Others receiving votes: White Bear Lake, Minnetonka, St. Michael-Albertville, Lakeville South, Mounds View, Rosemount, Park of Cottage Grove, Duluth East
Coaches rankings and QRF calculations are becoming more closely aligned. None of it means a hill of beans a week from now when sections begin but IMO it is interesting. Good luck to all the teams tuning up for sections!
1 Lakeville North (12-0) 73.3 2 Mahtomedi (15-0) 72.2 3 Eagan (11-2) 69.1 4 Woodbury (11-3) 68.2 5 Eastview (9-2) 64.6 6 Burnsville (11-3) 64.4 7 Wayzata (11-2) 63.3 8 East Ridge (10-2) 62.7 9 White Bear Lake (10-4) 60.4 10 Lakeville South (9-3) 58.1 11 Eden Prairie (8-2) 55.5 12 Centennial (10-1) 52.8 13 Minnetonka (7-2) 52.7 14 Mounds View (7-3) 52.4 15 Park (11-3) 52.1 16 Hill-Murray (10-2) 51.4 17 Rosemount (10-3) 49.6 18 Edina (6-3) 48.3 19 St. Michael-A (9-1) 48.0 20 Owatonna (7-4) 47.9
Bit surprised again by this week’s poll, Mahtomedi just can’t get any respect. Last week to determine our final regular season top 10, things solidifying but still some chance for movement this week. Who is in the hunt for the final regular reason #1? #2 Mahtomedi – think they’ve deserved it for three weeks in a row, but if LVN ends up either tie or loss, logic would say you’ve got to finally give it to the Zephyrs if they remain undefeated. #1 Lakeville North – honestly do not think they should have kept it this week based on the tie with Eagan (they have only played two ranked AA teams this entire year and have tied them both). A win over Burnsville on Tues is a must for them to keep it. #3 Burnsville – since the polling seems to be based equally on records and emotion, a convincing win over LVN on Tues might tug on the heart strings enough for them to get it.
Which teams are most at risk for dropping out? #6 Wayzata - if losses to both Edina and Hopkins. Probably safe to stay in with either a split or ties. #8 East Ridge – generally should be OK, but a loss to Park on Thurs would still leave them on the bubble. #9 Centennial - if loss to Hopkins tonight. Also see below notes on the potential sectional impacts of this game. #10 Eden Prairie – harshly punished in this week’s poll, but a loss to Tonka on Tues flushes them out. This would make the 2AA section weird if either EP or Edina were to win it, which would likely mean the 2AA winner would probably not be seeded in state, and the last time a non-seeded team won was how long ago? Forever.
Who’s best positioned to take over their places if they drop? Minnetonka – should get back in with a win over either EP or Edina, two W’s over both would guarantee it. Mounds View – I don’t think their chances are good, but they control their own destiny. Wins required over both Park and Woodbury to get in. Park – Slightly better chances, but still would have to come up with a big week against Mounds View and East Ridge. Lakeville South – will get in by default if MV or Park don’t pull off their upsets. White Bear Lake – don’t think their last week SoS will help them enough, but would be the last default entry if things go badly for everyone else.
A couple of game notes to consider: Lakeville North vs Burnsville (Tues): In addition to the conference title being decided and LVN’s #1 at stake, trying to figure out if this game means anything more than that. Both should have their #1 section seeds sewn up, and both should have state seeds secured assuming they win their sections. Gut tells me this game is more important to LVN to prove they can get a win over another ranked team, but also think it is somewhat important for Burnsville to keep their momentum going into the 2AA as I still wouldn’t write off EP or Edina there. Going Burnsville 2-0. Centennial vs. Hopkins (Tonight): This scrappy Hopkins team has been throwing monkey wrenches in everyone’s schedule this year. A loss could mean Centennial would be the #2 seed in the 5AA regardless of what Mounds View does this week, which would set them up for a rematch in the 5AA semis against the Maple Grove team that they lost too earlier. Going Hopkins 1-0. East Ridge vs. Park (Thrs): Not sure if East Ridge necessarily needs this one to stay in the top 10, but it may prove critical for their seeding in the 4AA. I think it may actually be safer early in the 4AA being a 2/3 seed instead of the 1/4 side bracket. Going East Ridge 2-1.
Draw your own conclusions but it would seem that the coaches’ rankings look about right.
I’d look out for Burnsville and Woodbury as sections begin. Good teams with tough games under their belts. North and Burnsville should be a great game for the SSC title. Burnsville 3-2.
hopkins v centennial 4-1 centennial holy angels v orono 3-1 orono
spa v blake 1-1 tonka v ep 2-2 wayzata v edina 3-1 wayzata park v mounds view 1-1 rosemount v eastview 3-1 eastview lakeville north v burnsville 2-2 mahtomedi v hill murray 2-2
Bold, Insightful... Does Mahto deserve the respect they are getting? Their two best wins are over Woodbury and Stillwater and no disrespect intended but I think Stillwater is 7-5 on the season. I don't think they are better than any of the other top four.
Classic Suburban: Mahto (9/1/0) vs. HM (8/1/0). Last time they met, Mahto won 5-3, but HM had the most goals against Mahto all season. Predict Mahto to clinch it.
Lake: 5 strong teams. Wayzata 3/2/1 will face Edina and Hopkins, and beat both earlier. EP ties Edina today, with a 2/1/4 record. Wayzata to clinch.
North Suburban: BSM 7/0/1 faces Spring Lake Park and Chisago - should win both. St. Louis Park 6/0/1 has 3 remaining conference games, including Totino Grace. BSM clinches.
NW Suburban: Most wide open. Centennial 6/1/1 faces Blaine and Elk River this week, after a Monday non-conference match against Hopkins. Blaine and Elk River are 4 and 5 in conference. Maple Grove 6/2/1 faces only Coon Rapids. Should be close, predict a Centennial win against Elk River on Tuesday to clinch.
South Suburban: LN 5/0/2 faces Burnsville and Bloomington Jefferson Burnsville 5/2/0 faces LN and Apple Valley. LN will clinch conference.
Suburban East: Woodbury 7/0/0 East Ridge 5/2/0 Woodbury will has it.
6:08, are you the same prognosticator that predicted the Eastview SPA game at 10-1 (score was 0-1)? I think this game is going to be great, evenly matched, and could go either way. Two young teams loaded with talent.
Then the top A teams need to start scheduling their non-conference games against top AA opponents. That is the only way to say for sure if they can compete. Take for example BSM. They schedule descent A teams, Orono, Minnehaha Academy and Holy Angels but also then beat up on Breck and Duluth Marshall. They should be playing against other western suburban teams like Wayzata, Hopkins and Minnetonka to really know if they can truly compete.
I have always found that Class AA has a generally higher level of athleticism (with larger school enrollments it is logical to assume that more athletic, older players are probably easier to find). The elite of Class AA usually have more Premier/ECNL/MWL players in their program. Logic would dictate that a school with 3500 students have a better chance of drawing more athletes, more elite club players, then would a school with 350 students. I have noticed however that occasionally a Class A school will have a group of athletes at a unique time that could compete with the best teams in Class AA state. I think some Class A schools have parrticularly good programs that get the most out of their athletes. Particularly, the really small Class A schools that are consistently good/competitive in Class A are a sign of good coaching or program development. So....in general Class AA teams are stronger than Class A teams. No surprise there. Within Class A...the bigger Class A schools...Benilde, Orono, Totino...even Blake....are far bigger than the smaller Class A schools...SPA, MPA etc. This year, it seems that Blake (competitive with Lakeville North) and SPA (competitive with Eastview)...show that they would maybe 'solid' teams at the AA level...not elite...just solid.
LV will be beat Burnsville tonight 2-1. Both teams feature single top scorers with stable mids and good def. Rumor has it LKV keeper is out but that remains to be seen. Home game for LV but I think both on turf so that shouldn't be a big issue. Like most games here on out probably comes down to the top players making plays and no one screwing up. Should be a fun game!
Break from HS talk for one moment: Thunder Development Academy Report card from USSF for the year just ended. Should stir the pot a bit :-)
(ALL SCORES OUT OF A POSSIBLE 5)
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT = 2 STYLE OF PLAY = 2 TRAINING ENVIRONMENT = 1.5 ADMINISTRATIVE = 2.5 FACILITIES = 2.5 FUNDING = 2 RESPECT = 3.5
URL as follows for official ranking of all clubs in the DA and more detail about rankings http://www.ussoccer.com/Teams/Development-Academy/Academy-Overview.aspx
While my kiddos are not at Thunder I will admit my club is no better or worse in these areas if I were to rank the club my kids are with and the USSF would probably rank the club even lower in several areas.......sad state of club soccer in MN.
How many high schools have coaches that put Juniors and seniors on team who can barley dribble a ball let alone play soccer and leave Freshman and sophs off team to allow older kids to letter. A lot of High school coaches play all the kids on the bench and thus don't play to win. Some do but a lot don't. The you end up hearing well it's just High school soccer. That is true but why is it ok. Isn't the objective to do what is best for the team and not what is best for the bottom few players. You don't see boys team unloading there whole bench to get everyone playing time. Why is more important to win on the boys side and not as important on the girls side.
4:07pm. So true! Seniors on our high school get loads of playing time and most of them only play soccer at the high school level, no club. Than you have freshman and sophs playing year around club sitting on the bench. And than the coach actually wonders why we didn't do so well this year! Why not play your more experienced soccer players and bench your part-time soccer players.
That is so stupid. First of all, 4:07, questions should end with a question mark (?), not a period (.). Secondly, why would you wish all the top players would boycott HS soccer? How selfish is that? It is not about the parents, it is about the players. How often do school friends come to club soccer events? Why would you wish the top players to boycott and not have the opportunity to play HS soccer? It is not about you.
5:10pm You must be a parent or a player of those part-time senior soccer players that play entire games. And you sit there cheering because little Tiffany just did her first header and she's 17 years old! It's also not so selfish, many top hockey players skip high school all together.
5:14 - sorry, your dead wrong. I am the mom of a AA All State player last year, who fully enjoys playing with her school friends, in front of the fans, with pasta feeds, the National Anthem playing, and team sleepovers. That's what it is all about.
Well said 9:26...my daughter ('07) loved her club and her high school experiences and teammates (high school also allowed her to play with some talented underclassmen)...just ask the kids
Talented underclassman is the key! Players are getting better and better. Maybe someday HS soccer will be worth watching, but for now we'll just enjoy the fun side of it.
A bunch of people who live in California are never going to rate Minnesota very high in most of those categories. The words "official rankings" mean nothing. Nothing. I could start a web site and say the same thing about California or Colorado or whomever. Minnesota Soccer and the midwest in general continue to improve every year in youth soccer. When I played soccer -a zillion years ago - you never would have scene anyone at a game who even knew the basic rules, now my DD's coach played pro. So did her club coach. Her opponent last week coach is a NCAA D1 ref. The U of M with mostly MN kids continues to look better every year. Rather than stir the pot next time I read your post - if you had a tag - I would just flush the toilet instead.
I was at the SPA Blake game. Blake is a good team, controlled the ball in the air a bit better than SPA and had them back on their heels at times, SPA is very young and had lots of pluck and was very skilled with the ball on the ground. Lots of fun footwork. Would not call it a "crushing" by any means. Blake's real strength appears to be set plays. I would say they were dominant in their ability to use free kicks and corners. A few real standout players on both teams, and some speed and physicality on both sides. Full disclosure, my kids went to SPA a hundred years ago.
3:05: You could start a ranking but for what it is worth the USSF is the governing body of soccer in the United States and the owner/operators of the DA program. Your ranking would not likely hold as much weight.......This is a report card of peer clubs in the DA by the operators of the DA program. I do not argue that soccer continues to improve in MN. The point of the "report card" is to show where the current grade stands for MTA and the other DA programs for the year. The data is useful most in terms of monitoring progress YoY moving forward. I posted it for two reasons, 1) To put a check on egos for those who think their club is great and the others suck and 2) to put a check on egos for those that think MN high school soccer sucks and club is great. We all have a vested interest to make MN soccer better overall as MN soccer is currently in the bottom 1/2 of the country from a player development perspective. Let's stop trying to claim our team, club, coach, offspring, school is the best and putting everything else down. Considering where we sit as a state nationally in terms of soccer development overall we should be working to make each competing organization/club/team/school stronger.
Most clubs in the USSF Development Academy received similar grades to SSM and MTA in their 1st year in the program. To single out SSM or MTA without looking at the "report cards" from the other clubs in their inaugural year is a weak attempt to put Minnesota soccer in a bad light. Both SSM and MTA have been at the forefront of soccer development in this state and raised the bar for all the other clubs. Unless you're privy to the 1st year evaluations of the other USSF Academy clubs you're just blowing smoke.
MN does not have the population nor the weather to ever compete with on either coast and midwest powers Il and OH. just be happy your daughter has found a game she loves and enjoys with friends and relax or move to the coast where they really play at a high level
Looked up Real Salt Lake - Arizona, which is the 3rd and final team to join in 2010-2011 along with MTA and SSM, to test your theory that most clubs received similar scores in year 1. I am not sure how well your theory holds up based on below. USSF does not list historical years for all clubs.
I am not attempting to put MN in a bad light, I am shining the light on some actual metrics from a credible source that can be used to measure progress from the starting point (the current "grades" received). In addition it draws comparisons against peers (arguably the best clubs in the country).
I do not argue your point on Bangu (MTA) and, to a small degree, SSM leading youth soccer development over the past 10 years. Year round soccer training with more experienced, if not trained, coaches is the norm at most clubs now because of what Bangu started.
If I take the premise that MTA and SSM are the best in the State for arguments sake is the State as whole going to get any better if the rest of the clubs continue to try and emulate one or both of those programs based on where these clubs sit against their peers today? Is fighting amongst the clubs and members of the clubs going to make us all better in terms of developing players of a higher caliber? I think not.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT = 2.5 STYLE OF PLAY = 4 TRAINING ENVIRONMENT = 3.5 ADMINSTRATIVE = 2.5 FACILITIES = 5 FUNDING = 5 RESPECT = 3
My prediction it will be a junior. Maybe JR from Cent. She was named to the national team. Although, they won't do this, but the best girls soccer player in the state is a freshman, SB from Orono (National team, one of the top goal scorers)
First - weight. Really no ones cares. Also most of us know that there are 6 premiere clubs at every age level, (plus 1 or two that may play higher) - so we give club 8 solid teams at every age level. There are about 300 HS teams.
Does this mean that HS is different than Club..? Of course. Does this mean that HS is meaningless. Of course not. HS soccer is the icing on the cake. HS soccer is played in stadiums, has more fans and catches more INK.
HOWEVER HS soccer has 12 year olds playing against 18 year olds. HS has kids who a the age of 7 could perform the Maradonna move at full speed against a kid who was recruited because she was 6 foot two and fast but has never played club soccer.
Speed, size, talent and age are are more diverse in HS soccer than in club soccer. And that's the final answer....
I think me and you may be on the same page, however after 15 years or coaching, voluntering, reffing, and being at meetings at 10 pm on a Sunday night I take great umbrage at your statment of "sad state of club soccer in MN". I consider that an insult to me and my friends who have given up other opportunities to build the sport ESCPECIALLY ON THE WOMEN's SIDE.
My journey of parenting and watching my DD play soccer is closing. I wish you well on your journey and to your dd as well with all sincerity.
My advice is this. In your later post you talked about "parents ego" in both points. I don't think parent ego has a lot to do with anything. Also how do you measure ego? Of course parents are going to brag about their kids. It could be band, football, soccer or grades. How many "MY KIDS IS AN HONOR STUDENT" bumper stickers have you scene. Does that mean that MN has an inferior or bragadocious academic system.
The MTA or whoever parents are for the most part normal. They have just choose (as have you I guess) to allow their DD the chance to compete at the highest level she can attain, or at the highest level that she chooses to attain.
I think that is a good I think or I have wasted countless thousands or hour and dollars.
Best of luck on you journey.
splitsville ( the real splitsville)
PS 9:57 thanks for the intelligent and meaningfull post on the SPA Blake game.
The top girls and boys players this year are both Juniors (JR & MG) and not eligible for the award. It has to go to a senior...I think it's wide open as to who will win.
It goes to a senior as they have been playing and building their high school career over many years. Just to hand it to an underclassman who scores a lot wouldn't say much for the award. It's something that has to built over the years. The player must demonstrate leadership within their team, play different positions if called upon from their coach and consistantly be recognized as an All State selection.
11:10: Appreciate your response, helped clarify my thinking a bit which is needed often. My overall goal was to take a different approach at trying to bring some sense of "we are in this together, and MN (we) are in the lagging half of the country currently" A call to action, if you will, to help foster a soccer environment in MN that consistently provides players the best learning and development environment. The negativity toward "the others" that is present across many clubs and some members of clubs is a barrier that needs to be lowered a bit (As a realist I know it will always exist).
Sorry to offend on the "sad state of club soccer" comment. There are, and hopefully always will be, great individuals in MN soccer and I did not intend to offend but see how I did. Also an overstatement as I do not know all clubs in MN and generalized based on the two I know very well and 3-4 others I have had dealings with over the past many years. While each club has great individuals the clubs themselves, that I am familiar with, struggle to stay true to their stated mission and miss many opportunities to provide a better environment for their players.
As you point out, ego is not the right word. Ego can be a very useful in terms of self confidence, pride, forming a sense of community. I should have used "destructive egos" which I see/hear all to often from people associated with my kid's clubs and members of "outside" clubs. It carry's over to high school teams as well, at least the one I cheer for, in that the destructive ego's create riffs, tensions, clicks, etc within the high school teams based on the players club affiliation.
Have an ego, be proud of your club/HS, but not at the expense of others and in the context of the "small pond" that is MN. It just might lead to more of our MN players and teams having the opportunity to swim in a bigger pond down the road.
Eagan keeper is good player and should be considered...if only six soft goals let in, then she must have stopped all the difficult ones! what a ridicules comment 11:33.
EV vs. PL tied 1-1. EV must be overrated
Sec 1 is LVN Sec 2 is Burnsville Sec 3 is Eagan Sec 4 is loaded...take your pick. Sec 5 is Way 6,7,8 coin flip
I wouldn't hand section 3 to Eagan either. They will probably win, but the final is on turf at Park and IMO that is favorable for Eastview assuming these two teams make it to the final.
Section play should be very interesting this year. LVN, Centennial, Burnsville, and Duluth East SHOULD win their sections but none of them are iron clad locks. Sections 3, 4, and 6 are really wide open in my opinion. And I have no clue on section 8.
Y'all talk about how up in the air the senior class is for Ms. Soccer. If an award could go to the best player in each class for both A and AA, who are some candidates ? Who gets considered ? Only award winners recognized by the state ? Scoring/ Total Points ? Is it full body of work or just one season?
5AA seeding should be interesting - Centennial slightly ahead of MV and MG in the QRF, but much stronger intra-section records for MV and MG. Think you have to give MV the #1, MG the #2 and Cen #3.
MG has two losses in Sections. Is that really much stronger than one loss and two ties? Agree MV should clinch the top spot, unless there is a huge upset today.
1AA - LN with 6 section wins should clinch easily, LS second (3 wins, 1 loss and 1 tie in section matches).
2AA - BV has 6 wins in sections, but has not faced EP. EP has 3 wins and a tie against Edina. PL lost 1-0 against EP, BV, and Eagan (non-section), so they have some talent. Predict BV against EP in final, with PL as the potential spoiler.
3AA - Park has played only one section game, while Eagan has 3 wins, including a 1-0 win over Eastview. Predict a Eagan vs. Park final, with Park prevailing.
4AA - Arguably the strongest section, with Mahto posting 8 wins in sections. Woodbury is close with 5 wins and a close loss (1-0) against Mahto. The spoiler goes to ER who plays with heart and passion. I predict a Mahto vs. ER final, with Mahto advancing to State.
5AA - Centennial took MV two years ago, MV prevailed in the 30 plus attempts shoot out last year, and the they tied in their match this year. Spoiler goes to Osseo if the injured players return. I predict MV in a tight match.
6AA - Another strong group with WAY posting 5 wins and 1 loss to Tonka. Spoiler alert for Hopkins and SLP. WAY should prevail with a win over Tonka.
7AA - All over the board on this one, but would say Andover will take it over Blaine, with Duluth East as a spoiler with one of the top goal scorers in the State.
8AA - ??? - perhaps the weakest section in the State. STM, Rogers, Anoka, and ER should be the top teams, with STM advancing.
Eagan finished ahead of Bville in a tough conference...seems logical to me still. Stop trying to come up with 2 games of the season with these teams to make a point and open your mind and look at the whole picture. You realize you could also argue Eagan didn't lose to anyway Bville lost to.
Seems logical enough that they be ranked in conference order.
5:16 and club soccer in MN is not mediocre! wake up and smell the roses. There have been special players and teams in the past from MN, but very mediocre to below average soccer at best coming out of MN! Just the truth
Depending on club and level of team, I would say that's slightly above mediocre. But HS soccer is mediocre at best. There is a reason why college coaches don't recruit players from high school, they go to college showcases.
Seriously 5:46pm have you truly watched HS soccer? Sure it's alot of fun for the girls playing for their high school team and in some cases getting to play with friends that don't play club with you. But come on! We watched the Wayzata vs Hopkins game this past weekend on the local cable channel (2 better than average teams) and it was still painful! Boot ball!
Once again, it is not about the level of soccer. It is about playing for your HS and all the perks. The same could be said for any other sport! Let the girls enjoy their HS season, and any opposition to that is just selfish parents or club coaches.
HS soccer is fun for me! I have lots of fun, but it's also frustrating to play with such different levels. 604 sounds like your one of those c2 players that play for a couple months out of the year and think your great cuz you made varsity.
Curious how Hopkins gets the 3 seed ahead of SLP in Section 6. Head-to head tie. SLP higher by several positions in QRF, which is supposed to take strength of schedule into account. Strength of schedule would be the only argument for Hopkins with a 4-6-6 record.
If SLP was in class A, they would be ranked in the top 10, but so would the top tier AA clubs. Due to enrollment the school always gets bounced around from A class to AA class and vice versa.
Section seedings are really predictable based on what teams are in what conference. They usually stick together in the voting process. Hopkins will claim they played better opponents (8 ranked, winning 1 game, while Park has won/tied against quality A class teams (5 ranked 2 win, 1 tie). Both teams met during the year and tied 1-1.
Wayzata is the clear favorite.. but who plays them is wide open.
Of course there is a lot of soccer to be played but hopefully the top teams won't get upset in order to have the possible section finals and state tourney. All the number 1 seeds need to win (except Section 4 where you could get one of 3 strong teams and Section 3 where Eastview is as good as Eagan) in order to put together the best available final. I personally don't see LVN or MAH winning it all (IMO) as I don't see an undefeated team for the year. Burnsville is talented but too young and not experienced at keeper. I think if Eagan can get past Eastview and with a top keeper they could easily win it. The winner of Section 4 will certainly be tough given the brutal schedule to get out of that Section. My prediction is Eagan vs Woodbury (they are still playoff experienced despite the grads) with Eagan winning it.
1. LVN- can't see them losing in sections but crosstown rival is lurking. 2. Bville- too much offensive power for a young EP team to handle 3. Eastview- sends Eagan home with a payback victory 4. East Ridge- as good a pick as any to survive this section 5. Centennial- only if their star forward is healthy- otherwise it's the Mustangs 6. Minnetonka- toss up with Wayzata but think they get it done 7. Duluth East- been playing better as the season closes 8. Rogers- in a close battle with STMA
This is Blake's year (finally!) to win Class A. While our section is quite tough, I think Blake will go through. Their defense will win the championship.
I would think seedings will depend on the individual teams who advance and not the sections. Lots of potential for upsets so whoever moves on will be seeded pretty closely to their coaches ranking. Teams out of sections 1,2,3 and 4 would be my prediction but that will probably be proved wrong by an upset along the way. Good luck to all the teams moving forward!
id the valley win over park does not say something about the strength of the ssc this year i don't know what does. valley struggled in conference but hammers park, an alleged top 10 team?
So much for those QRF's! I've seen my daughter's team beat or a tie a team that has loads more talent. Than I see them lose to a team that she have beaten up. Any Given Day! Any Given Day!
8:07...so true. Any team, any day, anything can happen. Look for more 3-6, 4-5 upsets the next few days. For the most part the 1's and 2's should get through the first round, but after that it's wide open!
Class A upsets....I see Trinity beating SPA on Thursday (Trinity was a conference champion and defends well)...so I see a #7 beating a #2. Also...Benilde seems to lose in Sections every year. So...Blake is the favorite to win Class A.
9:14 -- I don't disagree with you about Blake having an excellent shot at class A, but SPA beat Trinity 3-0 first time out, beat Vis, which beat Trinity, and on and on, so not sure where your prognostication is coming from, unless you are the same person who indicated SPA would lose 10-0 to eastview and be "crushed" by Blake, neither prediction being close to true.
Anyone educated enough to throw out a strawman all-state team or will that simply invite parents of DD to say "susie from All-star high is one that should be on there"
Maybe only MA or that BOLD Insightful guy have enough knowledge across the metro.
Bold?? are you out there? By posting you will bring the focus back to HS soccer and away from the side discussions like the one above. What's your call for this week?
How about: which number 1 section seed is most likely to be upset and not make it? I would guess most would say Mahtomedi in part because of the difficulty of their schedule. However if they don't win it's not really that much of an upset. I think Burnsville is most vulnerable as they have already lost 4 this year
I will start a list, based on last year's selections, and add a few of my own:
GK: KK from Eagan (Senior) CW from Woodbury (Senior)
Forwards: AF from Duluth (Senior) KH from Stillwater (Senior) JR from Centennial (Junior) AF from WBL (Senior) SK from LN (Junior) MB from Mahto (Senior) MN from Woodbury (Senior) AB from Burnsville (Sophomore) MG from CR
Mid: LC from EP (Senior) TH from Andover (Junior) KS from Wayzata (Junior) EO from Stillwater (Senior) EC from Tonka (Junior) AH from Duluth (Senior) BS from LS (Senior) JB from Rogers (Senior)
Defense: HW from Bloomington Jefferson (Senior) ML from Centennial (Senior) MT from Woodbury ???
8:41AM, I might be able to hazard a good guess, but I already know the candidates from the Sub East, and know that the coaches prefer to keep things confidential for just a bit longer.
Before I make some picks, here’s a question to pose: How much does coaching come into play on the girl’s side during the post-season? As much as I distain the style of play of the H.S. game (you know, the “direct style” with a “highly compact defense”, aka. bootball, boot and scoot, send it & bend it, the English hail-mary, stay & pray, …), I have come to believe that coaching is the biggest factor on the girls side in the post season. Prior playoff experience also seems to factor in heavily, as for many girls this is the only time they play in any sort of one and done format, even during club season. I’d like to say that individual skill, determination, chemistry, etc. should prevail, but history says this just is not the case, at least on the girl’s side.
So, since most of the old farts are still coaching, should we just go with the usual suspects for state? Is the level of parity really down to a level this year that the historic trend changes? Does a new era of coaching start to emerge? As fun and entertaining as this year has been with the regular season ups and downs, I just don’t see it happening. For sure there will be some close calls, but I’ll be bold with my section picks by being decidedly un-bold and saying history will continue to repeat itself: 1AA: LVS 2AA: Edina 3AA: Eagan 4AA: Woodbury 5AA: Mounds View 6AA: Wayzata 7AA: Duluth East 8AA: Anoka
Kinda boring, but it would be ground breaking in itself with only three #1 seeds advancing, plus I can’t ever recall when neither the #1 or #2 ranked team in state did not qualify for state.
Don’t see any #1 seeds getting popped out early, but here are the #2 & #3’s beyond Park (ouch!) that could be at risk: 1AA #3 Northfield vs. #6 Farmington. Don’t know a lot about these teams, but going Farmington as I had heard their game against Eagan was even at times. 3AA #2 Eastview vs. #6 Apple Valley. The Lightning seemed to be running out of gas late in the regular season and AV surprised Park in a big way in the first round. Playing it safe and staying with Eastview, hopefully they are recharged after some rest. 4AA #3 East Ridge vs. #6 Hill-Murray. Last game was a close 2-1 win for the Raptors. I’m worried about this one, but staying with East Ridge. 6AA #2 Minnetonka vs. #7 Armstrong. Tied during the back-half of the regular season, going Tonka in OT. 6AA #3 Hopkins vs. #6 Minneapolis Southwest. Hopkins in PK’s.
Tonight is why I love HS soccer. Crisp, fall air, playing under the lights, rivalries, all on the line in single elimination matches. Hopefully not too much of the style of play described by Bold above, but even if so, get out and cheer on your favorite team!
1,341 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 401 – 600 of 1341 Newer› Newest»1 (1) Lakeville North(12-0)
2 (2) Mahtomedi (15-0)
3 (7) Eagan (11-2)
4 (5) Burnsville (11-3)
5 (6) Woodbury (11-3)
6 (4) Wayzata (11-2)
7 (8) Eastview (10-2)
8 (9) East Ridge (11-2)
9 (10) Centennial (10-1)
10 (3) Eden Prairie (8-2)
Others receiving votes: White Bear Lake, Minnetonka, St. Michael-Albertville, Lakeville South, Mounds View, Rosemount, Park of Cottage Grove, Duluth East
1 (1) Benilde-SM (11-0)
2 (2) Blake (13-1)
3 (3) St. Paul Academy (12-1)
4 (4) Totino-Grace (9-3)
5 (7) Holy Angels (7-3)
6 (5) Rochester Lourdes (12-1)
7 (6) Orono (9-4)
8 (NR) La Crescent (11-3)
9 (9) Visitation (10-3)
10(8) Minnehaha Academy (7-3)
Others receiving votes: Chisago Lakes, Park Center, Monticello, Kasson-Mantorville, South St. Paul
QRF almost matches top ten but centennial and EP in while LVS and WBL out any thoughts
Coaches rankings and QRF calculations are becoming more closely aligned. None of it means a hill of beans a week from now when sections begin but IMO it is interesting. Good luck to all the teams tuning up for sections!
1 Lakeville North (12-0) 73.3
2 Mahtomedi (15-0) 72.2
3 Eagan (11-2) 69.1
4 Woodbury (11-3) 68.2
5 Eastview (9-2) 64.6
6 Burnsville (11-3) 64.4
7 Wayzata (11-2) 63.3
8 East Ridge (10-2) 62.7
9 White Bear Lake (10-4) 60.4
10 Lakeville South (9-3) 58.1
11 Eden Prairie (8-2) 55.5
12 Centennial (10-1) 52.8
13 Minnetonka (7-2) 52.7
14 Mounds View (7-3) 52.4
15 Park (11-3) 52.1
16 Hill-Murray (10-2) 51.4
17 Rosemount (10-3) 49.6
18 Edina (6-3) 48.3
19 St. Michael-A (9-1) 48.0
20 Owatonna (7-4) 47.9
jinx
With the QRF...How many teams are behind in the QRF to someone they beat head to head?
today's best games
hopkins v centennial
holy angels v orono
tomorrow's 7 best games
spa v blake
tonka v ep
wayzata v edina
park v mounds view
rosemount v eastview
lakeville north v burnsville
mahtomedi v hill murray
Bit surprised again by this week’s poll, Mahtomedi just can’t get any respect. Last week to determine our final regular season top 10, things solidifying but still some chance for movement this week.
Who is in the hunt for the final regular reason #1?
#2 Mahtomedi – think they’ve deserved it for three weeks in a row, but if LVN ends up either tie or loss, logic would say you’ve got to finally give it to the Zephyrs if they remain undefeated.
#1 Lakeville North – honestly do not think they should have kept it this week based on the tie with Eagan (they have only played two ranked AA teams this entire year and have tied them both). A win over Burnsville on Tues is a must for them to keep it.
#3 Burnsville – since the polling seems to be based equally on records and emotion, a convincing win over LVN on Tues might tug on the heart strings enough for them to get it.
Which teams are most at risk for dropping out?
#6 Wayzata - if losses to both Edina and Hopkins. Probably safe to stay in with either a split or ties.
#8 East Ridge – generally should be OK, but a loss to Park on Thurs would still leave them on the bubble.
#9 Centennial - if loss to Hopkins tonight. Also see below notes on the potential sectional impacts of this game.
#10 Eden Prairie – harshly punished in this week’s poll, but a loss to Tonka on Tues flushes them out. This would make the 2AA section weird if either EP or Edina were to win it, which would likely mean the 2AA winner would probably not be seeded in state, and the last time a non-seeded team won was how long ago? Forever.
Who’s best positioned to take over their places if they drop?
Minnetonka – should get back in with a win over either EP or Edina, two W’s over both would guarantee it.
Mounds View – I don’t think their chances are good, but they control their own destiny. Wins required over both Park and Woodbury to get in.
Park – Slightly better chances, but still would have to come up with a big week against Mounds View and East Ridge.
Lakeville South – will get in by default if MV or Park don’t pull off their upsets.
White Bear Lake – don’t think their last week SoS will help them enough, but would be the last default entry if things go badly for everyone else.
A couple of game notes to consider:
Lakeville North vs Burnsville (Tues): In addition to the conference title being decided and LVN’s #1 at stake, trying to figure out if this game means anything more than that. Both should have their #1 section seeds sewn up, and both should have state seeds secured assuming they win their sections. Gut tells me this game is more important to LVN to prove they can get a win over another ranked team, but also think it is somewhat important for Burnsville to keep their momentum going into the 2AA as I still wouldn’t write off EP or Edina there. Going Burnsville 2-0.
Centennial vs. Hopkins (Tonight): This scrappy Hopkins team has been throwing monkey wrenches in everyone’s schedule this year. A loss could mean Centennial would be the #2 seed in the 5AA regardless of what Mounds View does this week, which would set them up for a rematch in the 5AA semis against the Maple Grove team that they lost too earlier. Going Hopkins 1-0.
East Ridge vs. Park (Thrs): Not sure if East Ridge necessarily needs this one to stay in the top 10, but it may prove critical for their seeding in the 4AA. I think it may actually be safer early in the 4AA being a 2/3 seed instead of the 1/4 side bracket. Going East Ridge 2-1.
records against top 20 teams in QRF above
lvn 3-0-2
mahto 3-0-0
eagan 3-2-1
burnsville 4-3-0
woodbury 4-3-0
wayzata 2-2-1
eastview 3-2-1
easttridge 2-2-0
centennial 1-0-1
ep 2-2-3
Draw your own conclusions but it would seem that the coaches’ rankings look about right.
I’d look out for Burnsville and Woodbury as sections begin. Good teams with tough games under their belts. North and Burnsville should be a great game for the SSC title. Burnsville 3-2.
hopkins v centennial 4-1 centennial
holy angels v orono 3-1 orono
spa v blake 1-1
tonka v ep 2-2
wayzata v edina 3-1 wayzata
park v mounds view 1-1
rosemount v eastview 3-1 eastview
lakeville north v burnsville 2-2
mahtomedi v hill murray 2-2
Bold, Insightful.... - Burnsville does not necessarily have a number one seed locked up as they lost to Eastview and play in same section I believe.
burnsville is in section 2 with ep, edina, and jefferson. eastview is in section 3 with eagan, park, and rosemount.
Blake will beat SPA 5-0. Wont be much of a game.
Bold, Insightful...
Does Mahto deserve the respect they are getting?
Their two best wins are over Woodbury and Stillwater and no disrespect intended but I think Stillwater is 7-5 on the season. I don't think they are better than any of the other top four.
Five predictions:
1. Sorry Blake booster, but SPA over Blake 2-0.
2. Rosemount ties EV.
3. LVN over Burnsville 2-1.
4. Mahto should be #1, but
Woodbury wins Section 4.
5. Burnsville will not survive
Section 2.
Centennial over Hopkins, 1 - 0
Conference Predictions:
Classic Suburban:
Mahto (9/1/0) vs. HM (8/1/0). Last time they met, Mahto won 5-3, but HM had the most goals against Mahto all season. Predict Mahto to clinch it.
Lake: 5 strong teams.
Wayzata 3/2/1 will face Edina and Hopkins, and beat both earlier. EP ties Edina today, with a 2/1/4 record. Wayzata to clinch.
North Suburban:
BSM 7/0/1 faces Spring Lake Park and Chisago - should win both.
St. Louis Park 6/0/1 has 3 remaining conference games, including Totino Grace. BSM clinches.
NW Suburban: Most wide open.
Centennial 6/1/1 faces Blaine and Elk River this week, after a Monday non-conference match against Hopkins. Blaine and Elk River are 4 and 5 in conference.
Maple Grove 6/2/1 faces only Coon Rapids. Should be close, predict a Centennial win against Elk River on Tuesday to clinch.
South Suburban:
LN 5/0/2 faces Burnsville and Bloomington Jefferson
Burnsville 5/2/0 faces LN and Apple Valley. LN will clinch conference.
Suburban East:
Woodbury 7/0/0
East Ridge 5/2/0
Woodbury will has it.
agreed why the big love for mahto they play no one
If AA soccer is horrible then what is A soccer???
6:08, are you the same prognosticator that predicted the Eastview SPA game at 10-1 (score was 0-1)? I think this game is going to be great, evenly matched, and could go either way. Two young teams loaded with talent.
and maybe the same one who picked LVN to crush Blake which ended up being a one goal game..the top class A teams can compete with AA teams.
yes...they can.
Then the top A teams need to start scheduling their non-conference games against top AA opponents. That is the only way to say for sure if they can compete. Take for example BSM. They schedule descent A teams, Orono, Minnehaha Academy and Holy Angels but also then beat up on Breck and Duluth Marshall. They should be playing against other western suburban teams like Wayzata, Hopkins and Minnetonka to really know if they can truly compete.
there are maybe two or three teams that can compete with AA other then that A is pretty awful
upset evening
burnsville over north 3-1
rosemount over eastview 2-1
hill murray over mahtomedi 3-2
I have always found that Class AA has a generally higher level of athleticism (with larger school enrollments it is logical to assume that more athletic, older players are probably easier to find). The elite of Class AA usually have more Premier/ECNL/MWL players in their program. Logic would dictate that a school with 3500 students have a better chance of drawing more athletes, more elite club players, then would a school with 350 students. I have noticed however that occasionally a Class A school will have a group of athletes at a unique time that could compete with the best teams in Class AA state. I think some Class A schools have parrticularly good programs that get the most out of their athletes. Particularly, the really small Class A schools that are consistently good/competitive in Class A are a sign of good coaching or program development. So....in general Class AA teams are stronger than Class A teams. No surprise there. Within Class A...the bigger Class A schools...Benilde, Orono, Totino...even Blake....are far bigger than the smaller Class A schools...SPA, MPA etc. This year, it seems that Blake (competitive with Lakeville North) and SPA (competitive with Eastview)...show that they would maybe 'solid' teams at the AA level...not elite...just solid.
Like my post earlier...Blake will crush SPA. Blake just knows how to win.
LV will be beat Burnsville tonight 2-1. Both teams feature single top scorers with stable mids and good def. Rumor has it LKV keeper is out but that remains to be seen. Home game for LV but I think both on turf so that shouldn't be a big issue. Like most games here on out probably comes down to the top players making plays and no one screwing up. Should be a fun game!
Break from HS talk for one moment: Thunder Development Academy Report card from USSF for the year just ended. Should stir the pot a bit :-)
(ALL SCORES OUT OF A POSSIBLE 5)
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT = 2
STYLE OF PLAY = 2
TRAINING ENVIRONMENT = 1.5
ADMINISTRATIVE = 2.5
FACILITIES = 2.5
FUNDING = 2
RESPECT = 3.5
URL as follows for official ranking of all clubs in the DA and more detail about rankings http://www.ussoccer.com/Teams/Development-Academy/Academy-Overview.aspx
While my kiddos are not at Thunder I will admit my club is no better or worse in these areas if I were to rank the club my kids are with and the USSF would probably rank the club even lower in several areas.......sad state of club soccer in MN.
For comparison:
Shattuck report card:
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT = 2
STYLE OF PLAY = 3
TRAINING ENVIRONMENT = 3.5
FACILITIES = 4.5
FUNDING = 0
RESPECT = 3
How many high schools have coaches that put Juniors and seniors on team who can barley dribble a ball let alone play soccer and leave Freshman and sophs off team to allow older kids to letter. A lot of High school coaches play all the kids on the bench and thus don't play to win. Some do but a lot don't. The you end up hearing well it's just High school soccer. That is true but why is it ok. Isn't the objective to do what is best for the team and not what is best for the bottom few players. You don't see boys team unloading there whole bench to get everyone playing time. Why is more important to win on the boys side and not as important on the girls side.
4:07pm. So true! Seniors on our high school get loads of playing time and most of them only play soccer at the high school level, no club. Than you have freshman and sophs playing year around club sitting on the bench. And than the coach actually wonders why we didn't do so well this year! Why not play your more experienced soccer players and bench your part-time soccer players.
I wish all "top club players" would just boycott HS soccer. Can you imagine what HS soccer would be like without the top players from clubs?
That is so stupid. First of all, 4:07, questions should end with a question mark (?), not a period (.). Secondly, why would you wish all the top players would boycott HS soccer? How selfish is that? It is not about the parents, it is about the players. How often do school friends come to club soccer events? Why would you wish the top players to boycott and not have the opportunity to play HS soccer? It is not about you.
5:10pm You must be a parent or a player of those part-time senior soccer players that play entire games. And you sit there cheering because little Tiffany just did her first header and she's 17 years old!
It's also not so selfish, many top hockey players skip high school all together.
any word on big games tonight?
blake 3-2 over spa in overtime.
Mahtomedi 6
Hill Murray 1
LVN over Burnsville 2-1 overtime. Great game.
5:14 - sorry, your dead wrong. I am the mom of a AA All State player last year, who fully enjoys playing with her school friends, in front of the fans, with pasta feeds, the National Anthem playing, and team sleepovers. That's what it is all about.
Well said 9:26...my daughter ('07) loved her club and her high school experiences and teammates (high school also allowed her to play with some talented underclassmen)...just ask the kids
Talented underclassman is the key! Players are getting better and better. Maybe someday HS soccer will be worth watching, but for now we'll just enjoy the fun side of it.
Anyone know the Wayzata score?
2-2.
10/4/11 3:05 PM
A bunch of people who live in California are never going to rate Minnesota very high in most of those categories. The words "official rankings" mean nothing. Nothing. I could start a web site and say the same thing about California or Colorado or whomever. Minnesota Soccer and the midwest in general continue to improve every year in youth soccer. When I played soccer -a zillion years ago - you never would have scene anyone at a game who even knew the basic rules, now my DD's coach played pro. So did her club coach. Her opponent last week coach is a NCAA D1 ref. The U of M with mostly MN kids continues to look better every year. Rather than stir the pot next time I read your post - if you had a tag - I would just flush the toilet instead.
Wayzata 1 Edina 1
I think peer reviews are the most effective evaluations. According to peers, MTA and SSM were weak.
Like I said, Blake would crush SPA.
game reports?
Blake's "5-0" OT victory
LVN and Bville
Tonka and EP
Esatview and Rosemount
I was at the SPA Blake game. Blake is a good team, controlled the ball in the air a bit better than SPA and had them back on their heels at times, SPA is very young and had lots of pluck and was very skilled with the ball on the ground. Lots of fun footwork. Would not call it a "crushing" by any means. Blake's real strength appears to be set plays. I would say they were dominant in their ability to use free kicks and corners. A few real standout players on both teams, and some speed and physicality on both sides. Full disclosure, my kids went to SPA a hundred years ago.
3:05: You could start a ranking but for what it is worth the USSF is the governing body of soccer in the United States and the owner/operators of the DA program. Your ranking would not likely hold as much weight.......This is a report card of peer clubs in the DA by the operators of the DA program. I do not argue that soccer continues to improve in MN. The point of the "report card" is to show where the current grade stands for MTA and the other DA programs for the year. The data is useful most in terms of monitoring progress YoY moving forward. I posted it for two reasons, 1) To put a check on egos for those who think their club is great and the others suck and 2) to put a check on egos for those that think MN high school soccer sucks and club is great. We all have a vested interest to make MN soccer better overall as MN soccer is currently in the bottom 1/2 of the country from a player development perspective. Let's stop trying to claim our team, club, coach, offspring, school is the best and putting everything else down. Considering where we sit as a state nationally in terms of soccer development overall we should be working to make each competing organization/club/team/school stronger.
Most clubs in the USSF Development Academy received similar grades to SSM and MTA in their 1st year in the program.
To single out SSM or MTA without looking at the "report cards" from the other clubs in their inaugural year is a weak attempt to put Minnesota soccer in a bad light.
Both SSM and MTA have been at the forefront of soccer development in this state and raised the bar for all the other clubs.
Unless you're privy to the 1st year evaluations of the other USSF Academy clubs you're just blowing smoke.
I would love to see reports cards from other clubs in MN!
MN does not have the population nor the weather to ever compete with on either coast and midwest powers Il and OH. just be happy your daughter has found a game she loves and enjoys with friends and relax or move to the coast where they really play at a high level
Looked up Real Salt Lake - Arizona, which is the 3rd and final team to join in 2010-2011 along with MTA and SSM, to test your theory that most clubs received similar scores in year 1. I am not sure how well your theory holds up based on below. USSF does not list historical years for all clubs.
I am not attempting to put MN in a bad light, I am shining the light on some actual metrics from a credible source that can be used to measure progress from the starting point (the current "grades" received). In addition it draws comparisons against peers (arguably the best clubs in the country).
I do not argue your point on Bangu (MTA) and, to a small degree, SSM leading youth soccer development over the past 10 years. Year round soccer training with more experienced, if not trained, coaches is the norm at most clubs now because of what Bangu started.
If I take the premise that MTA and SSM are the best in the State for arguments sake is the State as whole going to get any better if the rest of the clubs continue to try and emulate one or both of those programs based on where these clubs sit against their peers today? Is fighting amongst the clubs and members of the clubs going to make us all better in terms of developing players of a higher caliber? I think not.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT = 2.5
STYLE OF PLAY = 4
TRAINING ENVIRONMENT = 3.5
ADMINSTRATIVE = 2.5
FACILITIES = 5
FUNDING = 5
RESPECT = 3
And back to our regularly scheduled program...HS soccer. Any predictions for MS soccer?
Not sure who Ms. Soccer will be, but I bet she plays club at MTA.
Wow...bold prediction. KH at Stillwater is a Rockstar, and we have a future Gopher GK in the mix.
BS from lvs should be in the mix best defender in the state, playing out of position at center mid. going to madison
My prediction it will be a junior. Maybe JR from Cent. She was named to the national team. Although, they won't do this, but the best girls soccer player in the state is a freshman, SB from Orono (National team, one of the top goal scorers)
Ms soccer has to be a senior, thats just the rules for the award
Too many good offensive players to even consider a gk that has allowed soft goals this year without facing many shots.
Mahtomedi ranked 19th in the Nation according to NSCAA.
10/5/11 11:10 AM
10:45 HERE
First - weight. Really no ones cares. Also most of us know that there are 6 premiere clubs at every age level, (plus 1 or two that may play higher) - so we give club 8 solid teams at every age level. There are about 300 HS teams.
Does this mean that HS is different than Club..?
Of course.
Does this mean that HS is meaningless.
Of course not. HS soccer is the icing on the cake. HS soccer is played in stadiums, has more fans and catches more INK.
HOWEVER HS soccer has 12 year olds playing against 18 year olds. HS has kids who a the age of 7 could perform the Maradonna move at full speed against a kid who was recruited because she was 6 foot two and fast but has never played club soccer.
Speed, size, talent and age are are more diverse in HS soccer than in club soccer.
And that's the final answer....
I think me and you may be on the same page, however after 15 years or coaching, voluntering, reffing, and being at meetings at 10 pm on a Sunday night I take great umbrage at your statment of "sad state of club soccer in MN". I consider that an insult to me and my friends who have given up other opportunities to build the sport ESCPECIALLY ON THE WOMEN's SIDE.
My journey of parenting and watching my DD play soccer is closing. I wish you well on your journey and to your dd as well with all sincerity.
My advice is this. In your later post you talked about "parents ego" in both points. I don't think parent ego has a lot to do with anything. Also how do you measure ego? Of course parents are going to brag about their kids. It could be band, football, soccer or grades. How many "MY KIDS IS AN HONOR STUDENT" bumper stickers have you scene. Does that mean that MN has an inferior or bragadocious academic system.
The MTA or whoever parents are for the most part normal. They have just choose (as have you I guess) to allow their DD the chance to compete at the highest level she can attain, or at the highest level that she chooses to attain.
I think that is a good I think or I have wasted countless thousands or hour and dollars.
Best of luck on you journey.
splitsville ( the real splitsville)
PS
9:57 thanks for the intelligent and meaningfull post on the SPA Blake game.
Well said, thank you.
The top girls and boys players this year are both Juniors (JR & MG) and not eligible for the award. It has to go to a senior...I think it's wide open as to who will win.
It's too bad it has to go to a senior. The award should honor the best players in the state. Oh well, I agree at the senior level it's wide open.
Thanks mom!
It goes to a senior as they have been playing and building their high school career over many years. Just to hand it to an underclassman who scores a lot wouldn't say much for the award. It's something that has to built over the years. The player must demonstrate leadership within their team, play different positions if called upon from their coach and consistantly be recognized as an All State selection.
11:10: Appreciate your response, helped clarify my thinking a bit which is needed often. My overall goal was to take a different approach at trying to bring some sense of "we are in this together, and MN (we) are in the lagging half of the country currently" A call to action, if you will, to help foster a soccer environment in MN that consistently provides players the best learning and development environment. The negativity toward "the others" that is present across many clubs and some members of clubs is a barrier that needs to be lowered a bit (As a realist I know it will always exist).
Sorry to offend on the "sad state of club soccer" comment. There are, and hopefully always will be, great individuals in MN soccer and I did not intend to offend but see how I did. Also an overstatement as I do not know all clubs in MN and generalized based on the two I know very well and 3-4 others I have had dealings with over the past many years. While each club has great individuals the clubs themselves, that I am familiar with, struggle to stay true to their stated mission and miss many opportunities to provide a better environment for their players.
As you point out, ego is not the right word. Ego can be a very useful in terms of self confidence, pride, forming a sense of community. I should have used "destructive egos" which I see/hear all to often from people associated with my kid's clubs and members of "outside" clubs. It carry's over to high school teams as well, at least the one I cheer for, in that the destructive ego's create riffs, tensions, clicks, etc within the high school teams based on the players club affiliation.
Have an ego, be proud of your club/HS, but not at the expense of others and in the context of the "small pond" that is MN. It just might lead to more of our MN players and teams having the opportunity to swim in a bigger pond down the road.
three to keep an eye on tonight
Edina v Tonka
Woodbury v Mounds View
Eagan v Rosemount
Still nutty as ever...I love you guys.
my picks for the finalists for AA Ms Soccer
KH at Stillwater
LC at Eden Prairie
BS at Lakeville South
MB at Mahtomedi
HW at Jefferson
I would add MN and MT from Woodbury. For "A", seems like JR from Simley is a top choice.
who will be the number one and 2 seeds in each section?
The best two teams!
Any scores to report?
Anyone know the Woodbury, East Ridge, Maple Grove, Burnsville, or Stillwater scores? LN won 1 to zero.
burnsville 4-0
stillwater 2-1
Stillwater 2-1 over WBL
Park 1-0 over East Ridge
KK at Eagan should definitely be in the running for Ms soccer. best keeper hands down, and no clear front runner in field players.
Eagan over Rosemount 4-1
Any score on Eastview/Prior Lake?
EAG's keeper won't get it, esp after conceding several weak goals. I've seen them.
Several weak goals? Eagan has only given up 6 goals all season
Eagan keeper is good player and should be considered...if only six soft goals let in, then she must have stopped all the difficult ones! what a ridicules comment 11:33.
EV vs. PL tied 1-1. EV must be overrated
Sec 1 is LVN
Sec 2 is Burnsville
Sec 3 is Eagan
Sec 4 is loaded...take your pick.
Sec 5 is Way
6,7,8 coin flip
Sec 5 is Way???
my guess is they meant 6?
Wayzata in section 6 and Wayzata isn't going to come out of 6. It will be someone unexpected.
There really haven't been any challenging ones.
I wouldn't hand section 3 to Eagan either. They will probably win, but the final is on turf at Park and IMO that is favorable for Eastview assuming these two teams make it to the final.
Section play should be very interesting this year. LVN, Centennial, Burnsville, and Duluth East SHOULD win their sections but none of them are iron clad locks. Sections 3, 4, and 6 are really wide open in my opinion. And I have no clue on section 8.
Section 6 will be very interesting in just the seeding process. The QRF has them:
1. Wayzata
2. Minnetonka
3. St. Louis Park
4. Mpls South
5. Hopkins
6. Mpls Southwest
7. Armstrong
8. Cooper
Wondering if the seed meeting will go the say way?
Is there a place online to see which teams are in which sections? Thanks
www.minnesotasportsonline.com
At the top of the page click on
MN-scores
then Girls Soc
it lists the teams by section and conference and you can get the QRF results as well
Section 3A...
Section seedings could go like this...
1. Blake
2. SPA
3, 4, 5. Holy Angels or Minnehaha or Visitation
6,7,8. Trinity or Washburn or DeLaSalle
Thoughts?
AHA beat Vis 5 to 1
Vis also lost to SPA 6 to 0
AHA tied SPA and Benide
MHA lost to SPA and Benilde
MHA and Vis will play each other for 4th spot
1. Blake
2. SPA
3. AHA
4. MHA/VIs
5.
6. Wash
Y'all talk about how up in the air the senior class is for Ms. Soccer. If an award could go to the best player in each class for both A and AA, who are some candidates ? Who gets considered ? Only award winners recognized by the state ? Scoring/ Total Points ? Is it full body of work or just one season?
Ready Go..haha
Centennials top scorer went down in the Blaine game last night. It was an even match and Blaine almost came back. Sections should be wide open.
add section 5 to the anyone-can-win-it category if she is out.
5AA seeding should be interesting - Centennial slightly ahead of MV and MG in the QRF, but much stronger intra-section records for MV and MG. Think you have to give MV the #1, MG the #2 and Cen #3.
Teams that could mess up life for higher seeded teams in Sections
Sec 1 - Lakeville South
Sec 2 - Prior Lake
Sec 3 - Park
Sec 6 - Hopkins
All are very good defensive teams that don't score much. They could take anyone to a shootout.
watch out for Stillwater. They found their mojo late.
MG has two losses in Sections. Is that really much stronger than one loss and two ties? Agree MV should clinch the top spot, unless there is a huge upset today.
Section Predictions:
1AA - LN with 6 section wins should clinch easily, LS second (3 wins, 1 loss and 1 tie in section matches).
2AA - BV has 6 wins in sections, but has not faced EP. EP has 3 wins and a tie against Edina. PL lost 1-0 against EP, BV, and Eagan (non-section), so they have some talent. Predict BV against EP in final, with PL as the potential spoiler.
3AA - Park has played only one section game, while Eagan has 3 wins, including a 1-0 win over Eastview. Predict a Eagan vs. Park final, with Park prevailing.
4AA - Arguably the strongest section, with Mahto posting 8 wins in sections. Woodbury is close with 5 wins and a close loss (1-0) against Mahto. The spoiler goes to ER who plays with heart and passion. I predict a Mahto vs. ER final, with Mahto advancing to State.
5AA - Centennial took MV two years ago, MV prevailed in the 30 plus attempts shoot out last year, and the they tied in their match this year. Spoiler goes to Osseo if the injured players return. I predict MV in a tight match.
6AA - Another strong group with WAY posting 5 wins and 1 loss to Tonka. Spoiler alert for Hopkins and SLP. WAY should prevail with a win over Tonka.
7AA - All over the board on this one, but would say Andover will take it over Blaine, with Duluth East as a spoiler with one of the top goal scorers in the State.
8AA - ??? - perhaps the weakest section in the State. STM, Rogers, Anoka, and ER should be the top teams, with STM advancing.
Any scores to report? ER vs. HM?
ER over HM 2-1
When will the sections be posted?
Section 2
#1 Burnsville
#8 Bloomington Kennedy
#4 Prior Lake
#5 Bloomington Jefferson
#3 Edina
#6 Shakopee
#2 Eden Prairie
#7 Chanhassen
section 1AA
#1 north
#8 Mayo
#4 Century
#5 Owatonna
#3 Northfield
#6 Farmington
#2 South
#7 JM
1. LVN
2. EP
3. Eagan
4. Woodbury
5. Centennial
6. Minnetonka
7. Duluth East
8. Rogers
6AA
1. Wayzata
8. Cooper
2. Minnetonka
7. Armstrong
3. Hopkins
6. Mpls Southwest
4. St louis Park
5. Mpls South
Sec 6 predictions
-Wayzata
-Armstrong - yes Armstrong will upset Minnetonka
-Hopkins
-St. Louis Park
Armstrong? What have you been smoking? Any other section seedings to report?
1 (1) Lakeville North (14-0)
2 (2) Mahtomedi (16-0)
3 (3) Eagan (13-2)
4 (5) Woodbury (13-3)
5 (4) Burnsville (12-4)
6 (6) Wayzata (12-2)
7 (9) Centennial (13-1)
8 (7) Eastview (10-2)
9 (10) Eden Prairie (8-3)
10(NR) Park of Cottage Grove (12-3)
Others receiving votes: East Ridge, Minnetonka, White Bear Lake
1 (1) Benilde-St Margaret's (13-0)
2 (2) Blake (15-1)
3 (3) St. Paul Academy (13-2)
4 (6) Rochester Lourdes (14-1)
5 (4) Totino-Grace (10-4)
6 (5) Holy Angels (8-5)
7 (7) Orono (11-4)
8 (10) Minnehaha Academy (9-4)
9 (NR) Park Center (7-7)
9 (NR) Kasson-Mantorville (13-3)
Others receiving votes: Visitation, Chisago Lakes, Monticello, Holy Family Catholic, La Crescent
How does BV end up behind Woodbury and Eagan?
WB lost to EA 0-2 (BV beat EA 1-0)
WB lost to Edina (BV beat Edina 2-0)
BV beat Eagan head to head
Eagan lost to LVS (BV beat LVS 2-0)
Rankings aren't the be all and end all (the state tournament is) but it means something to the kids and fans and should at least be logical.
Eagan finished ahead of Bville in a tough conference...seems logical to me still. Stop trying to come up with 2 games of the season with these teams to make a point and open your mind and look at the whole picture. You realize you could also argue Eagan didn't lose to anyway Bville lost to.
Seems logical enough that they be ranked in conference order.
How does EP even stay in the rankings, let alone move up, when they go L-T-L to non-ranked teams in their last three games?
Good point.(from anonymous 2:33)
"You realize you could also argue Eagan didn't lose to anyway Bville lost to"
That's one of the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
I want club! This is getting very old especially since we're talking about mediocre soccer at best.
Club is boring.
5:16 and club soccer in MN is not mediocre! wake up and smell the roses. There have been special players and teams in the past from MN, but very mediocre to below average soccer at best coming out of MN! Just the truth
Depending on club and level of team, I would say that's slightly above mediocre. But HS soccer is mediocre at best.
There is a reason why college coaches don't recruit players from high school, they go to college showcases.
Seriously 5:46pm have you truly watched HS soccer? Sure it's alot of fun for the girls playing for their high school team and in some cases getting to play with friends that don't play club with you. But come on!
We watched the Wayzata vs Hopkins game this past weekend on the local cable channel (2 better than average teams) and it was still painful! Boot ball!
Once again, it is not about the level of soccer. It is about playing for your HS and all the perks. The same could be said for any other sport! Let the girls enjoy their HS season, and any opposition to that is just selfish parents or club coaches.
HS soccer is fun for me! I have lots of fun, but it's also frustrating to play with such different levels. 604 sounds like your one of those c2 players that play for a couple months out of the year and think your great cuz you made varsity.
607 sounds like a delusional parent, or worse, MTA coach, that doesn't want girls to play HS soccer, for selfish reasons.
Curious how Hopkins gets the 3 seed ahead of SLP in Section 6. Head-to head tie. SLP higher by several positions in QRF, which is supposed to take strength of schedule into account. Strength of schedule would be the only argument for Hopkins with a 4-6-6 record.
Thanks for the insight, Mr. Miller!
Just go out and win SLP and prove all these so called "experts" wrong!
Every section is prime for upsets this year! Wait and see!!
If SLP was in class A, they would be ranked in the top 10, but so would the top tier AA clubs. Due to enrollment the school always gets bounced around from A class to AA class and vice versa.
Section seedings are really predictable based on what teams are in what conference. They usually stick together in the voting process. Hopkins will claim they played better opponents (8 ranked, winning 1 game, while Park has won/tied against quality A class teams (5 ranked 2 win, 1 tie). Both teams met during the year and tied 1-1.
Wayzata is the clear favorite..
but who plays them is wide open.
Of course there is a lot of soccer to be played but hopefully the top teams won't get upset in order to have the possible section finals and state tourney. All the number 1 seeds need to win (except Section 4 where you could get one of 3 strong teams and Section 3 where Eastview is as good as Eagan) in order to put together the best available final. I personally don't see LVN or MAH winning it all (IMO) as I don't see an undefeated team for the year. Burnsville is talented but too young and not experienced at keeper. I think if Eagan can get past Eastview and with a top keeper they could easily win it. The winner of Section 4 will certainly be tough given the brutal schedule to get out of that Section. My prediction is Eagan vs Woodbury (they are still playoff experienced despite the grads) with Eagan winning it.
Burnsville fan, tell your girls to be happy with the #5 ranking. They finished ahead of Eastview, who beat them.
BV was 1-3 vs the top 10 in the final poll. Eagan was 2-1-1. BV had 3 losses in SSC, finished 3rd. Eagan 2 losses, finished 2nd.
BV had 4 losses, losing 25% of their games. Eagan had two losses.
Rankings look appropriate.
1. LVN- can't see them losing in sections but crosstown rival is lurking.
2. Bville- too much offensive power for a young EP team to handle
3. Eastview- sends Eagan home with a payback victory
4. East Ridge- as good a pick as any to survive this section
5. Centennial- only if their star forward is healthy- otherwise it's the Mustangs
6. Minnetonka- toss up with Wayzata but think they get it done
7. Duluth East- been playing better as the season closes
8. Rogers- in a close battle with STMA
who will be seeded at state? 1, 3, 5, 6?
This is Blake's year (finally!) to win Class A. While our section is quite tough, I think Blake will go through. Their defense will win the championship.
I would think seedings will depend on the individual teams who advance and not the sections. Lots of potential for upsets so whoever moves on will be seeded pretty closely to their coaches ranking. Teams out of sections 1,2,3 and 4 would be my prediction but that will probably be proved wrong by an upset along the way. Good luck to all the teams moving forward!
anyone know what is up with sections 4, 5, and 8? have they met and just not posted?
Section 5 met Sunday. I can't find them posted.
All the brackets are found here. You need to make a few clicks to navigate to the individual sections.
http://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/activitypage.asp?actnum=414
http://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/regions.asp?region=5AA
Here is 5AA
would be nice if the link was right on the girl's soccer home page!
Thanks 11:56!
any scores?
Rumor is that Eastview, Eagan, Rosemount and Vally won.
Apple Valley over Park?
Yes 4-1 AV
south suburban semis in section three. one ssc team going to state for sure.
ssc...its as easy as 1-2-3!
that is section one, two and three.
id the valley win over park does not say something about the strength of the ssc this year i don't know what does. valley struggled in conference but hammers park, an alleged top 10 team?
So much for those QRF's! I've seen my daughter's team beat or a tie a team that has loads more talent. Than I see them lose to a team that she have beaten up.
Any Given Day! Any Given Day!
8:07...so true. Any team, any day, anything can happen. Look for more 3-6, 4-5 upsets the next few days. For the most part the 1's and 2's should get through the first round, but after that it's wide open!
Class A upsets....I see Trinity beating SPA on Thursday (Trinity was a conference champion and defends well)...so I see a #7 beating a #2. Also...Benilde seems to lose in Sections every year. So...Blake is the favorite to win Class A.
9:14 -- I don't disagree with you about Blake having an excellent shot at class A, but SPA beat Trinity 3-0 first time out, beat Vis, which beat Trinity, and on and on, so not sure where your prognostication is coming from, unless you are the same person who indicated SPA would lose 10-0 to eastview and be "crushed" by Blake, neither prediction being close to true.
Eastview/Valley and Eagan/Rosemount should be intense games tomorrow
All same school district, lots of club players playing against friends, coaches who don't like each other
SPA over Blake in section final. The Blake stops there.
Anyone know when the State banquet will be held for the All State and Honorable Mention players?
8:14,
How do you know the coaches don't like each other?
Because I'm one of them.
Anyone educated enough to throw out a strawman all-state team or will that simply invite parents of DD to say "susie from All-star high is one that should be on there"
Maybe only MA or that BOLD Insightful guy have enough knowledge across the metro.
let the debate begin on which coach 751 may be? I love it, can you give us a hint?
Sections are gearing up and there some good match ups of 4 vs 5 and 3 v 6 tonight.
Farmington v Northfield
Jefferson v Prior Lake
Hill Murray v East Ridge
Stillwater v White Bear
Mpls South v St. Louis Park
Who gets the nod going into these games?
nfld
jeff
er
wbl
mpls s
you really believe that is a coach? come on you've got to be smarter than that
Prove it that I'm not, loser
Bold?? are you out there? By posting you will bring the focus back to HS soccer and away from the side discussions like the one above. What's your call for this week?
Thanks 10:16
N will win big
PL by 1
ER will win big
S by 1
SLP by 1
How about: which number 1 section seed is most likely to be upset and not make it? I would guess most would say Mahtomedi in part because of the difficulty of their schedule. However if they don't win it's not really that much of an upset. I think Burnsville is most vulnerable as they have already lost 4 this year
I will start a list, based on last year's selections, and add a few of my own:
GK:
KK from Eagan (Senior)
CW from Woodbury (Senior)
Forwards:
AF from Duluth (Senior)
KH from Stillwater (Senior)
JR from Centennial (Junior)
AF from WBL (Senior)
SK from LN (Junior)
MB from Mahto (Senior)
MN from Woodbury (Senior)
AB from Burnsville (Sophomore)
MG from CR
Mid:
LC from EP (Senior)
TH from Andover (Junior)
KS from Wayzata (Junior)
EO from Stillwater (Senior)
EC from Tonka (Junior)
AH from Duluth (Senior)
BS from LS (Senior)
JB from Rogers (Senior)
Defense:
HW from Bloomington Jefferson (Senior)
ML from Centennial (Senior)
MT from Woodbury
???
Feel free to add, delete, criticize...
8:41AM, I might be able to hazard a good guess, but I already know the candidates from the Sub East, and know that the coaches prefer to keep things confidential for just a bit longer.
http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2010/10/24/2010-mshssca-girls-a-all-state-and-honorable-mention-teams/
http://www.insidemnsoccer.com/2010/10/24/2010-mshssca-girls-aa-all-state-and-honorable-mention-teams/
Look for some names to return to the All State team this year.
Before I make some picks, here’s a question to pose: How much does coaching come into play on the girl’s side during the post-season?
As much as I distain the style of play of the H.S. game (you know, the “direct style” with a “highly compact defense”, aka. bootball, boot and scoot, send it & bend it, the English hail-mary, stay & pray, …), I have come to believe that coaching is the biggest factor on the girls side in the post season. Prior playoff experience also seems to factor in heavily, as for many girls this is the only time they play in any sort of one and done format, even during club season. I’d like to say that individual skill, determination, chemistry, etc. should prevail, but history says this just is not the case, at least on the girl’s side.
So, since most of the old farts are still coaching, should we just go with the usual suspects for state? Is the level of parity really down to a level this year that the historic trend changes? Does a new era of coaching start to emerge?
As fun and entertaining as this year has been with the regular season ups and downs, I just don’t see it happening. For sure there will be some close calls, but I’ll be bold with my section picks by being decidedly un-bold and saying history will continue to repeat itself:
1AA: LVS
2AA: Edina
3AA: Eagan
4AA: Woodbury
5AA: Mounds View
6AA: Wayzata
7AA: Duluth East
8AA: Anoka
Kinda boring, but it would be ground breaking in itself with only three #1 seeds advancing, plus I can’t ever recall when neither the #1 or #2 ranked team in state did not qualify for state.
Don’t see any #1 seeds getting popped out early, but here are the #2 & #3’s beyond Park (ouch!) that could be at risk:
1AA #3 Northfield vs. #6 Farmington. Don’t know a lot about these teams, but going Farmington as I had heard their game against Eagan was even at times.
3AA #2 Eastview vs. #6 Apple Valley. The Lightning seemed to be running out of gas late in the regular season and AV surprised Park in a big way in the first round. Playing it safe and staying with Eastview, hopefully they are recharged after some rest.
4AA #3 East Ridge vs. #6 Hill-Murray. Last game was a close 2-1 win for the Raptors. I’m worried about this one, but staying with East Ridge.
6AA #2 Minnetonka vs. #7 Armstrong. Tied during the back-half of the regular season, going Tonka in OT.
6AA #3 Hopkins vs. #6 Minneapolis Southwest. Hopkins in PK’s.
Your picks are bold Bold, but I think you will be lucky to see 4 of your 8 picks advancing to state.
Thanks for the commentary this year.
Tonight is why I love HS soccer. Crisp, fall air, playing under the lights, rivalries, all on the line in single elimination matches. Hopefully not too much of the style of play described by Bold above, but even if so, get out and cheer on your favorite team!
4:44p. I hear you!
upsets
rosemount over eagan 2-1
farmington over northfield 3-2
Eagan won 2-0
Eastview won 2-0
1. LVN
2. EP
3. Eagan
4. Woodbury
5. Centennial
6. Minnetonka
7. Duluth East
8. Rogers
Rogers is out. Lost to Elk River
Any more scores from tonight's games??
ER over HM 2-1 (shoot out)
Prior Lake over Bloomington Jefferson 1-0
Edina over Shakopee 3-0
EP over Chanhassen 3-0
THanks for the updates, keep them comin'
Minnehaha over Visitation in shootout.
SLP over Mpls South 2-1 in double overtime
Woodbury over Cretin-Derham 3-0
Northfield 1 Farmington 0
Centennial over Irondale, 7 -0
Osseo lost as well, to Champlin Park I believe.
Section 3 Class A
AHA 5 - 0 over DeLasalle
SPA 5 - 0 over Trinity
Mahtomedi 5
Tartan 2
LVN 4-0 over Mayo
Wayzata 8-0 over Cooper.
Minnetonka over Armstrong
WBL vs Stillwater?
WBL by 3 when i left
600!
Hopkins over Southwest
Sounds like no huge upsets so far.
Since 3's beating 2's isn't really an upset, which of the 1's playing 4's is at risk?
LVN v Owatonna
Bville v Prior Lake
Mahtomedi v White Bear
Centennial v Champlin Pk
Wayzata v St Louis Park
Blaine v Andover
Anoka v Elk River
WBL over Mahtomedi. WBL smoked a surging Stillwater team 4-0.
1:15 Agree with the prediction. WBL "with confidence" can be a tall order. MAH will hit a steel wall.
PL will give Burnsville all they can handle...would not be surprised there either.
WAY streak could come to an end as well.
LVN will roll onto victory as will Centennial
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