitive event for competitive teams. Your mentalitiy is what is wrong with MN soccer because you don't know the difference between competitive soccer and rec soccer. State Cup is not for the rec team it is for teams to win and advance.
What is worse? To get beat by a team playing soccer 11-0 or get beat 8-0 by a team intentionally missing breakaways?
I agree that certain players and coaches relish the opportunity to play top competition. The fact remains that if you cannot handle the drubbings, don't enter this event.
Some on here will take any chance to bash the top teams like Bville and MTA at 15s. This approach of criticizing for lack of sportsmanship due to clear disparity in abilities is ridiculous.
Why would a player who aspires to be the best, change her play to accomodate a team that cannot compete at her level? Why would a coach ask players to stop excelling. Do you think a player who doesn't start or get significant minutes in a top level game doesn't want to score, doesn't want to impress her coach. Should sport organizers put in mercy rules or stop games when one team is clearly better?
People stop with the we're all winners crap. Some are, some are not. If you go to a competition and are out played, out scored, out talented, that is your problem not the winner's. Sharing the wealth is not a good idea in sports. Either you are blessed with talent, worked harder than others or both. If you are blessed enough to be a winner, there is no reason to be ashamed of it or hide it.
By the way, last year (and still this year), everyone was up in arms over a team who did not play to their potential because the coach was thinking about the other team's emotions-yes the MA scandal. Pick a side people, if you should not allow the other team to win, you also should not shut down your team for the sake of not "running up the score".
At U15 c1 from last year... the first 5 from the west all entered state cup this year.In the East the only team was a sad st. croix team. The south had a couple and the north also. Blackhawks were c2. Maybe MYSA could cut the fundraising event and have some sort of standard. State cup is becoming more like the Blaine Breakout than a national qualifing tounament.
10:55 Running up the score is hardly comparable to throwing a youth soccer game. Whether 8 or 11 or 4 goals advantage there are many life lessons to be learned from both sides of the score .
None of this REALLY matters because Burnsville will run away with this tournament at U15 - no one is even close. Who cares what happens in a group game against two teams without a chance of winning.
Besides, Burnsville is the only team with a prayer of at least winning one game at regionals.
not a genius, but i do know how to read (and i did not stay in a holiday inn express last night....). tied 1-1. here's the link: http://www.t7sports.com:8080/2005/k135454.htm
7:50 Youre talkin at regionals last year....im talkin MRL last year 4-0. Since you slept outside last night I will try to write slowly . Its been common knowledge now for over a year that the BVL board made them play equal playing time at regions, which evidently is not the way they got there. While I have no interest in the team, my kid has friends there. Also, MM, the state cup director welcomed that team to registration by telling the players he hopes they dont win again after their performance last year. I wonder if he said that to all the under performing minnesota teams?
Thank goodness my van down by the river has wifi..... My comments were in response to the following post from earlier today which I've copied and pasted to help you follow the bouncing ball:
Anonymous said... None of this REALLY matters because Burnsville will run away with this tournament at U15 - no one is even close. Who cares what happens in a group game against two teams without a chance of winning.
Besides, Burnsville is the only team with a prayer of at least winning one game at regionals.
16/5/10 12:29 PM
If you want to change the criteria or cite excuses why they lost than I have no problem with that.
766 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 766 Newer› Newest»Go ask on the boys thread.
Could either finalist for u18 boys beat Inferno?
Go ask on the boys thread.
i feel bad for the st. croix teams that will have to play on whatever grass is left at LWB after state cup.
i feel bad for anyone having to play there also BUT st croix evidently wanted to host this event for some reason
SCV doesn't own or really control the fields. LWB is a non-profit that wanted the revenue. SCV had no say in it.
For teams on the East Side this is wonderful having the games at LWB. It sure beats the hour long drive last year for the same kind of bumpy fields.
bad things happen to those that only think of themselves.
Bloomington knocks MTA U17s out of State Cup? Who is this team?
The U17 team from Bloomington is a very athletic and well coached team. How they are doing in their bracket does not surprise me in the least. I don't have a daughter on the team nor do I even coach for that club, just a fellow coach that has followed the team the last couple of years through a mutual friend. They will do very well in the U17 Premier league this summer, and have a shot at pulling off a win on Sunday. Congrats to that group, it's great to see new teams in any age bracket being developed to challenge the old stand-by's. It makes all of the teams in that age bracket better in the long run. Well done!
5:14,
That is the MTA 2nd team at U17. The top MTA team is the "true U17 group" playing in the U19C1 league coached by Storlien.
I'm not taking away anything from the BLM girls as I'm sure they're a nice side but that is MTA's "B" squad.
6:30 - take a peak at the MYSA State Cup standings. That was the "blue" team coached by DS. The MTA 2nd team played EP today. Instead of anyone downplaying the MTA teams, everyone should be giving some serious props to the Bloomington team. They've now played very solidly two weeks in a row - they are no flukes.
The MTA ECNL team tied the Bloomington Premier team. Guess they didn't need to fly all over the country for competition after all. Good thing they are an in an "elite league".Don't they fly out to seattle in a few weeks to compete for "nationals"AKA 10th place in the B bracket? What a waste of money.
7:26,
Let's compare the value of the scholarship dollars the MTA team gets to that of the BLM team...how do you think that will wash out?
Storlien coaches the team listed as U19C1. Look at the MYSA website to verify.
Not sure what you want to call them, but the U17 team that DS coaches tied Bloomington today. No matter what happens tomorrow, EP will advance.
U17's are very interesting....SSM tied Dakota Rev, Wayzata (defending champs) tied Three Rivers. Should make for an interesting Sunday.
The MTA teams tied each other earlier as well.
8:19---"scholarship dollars"? Will you grow up and quit living through your kid. she deserves better. maybe you should earn a better living and you won't need to worry about her "scholarship dollars".
7:26, why do you care or have to chime in about traveling for soccer? if the teams decide to go across the county or if they play local...let them without the childish remarks.
you sound either jealous or bitter!
my guess is your bitter about something...one of those parents who has a chip on his shoulder...and girls soccer is gonna be your release.
The U17's have become quite an interesting bracket. Tomorrow should be interesting for this age group. In the end I think the top 2teams will rise to the top (WYZ MRL and EDP MRL), but it is fun to see some parity develop across the brackets and have some advancement come down to the last day. Good luck to all of the teams. Who knows, maybe we'll get a major upset along the way that will make it even more fun to watch.
U16 (as predicted earlier, REV does not advance, wild card comes from C bracket)
A bracket - MTA Blue defeats NLS 4-0
B bracket - MTA White defeats NSSA 2-0
C bracket - EP defeats Tonka 2-1, advances on tiebreaker over NSSA and NLS).
Semi finals
MTA Blue defeats EP 4-0
St Croix defeats MTA White 2-1
Finals
MTA Blue defeats St Croix 3-0.
Rumor is the REV 16 girls had a lot of off the field issues to deal with the weekend of the NSSA game and it caught up with them, not an excuse they should still have taken care of business last weekend as well as yesterday, however it is a very tight and hard working group hopefully they will learn from there mistakes and move on.
Dont confuse an elite club league with a elite team league.
The REV 16 girls are a well coached team, but have not separated themselves from the rest of the pack at the age group, and are not likely to do so. The NSSA result was a small surprise, but not at all shocking.
Other than MTA Blue, there are several good teams but no elite teams at U16.
Anyone at the fields - Hows the MTA u16 blue team doing today? any different..
Wow, the girls parents have a lot to say!
U17 - MTA 4 EP 1
Yeah, but neither MTA team, Wayzata, or SSM advanced in the U17's. EP, TCF, Woodbury, and Three Rivers advanced. Who would have predicted that!
Too bad for SSM, heard they had 5 players out/suspended for breaking school rules so 5 other players had to play injured. No subs, sad way to end the year.
Excuses excuses
Nope. Wrong. No excuses from the SSM camp. The facts stayed above are true...however that is no one's problem but our teams. TCF did what they had to do to advance. In the end, even though we had some pretty gutsy performances by some very injured players, the SSM 17s did not have what it took to advance. No excuses. Time to reload and give it a go next year.
Good luck to everyone left in the hunt, and good luck to whomever the U17 representative for Regionals will be.
SSM good to see you at the field after your game. Think you know who I am don't writte her anymore but figure I say hi, the SSM kids have nothing to be ashamed of they gave it one hell of an effort.
sssssssssssssssssssss. 33-25-7 is hardly dominating. nearly as many 3rd and worst place teams as 1st.
it continues.
1124,
Is there a club with a better overall record?
ssssssssssssssssssss, the sound of 1134's blood boiling with hate.
It continues, without any hope, poor, poor hateful soul.
Whne it's all said and done, it appears that MTA will have 7 semi-finalists on the girls side and 8 on the boys side. The club will most likely put 15 teams in the semis. Yeah 1124, that is horrible (sarc).
By the way, as a point of clarification...I purposely did not count the U19s in the above post, beause the two teams (1 girls, 1 boys) that MTA entered in the tournament are in the finals by virtue of entering. there are only two teams entered.
So, technically there are at least 19 teams that are in the semi/finals.
Maybe I should learn to spin better...LOL
Not a good weekend for REV. The 14s couldn't overcome their injuries and they are done too. Hope that team can stay together and still have a good year. 2 years in a row not getting out of pool play. MTE should have the easy road now
19 semifinalists out of 57 teams entered? Not a great percentage. other clubs have better averages...clubs that don't promise the world to every landon and mia just so they can get them into the system to fund all the blue scholarships. imagine being sold by the mta spin and losing a playin game. impressive.
9:42 try to spin it however you like. The MTW teams that lost playin games do not pay one dime to the elite program for scholarship dollars. The West/Wings program is still a seperate entitiy, they have their own checking account and a their own board. Good try lumping them into the mix. Anyway you look at it, no other club has advanced more that one team into the semi-finals and MTA has done it at multiple age groups. Its ok to continue to try and poke holes in MTA but the bottom line is they are the best club hands down and no one is a close second.
We see the jealous wannabes spouting off on this blog every year about this time when their kid's team doesn't make the semis and MTA has teams from almost all age groups sitting in those slots.
It's just the whiners who wish they were there.
MTA will end up with 4-5 championships in girls brackets and 4-5 from the boys. It happens like clockwork every year since about 2006.
10 32 am
I think another club does have more than one team in the semis
11:39, not is the same age group. That was my point!! No club has that depth or talent to put two teams in the semi's in one age group and MTA is going to do it at 13, 14, and 16 on the girls side.
On another note, MYSA should really look at moving the Semi's and Finals from LWB. The fields are in terrible shape and are not worthy of a state cup final. Even the fields that look ok from the sidelines are in bad shape. They are too hard, are very bumpy and some fields are really really bad. Players are going to get hurt and it does not allow for quality soccer to be played.
11:46 - I'm sure they would if they could. The local associations/communities who run the fields have to want to do it and submit their bid. Unlike many other RII states, MN really doesn't have a premier multi-field location. In a perfect world, NSC would make the most sense, but that would require a lot of work/$$, potential field enlargement, and cooperation between MYSA and NSC. Championship games on the stadium field would be pretty cool.
WDB should ask to host the finals.
So that their fields can look like the ones at LWB in a year or two?
1143 - No faith in the 15's winning?
I think they meant just the finals, not the whole tournament.
12:33, read the post, it is the age groups that have two MTA in the semi's. Not who is going to win. If I were a betting man I would bet on MTA to win 13, 14, 15, 16 and 19 this year. The are the better team in all those age groups.
1244 - Time to relax. Don't need to get all uptight over this especially if MTA will win everything.
How about MYSA renting McMurray for the finals. Two fields side by side, boys on one girls on the other,games at 9,11,1,2,3 and 5. All games on Turf with 120x80 dimenstions and would be a great atmosphere for the finals with the hills behind the goals and a quality surface.
Never happen because it makes too much sense.
is turf acceptable for usys state cups? i don't have any issues with it, but i believe mysa policy defaults on this to usysa which defaults to fifa. fifa's never been a fan of turf for tournament play at any level, but not sure if there is an absolute stipulation/bylaw in place stating that.
Although changing venues will NOT happen. I believe FIFA has made an official stance that turf is acceptable, but prefers natural. Maybe 3, 4 years ago, but not certain.
Nationals will be played on turf this year
How nice to have a complex like that......12 full size, lighted, synthetic fields.
It is an incredible facility.
Does anyone have an update on the player that was injured yesterday at LWB? It was around 5:30pm. Looked pretty serious. Hope she is OK.
You know what, I think the conversation on here is actually improving. There is one person who seems to long for the good old days of bashing MTA with every other post and they're trying to keep it going, but I say we all ignore that lone wolf and actually talk about the game without all the bickering.
It's encouraging to think we could actually have a conversation without bashing, maybe even congratulating teams that are doing well and progessing.
I actually like the break-down of some of the games.
I think regardless of who wins at each level, we need to realize they will go on to represent the state and we should all be behind them.
Or maybe I'm asking for too much? I haven't been here in a while, but maybe I'll hang in there...
Pure rumor is that it was a heck injury. I have no idea who the player was, what team, or current status.
MTA has a stated purpose of fielding a nationally competitive Blue team and a regionally competitive White team. They recruit their players from the entire metro region. I have absolutely no problem with that.
No other club attempts this. The CCs and other soccer clubs draw from smaller geographic regions. Occasionally the best players join a CC team like Inferno or EP17.
I DO have a problem with the absolutely idiotic comparisons of MTA's "club" State Cup record with other "club" records. The MTA teams should win State Cup, at every age.
If they fail to produce the best team, it is a failure of their mission considering the pool of talent they draw from.
The biggest concern I have with the girls playing soccer under the MTA style regimen is the number of ACL injuries when girls play the amount of soccer required to achieve national caliber teams.
I'm not sure it can be mitigated under the current environment.
Whats wrong with EP U-17 team likely state cup winner getting humilated 4-1 in bracket play. Could be brutal if they go to regions. That same pattern seems to have occured with the year older team.
10:57 Your effort is impressive. Why the relentless axe to grind?
10/5/10 9:37 PM
What is the color of the sky in your world? The game is played because not everyone who should win does. That's why real fans love sports. Go seek therapy please, your hatred is amazing.
ACL's happen, not just because of the "MTA style regimen". Explain ACL's in non athletes. More car accidents happen when more cars are on the road. What is your point captain obvious?
i read that if i am in a car accident that there is an 80% chance that it will happen within 3.5 miles of where I live - so i'm going to move....
I obviously am not an EP parent....however has anyone ever thought that EP viewed the final pool game as a "throw away"? Why would you play your starters and risk any injury or other unforseen incident when you don't have to?
I don't think that I would put any stock in the result of the final EP game. But, if that is what MTA needs to hold their heads up, so be it.
Agreed especially after they had a season ending injury earlier in state cup. Seems like a smart and humble move to put team health in front of bragging rights.
SSM- I might agree with you except EP has never beaten MTA blue. I can guarentee the girls wanted to win that game. Even though the result did not matter in the standings it did matter to the players. The game also exposed EP for what they are, a team with great attacking players but very weak in the back. And it seems that the coach hasn't figured out that defense wins games. You are not going to be successful giving up 3-5 goals against good competition.
at least the coach figured out how not to tie Bloomington and MTA white......... i think 11:57 might be closer to reality as losing players to injuries (big ones like the one that had just occurred or even small nicks and dings) puts the bigger goals in jeopardy. maybe lose a battle but hoping to win the war was the better option.
If you watched the game, you'd know that EP played every single player and started most of their regulars. The one exception is that they didn't bring their big goalscorer on until 10 minutes into the second half (when the score was 3-0).
Actually, you are little mistaken 6 starters spent the majority of the time on the bench. Keep grasping at straws though.
1204 and 239, MTA Blue didn't get the job done, enough said! You can speculate all you want about EP trying or wanting to win but you will never know what the outcome would have been if the game would have mattered. I haven't watched either team play ever or do I care to, just commenting because I want to.
Maybe I'm missing the whole point of this game discussion - what was it again..........?
If the MTA apologists want to hang their hats on beating EP (regardless of who thinks who played or how much they played or who was injured) then go for it.
If the EP apologists want to hang their hats on still winning the pool then go for it.
For virtually all the players the game has most likely already turned into a distant memory, quickly over-shadowed by the important things in life like school, tests, proms, friends, etc...
It only lives on the minds of us parents.
I don't know of any quality team that concedes a State Cup game (well, maybe an MA coached team). If EP tanked four goals to a team they can beat, shame on them.
Shame on them and shame on the Indianapolis Colts and shame on the New Orleans Saints and shame on the Cleveland Cavaliers and shame on......and shame on.......and shame on.........
agreed, 3:00. most of the girls were probably ogling the boys warming up on the next field. Why these parents/mta coaches get so up in arms over a single soccer game is beyond me. gotta find value in you small little world, i guess.
12:04; BS defense only wins games in your sheltered un creative little world. A balanced,OFFENSIVE minded team that can use the entire width and length of the field is the way of the future. Unfortunately, none of the U17 coaches at this years State Cup have grasped the concept fully. When will we see a complete team that doesn't play kickball 80% of the time? Thats when MN Girls soccer will be a power outside our little world.
Wow glad my DD aged out and is done with college :-) good luck to all the girls...parents get a grip
8:25 am - the color is a beautiful sky blue. I don't hate MTA - I have several acquaintances with daughters on Blue teams. Thankfully, they all seem interested in their daughter's teams, and avoid asinine pride(??)in the performance of other MTA teams.
If it is "obvious" as you state that playing soccer on a year-round basis from early teens on will result in potentially life altering knee injuries, the regimen should be questioned, and your sanity is definitely open to debate.
EP should have rested their starters in a meaningless game
Have you seen those new bag tags that reward intentionally missed PKs? 5 points if you shoot at the keeper, 10 points if you put it just wide, and 50 points if you hit the crossbar.
Now THAT'S funny!
Just looked in, Wow. I'm kind of surprised. SSM has two of the five teams they entered into the State Cup not even make it thru pool play. That pretty bad.
7:06 your just a flat out idiot. This is youth soccer not La Liga. At U17 there are no teams that have the talent to play the game you hope to see. Its not the coaches, its the talent level spread out through 5 or six teams. The only way you are going to see that type of play in MN is if we can get the 18 best players on the field with one team. Even then that might be stretching it a bit. How about you send your great coaching resume to us and we will get you the players so you can show us the game the way it is supposed to be played. Oh wait, you have never coached and the only soccer you know is from your fat ass sitting on the couch and watching it on TV.
PLease someone hurry and get 1245's medication before it is to late. Bootball (Direct)is taught by 99.9% of the coaches in Minnesota because that is what they learned growing up in Minnesota. They never played anything other so why would you expect them to teach anything other than that. It also much easier to coach and easier to get results with the least amount of work.
I agree no team should ever tank a game reguardless.
What is all that training for?
Shame on her for lossing her integerity.
I give credit to those players who played the whole game trying to make sense of the coach decision.
My sympathy goes to them for believing in the cause.
The biggest shame is they will never know if they could have won MTA or not that chance was taken away by a poor coaching decision.
Or maybe the coach didn't believe her team was capable of this?
i hope a lot of folks out there don't sprain any ankles getting down off of their high horses....
although, in all honesty, the vast majority of the comments on this subject were created merely to stir things up.
At the end of the day, how many games really count for anything? Most girls play to have fun, test themselves, and see how well they can do every time they step on a field -- its a great "life lesson."
If EP really tanked their game against MTA (i.e., its not just an after-the-fact excuse), they are learning some poor lessons. Besides, how much fun is it to tank a game?
No one tanked anything. EP was already through to the semi's. MTA was already eliminated. You all need to get over yourselves. If you wanted a meaninful game MTA blue should have figured out how to beat MTA white and Bloomington to set up a meaningful game. EP was smart to keep their eye on the bigger prize (semi-finals and finals) at the risk of losing a meaningless game.
My predictions (not that anyone cares):
U13-DKT, MTN, PRL, MTE advance.
MTE over DKT
PRL over MTN
MTE wins
U14-EDP, EDI, MTN, MTA advance.
MTA over EDP
EDI over MTN
MTA wins
U15-BVL, MTE, WDB, TCF advance.
TCF over BVL
MTE over WDB
MTE wins
U16-
MTE over EDP
SCV over MTA
MTE wins
U17-
TRV over TCF
WDB over EDP
WDB wins
U18- WDB wins
U19- No clue
MTA U17G parents - FACT: your team is not going to regionals this year. Get over it like the girls already have and try again.
EP parents - FACT: your team can in no way lay claim to being the best in the state as you've never beaten MTA. Get over it and try again.
Give me a Skillzy.
So, you are saying they aren't the best but they ARE
finishing ahead of MTA?
12:25 reasonable predictions. Not sure about TCF at u15 over burnsville. they did have big wins (scores) in state cup pool play but their first 2 u15 premier results are awful. MTE will still probably win although this looks like the biggest toss up age group
Resting your starters and giving your weaker players some quality time in the field is not the same as throwing a game. It is just plain smart, especially when the outcome is not significant and it is early in the season.
Let's see what happens if we agree that this is about a beautiful game played by youth and all of us wanted every kid to have the best experience for them, get quality coaching, and give us the pleasure of watching them develop. I notice the craziness doesn't happen when we are talking high school, despite the fact that certain schools dominate every year. Why does the presence of a dominant club (or a weaker club) or any particular club at all have to matter even a little bit? Get over yourselves, haters, and the rest of you, thanks for keeping it positive. I love watching these kids strive!
1225
I agree, but at U15, don't count Woodbury out. They are well coached by KK.
Agreed, 5:01. Keep it positive. I'm positive that rev sux. Can I have a bag tag?
How is EP throwing a game different from the MTA PK fiasco last year? Yet there is NO PRESS over this. Further proof that people can't deal with MTA success.
Serious 6:43?
Every team in every sport will play there second team when they are able. This is at EVERY level and EVERY sport. It is not any different then playing the bench when you are up in a game. The more playing time that the non starters can get only helps the team in the end.
EP doesn't have a "second team." They have a handful of subs that play regularly. If they didn't win "because it was a meaningless game," it was because they didn't give 100%.
643 are you really that clueless??
There is no way 643 is serious as that is one of the most idiotic comments posted on here. Julie is focused on winning State Cup not beating MTA - as she should be.
Julie E. can coach, period!
12:25
You wouldnt fare well in Vegas
U17 MTA Blue was eliminated in pool play after two games because EP handled two opponents that MTA Blue did not. As a result, the game was as meaningless as a winter scrimmage.
Yes, keep repeating that it really doesn't matter if your team gets crushed in a State Cup Game.
What I'll keep repeating is the ECNL team was eliminated from pool play by a MN team that was very recently Classic 1. Keep crushing teams in those winter scrimmages.
Unfortunately selfish coaches have caused the talent in this age group to become quite fragmented. It's highly unlikely the U17 winner will have success at regions.
It's a very similar dynamic to that of the U18 boys team/players. They are a very talented age group but due to talent being spread over 3-4 teams failed to accomplish much at Regions.
It's always very easy to point fingers at the coaches. In the case of the current U17's, the core group of that EP team has been together since U9 and has been successful - why leave? The MTA team came together at U13? and has also been successful - why leave? The scenario here in MN is no different than in most other states. The talent is spread out amongst a few teams in each age group. The reason the Eclipse's, Hawks, etc... traditionally do better is that the talent pool is larger. If there are 10 "A" level kids in MN spread out over 2-3 teams those teams will have a harder time beating teams in states where there are 20 "A" level kids spread out over 2-3 teams. It's a population and player depth thing (IMO). Now occassionally a team comes along in a state like KS that is really strong, but those players have been together since U12. You are starting to see some signs of this here in MN with some of the younger MTA teams like the U13 and U14 girls, but even more so on the boys side where parents will start trying to get ahead of the USSF DAP curve early before the teams are formed at U16.
Funny, the kids don't seem too bent out of shape about having some super consolidated team (who knows maybe they would like to play with their current friends/teammates), most of the angst seems to come from the parents.
The most suprising stat of the U16 tournament is that TCF scored on MTA Blue. I think that is the first goal scored against the MTA team or its previous incarnations in State Cup.
It is even more surprising that it was TCF that scored. They are a good Classic 1 team, and try to control the ball during play. However, I saw most of their game against Eagan, and they didn't have the speed to penetrate the attacking third.
The MTA team has always been fun to watch. Unfortunately, they have adopted one undesirable trait of their current coach - the players now whine loudly about the refs during games. It detracts from a highly competitive, skilled team.
933 TCF 16 are missing players due to HS soccer in WI. They are a better team than what they showed in the Eagan game.
Comparing what JE/EP did to what MA/MTA did last year is idiotic in epic proportions. Get a grip!
9:33 am So on a team of 18 players, how many of them "whine loudly about the refs during the game"?
I am not 9:33, but one is too many. What is your point 10:20?
Totally convinced that the "E" in EP stands for excuses. Face it! JE pushed the panic button 10 minutes into the second half and sent the remaining 3-4 "starters" into the game when her team was getting beat pretty badily. It's bad when EP parents make calls to MTA parents after the game to say that the game was purposely blown!
MTA parents, our team is done with State Cup. Some of you are bordering on pathetic attempts at saving your ego.Let it go and move on.
I think it's pretty much common knowledge that EP did not go into the game looking to win or at 100%. That's not an excuse, I believe that might be a fact. The issue is does it really matter and who it seems to affect. I bet if you polled 100 coaches the vast majority would not have major issues with what the EP coach did (knowing all the background details such as major player injuries, heavy MRL schedule, semi's and hopefully finals ahead). They may not have done what she did, but I believe they would understand her decision and not burn her at the stake.
If you follow the major int'l soccer leagues like EPL, La Liga, etc... major teams do not always field their top squads in league matches with no bearing on their table placement to give quality time to all squad players while also resting others if an important match is on the horizon (Champions League, Europa, country championships). Happens all the time.
Personally, I believe this issue in many ways is serving as an outlet for parental frustrations in regards to team outcome disappointment.
Two words: conspiracy.
12:44 - conspiracy? who, what, when, where? lol
Maybe I'm crazy, but I would rather be 3-0 than 2-1 going into the one and done phase. I would rather be pErceived as invincible instead of rested.
Maybe I'm crazy, but I would rather be 3-0 than 2-1 going into the one and done phase. I would rather be pErceived as invincible instead of rested.
you don't try to win when you don't think you're going to win. IMO
I think most coaches rather be healthy and take care of the big picture. A more important question other than to rest or not to rest players in a meaningless game is: Wht couldn't MTA with their high powered coach and their ECNL resume not beat 2 very beatable teams? MTA can't answer this question so they are doing a great job of deflecting attention elsewhere again. Only last year they had MA to steal the spotlight from their lack of on the field succeess.
11:22 am Wanted to find out if this was a generalization (one player that whines about calls & maybe always has = whole team that picked up this habit from their coach). Seems like a stretch to me, but wanted to see if 9:33 am was going to be able to be more specific in their claim.
116 JUST LET IT GO
MTA = whiners. Case closed.
Everybody not MTA also = whiners. Case closed.
Oh yeah?
On a lighter note, I read this on IMS and could not help but laugh.
After last month’s supporters meeting a temporary committee was put together who have now drafted a set of bylaws. That document will be discussed tonight, Thursday, May 13, 2010, 7 PM, at the Sweetwater Bar & Grille.
What the hell do you need bylaws for a supporter group for?? I can only guess what they say.
ByLaw 1
You must cheer
ByLaw 2
You must cheer some more
ByLaw 3
Cheer, Cheer, Cheer
ByLaw 4
Sing loud
Bylaw 5
Drums and flags are allowed
Bylaw 6
Failure to sing, cheer, wave you flag or drum your drum will get you kicked out of the supporter group
Some people have way to much time on their hands.
if your "lighter note" is to criticize something you shouldn't even care about, I'd hate to see your "darker note or side".....
I have a very dark side..................................................................................................
98% of the U17G parents on here = idiots. This "debate" is comical. MTA parents can't handle that they lost in State Cup, EP parents can't handle that they've have never beaten MTA on the field so are using the Regional berth to bash their peers over at MTA. This is FANTASTIC. You can't make this stuff up!
I do agree with the above poster though that this age group could have been fantastic, save for the fact that a certain female coach with a huge "look at me! I can coach like the guys!" chip on her shoulder couldn't swallow her humongous pride long enough to pull this age group together for the benefit of the top players. For that fact alone, though I may appear to defend her at times, she will never have my respect as a coach worth any salt.
You people are all nuts. I would bet that all the noise is coming from parents from these two teams whose kids have yet to be asked to "commit". Anyone?
KLear - what should that coach have done "to pull this age group together for the benefit of the top players"? Love to hear your thoughts?
My kid plays for neither team. I'm just really angry and this is my outlet.what sport are we talking about anyway?
My thoughts are this: The state's most successful coach at the older girls age group offered to ASSIST Julie at MTA and work with her to help bring all the top U17 players from the Inferno team, as well as help solidify the decisions of other talent from EP and Wayzata, to all play together. This would have been an opportune time for both coaches to put aside egos for the best of the players involved. What was the motivation for Julie to spurn this offer? I don't know, but she obviously posts here so we'll all hear soon enough I'm sure.
Maybe she didn't wish to stoop to that level?
why didn't ds offer to assist je in consolidating all the talent at ep?
Consolidate under EP? And leave the opening for a parent-driven board to make decisions that could impact the development of a team of this caliber? That would have been a good idea.
I've said all I'm going to say on this matter. Choose to agree or disagree - won't change my lack of respect for the woman. I'm sure she feels the same for me.
Klear - don't know if what you say is true, but we all do tend to see things through our own eyes (my hunch is the spin on this came from the MTA side) Question - in your comments you mentioned "both coaches to put aside egos...", but you lay all the blame on her. Kind of sounds like in the end none of the egos were put aside.
One last question......who are we to say what is in the best interests of the players? Shouldn's the girls involved have some say in that decision? Or is it more about parents and clubs patting themselves on the back for a team's success? What if some kids on one team had not desire to play with kids on the other team and vice-versa?
Help me understand what is "for the best of the players involved"?
Not to change subjects, but how's the U14 DkRev situation? Last two years bowing out of group play, with the DOC coaching the team but can't get past the MTA white team??
How will Rev revive their lost season? Will their players return or will they jump to MTA for a chance to compete in the ECNL since they travel all over looking for great competition but can't make it happen when it counts.
Not an MTA parent or Rev parent but had a daughter in the age group that they tried to recruit. Funny, seems like I would have wasted money on an empty promise.
It appears the problem is that a couple of MTA kids got left on the sidelines instead of playing with the talent at EP.
Unfortunately, the complaining to the refs from the U16 MTA Blue was not limited to the coach and one or two players. The players tend to emulate the coach.
I thought recruiting was against the rules?????
I think Julie had illusions of grandeur and thought that somehow she might be considered for the coaching director post at EP once WH was out of the picture....just my opinion.
What are the good match-ups this weekend?
At 13, it looks like Maplebrook and MTN will play for the right to advace.
At 14, the winner takes all between Eden Prairie and Lakeville.
At 15 Woodbury and Tonka are also looking to win or go home.
And SSM and Woodbury clash at 18.
In all these games, the play-offs have already begun. What other surprises and good match-ups take place this weekend?
How about this.... MTA 17 s were in the same pool as EP this year because they are a second rate team. EP was a finalist last year and MTA was second rate then as well. The real story is this age group is that Wayzata choked. Absolutely the weakest semi final group in the state. I believe Three Rivers was beaten by BVL 15s last year twice in the same tourn. Who cares about the 17s.
How about this.... MTA 17 s were in the same pool as EP this year because they are a second rate team. EP was a finalist last year and MTA was second rate then as well. The real story is this age group is that Wayzata choked. Absolutely the weakest semi final group in the state. I believe Three Rivers was beaten by BVL 15s last year twice in the same tourn. Who cares about the 17s.
10:27 - Lost season? Did the season start yet?
Granted State Cup is big...winner gets to go to Regions (doesn't matter who wins) team from MN will maybe go .500
IMO, age 13,14,15 is still about developement and having fun with friends. age 16,17,18 if your dd is good enough to get noticed it might be about college showcase and scholarships...here again you have to include fun.
Afterall, this is a game. Unfortunately, some parents don't see it that way.
Why in the world would JE want to be affiliated with MTA? At the point that she was trying to build the EP team was smack in the middle of the Abboud ordeal from last year's State Cup. Really! Why would anyone wish to be affiliated with cheaters? I am surprised that as many girls stayed with MTA as they did.
You can't lump all MTA into the same category as MA and his decision in last year's state cup. I think people choose their clubs for their own reasons - whether thas is coaching, community, friends, competition... sometimes you just get comfortable with where you are at and that works for you. I also agree that the younger years should have a focus more on development than on winning - that seems to be a big problem with youth sports in general, and we are missing basic fundamentals because of it.
I agree with 11:13, why would a COACH want to be affiliated with that club?
lol - those are awfully big brush strokes.
Wonder how many of these posts are from Catholics who are still Catholics after the priest issues.
10:27PM
Not sure riding a bus to TN or cars to Rockford IL is the same as travel all over the country.
The 14 REV team has a few things they need to figure out but they will be just fine.
Anyone who judge a seaon based on one tournament should probably not be involved youth sport.
If MA was given as a reason for not wanting to be part of MTA, then we'll see what happens this year when he's no longer a director. This is a cop-out excuse, unfortunately an easy one for others to rally behind.
2:30 - are you referring to parents?
An outsider's thought: does anyone find it odd that MN takes 3 wks to play pool games and 2 days to play semis and final? Hi Pete.
YEP
I think everyone needs to stop speculating on why a young coach decided to go to EP and why she didn't go to MTA. KLEAR From what I've heard the majority of the top players from that age group are on the EP team, why didn't the other good players from MTA go to EP team??
Really, WHO CARES about the EP MTA "scandal" anymore. The game is done, the semi's are set get over it and move on. The kids probably already have.
In other words, stop living through your daughter and get a life!
My daughter is my life, and MTA is my club.
ditto
Ditto
Ditto.
same here.
Agreed.
yup
Can you image if the U17 blue team would have beat the white team? Then all the haters would have accused MTA of conspiracy to throw the game just so the Blue team would advance. Wow - I should have started that one myself - it would have been juicy.
it looks like one person is arguing with themselves here pretending to be from both sides. You poor pathetic soul. I truly pitty your sorry life.
Get your kid committed before we "commit" you.
5/12 at 11:10 - Vegas is looking good about now.
It looks like MTA ran up the score at U15. 11-0? Really? is that even necessary?
And Burnsville ran up to score 8-0, but I don't see you complaining about that! Just another shot at MTA.
First of all, 11 is a lot more than 8. And I cannot see ANY reason to lay into a team that hard. 8 is ALMOST understandable, If you get up 5 or 6 to 0 and start to posses, your bound to have a chance or two.
I wonder about a teams motivation when they keep the pedal to the metal and go into the double digets. Is it arrogance? Most likely with this group.
It's a 3 goal difference not 5 or 6. You just want to slam MTA, that's all your comment is about! Maybe 6 or 7 different girls scored for MTA. Were you at the game?
Maybe the team that lost 11-0 should not sign up for state cup.
7:41AM, were you at the game?? Did you see that the Lakeville coach continued to try and run a high line/offside trap the entire game and it didn't work. What was MTA supposed to do, miss the many breakaways on purpose or stop running at goal. That would have been more humiliating than the final score.
9:37 makes a great point, State Cup is to find the best teams to advance to regionals. It is not you local CC tournament. If you cannot compete, don't sign up. To many teams enter state cup that have no chance of winning and should not be there. We need to stop making state cup this big happy get together that MYSA wants it to be and make it was it is supposed to be, an elimanation event to find the top team in MN that advances to regionals.
yeah, same with the olympics. get rid of the countries that have no chance of winning a medal.
matter of fact why even send a U15 team to regionals since history has shown they can't compete there.
9:52's comments pretty much encapsulates much of what is wrong with youth sports today. win win win
isn't the main purpose of sports is to COMPETE and to PLAY a sport that these kids love?
isn't it better to have tried and failed then to never have tried at all?
if you ask the players on the teams that have not fared well at state cup if they would do it all over again and i bet the overwhelming majority would say yes.
just my opinion.
Yeah 1007 you're probably right.
Would you like to go get crushed 11-0 again?
Yes PLEASE, I can't wait!
I was at the BVl game... not to slam MTA... it could have been 20-0... I watched a pltotal beakaway, obviously miss on purpose.
There were three PK's in the BVL game against the BH. How could you not score 8+. Plus the coach was on the sideline telling them to just ping the ball around and not to score.
10:07 If you want to compete and have fun do it at the Tonka Splash or other local tournaments. Not at state cup, it is a competitive event for competitive teams. Your mentalitiy is what is wrong with MN soccer because you don't know the difference between competitive soccer and rec soccer. State Cup is not for the rec team it is for teams to win and advance.
What is worse? To get beat by a team playing soccer 11-0 or get beat 8-0 by a team intentionally missing breakaways?
I agree that certain players and coaches relish the opportunity to play top competition. The fact remains that if you cannot handle the drubbings, don't enter this event.
Some on here will take any chance to bash the top teams like Bville and MTA at 15s. This approach of criticizing for lack of sportsmanship due to clear disparity in abilities is ridiculous.
Why would a player who aspires to be the best, change her play to accomodate a team that cannot compete at her level? Why would a coach ask players to stop excelling. Do you think a player who doesn't start or get significant minutes in a top level game doesn't want to score, doesn't want to impress her coach. Should sport organizers put in mercy rules or stop games when one team is clearly better?
People stop with the we're all winners crap. Some are, some are not. If you go to a competition and are out played, out scored, out talented, that is your problem not the winner's. Sharing the wealth is not a good idea in sports. Either you are blessed with talent, worked harder than others or both. If you are blessed enough to be a winner, there is no reason to be ashamed of it or hide it.
By the way, last year (and still this year), everyone was up in arms over a team who did not play to their potential because the coach was thinking about the other team's emotions-yes the MA scandal. Pick a side people, if you should not allow the other team to win, you also should not shut down your team for the sake of not "running up the score".
At U15 c1 from last year... the first 5 from the west all entered state cup this year.In the East the only team was a sad st. croix team. The south had a couple and the north also. Blackhawks were c2.
Maybe MYSA could cut the fundraising event and have some sort of standard.
State cup is becoming more like the Blaine Breakout than a national qualifing tounament.
How about getting rid of league play....state cup is taking half the spring.
10:55
Running up the score is hardly comparable to throwing a youth soccer game.
Whether 8 or 11 or 4 goals advantage there are many life lessons to be learned from both sides of the score .
None of this REALLY matters because Burnsville will run away with this tournament at U15 - no one is even close. Who cares what happens in a group game against two teams without a chance of winning.
Besides, Burnsville is the only team with a prayer of at least winning one game at regionals.
if they win state cup then hopefully they'll end up in a pool with ND or SD since they've proven they can't beat that regional powerhouse in IA.....
Are we talking about the same Burnsville team whose only MRL Premier win was over the 3rd ranked team in OH? Sorry, not inspiring much confidence.
What would inspire confidence in a jagas like you?
Any u18 scores?
Actually they did win against the powerhouse IA. . genius
not a genius, but i do know how to read (and i did not stay in a holiday inn express last night....). tied 1-1. here's the link:
http://www.t7sports.com:8080/2005/k135454.htm
love to hear your response.
U18 scores are all posted.
No. They are not posted, if so can you please share them with us?
7:50
Youre talkin at regionals last year....im talkin MRL last year 4-0. Since you slept outside last night I will try to write slowly . Its been common knowledge now for over a year that the BVL board made them play equal playing time at regions, which evidently is not the way they got there.
While I have no interest in the team, my kid has friends there. Also, MM, the state cup director welcomed that team to registration by telling the players he hopes they dont win again after their performance last year. I wonder if he said that to all the under performing minnesota teams?
Boys results are posted, but not the girls'. And this is the GIRLS thread- so what are the scores?
Thank goodness my van down by the river has wifi.....
My comments were in response to the following post from earlier today which I've copied and pasted to help you follow the bouncing ball:
Anonymous said...
None of this REALLY matters because Burnsville will run away with this tournament at U15 - no one is even close. Who cares what happens in a group game against two teams without a chance of winning.
Besides, Burnsville is the only team with a prayer of at least winning one game at regionals.
16/5/10 12:29 PM
If you want to change the criteria or cite excuses why they lost than I have no problem with that.
The only girls that played today were the U18's. Here's the link from the MYSA website:
http://www.mnyouthsoccer.org/events/10statecup/18girls.pdf
10:14
Easy.... a little positive thinking will make all our dds dreams come true.
Wdby 3-0 over SSM
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