'03 Head Scratchers

The tale of Liverpool Rush:  What gives?  Which team are they?
Current Standing:  10th place

Close wins (1pt) vs FCDS Blue (#19) and Warriors (#20)  -  85 goals against
Big wins (>3pts) over LP Barnes (#13), FCD Red (#14)  

Close losses (1pt) vs FCD Gold (#2), Sting G (#3), FCD Premier (#5) - 2.5 goals/gm
Big losses (5pts) to LP Elite (#6), Sting H #8 - avg <2 goals/game


The tale of FCD Red:  What gives?  Which team are they?
Current Standing:  14th place (3-2-7)

Wins over Sting G (#3) and Sting H #8
Tie vs FCD Premier (#5)
Tie vs FCDS Blue (#19)
Close win vs Sting West (#18)

I'd say both teams are good middle of the road teams. On any given day they could play any of the top teams close or they could get blown out. However you could probably say that about quite a few teams. All but one of the top teams coming into the league have at least one head scratcher performance (heck some have 2).

If you look at things right now you'd probably feel pretty safe to assume that the Top 6 teams in the standings are locked into DI for next year. If you use 25 pts as the somewhat magic number needed to qualify then you'd have to assume that DT 03 can find a way to get at least 4 or 5 more points with their current roster. I feel pretty confident Cosmos and Sting H will move past that 25 point mark within the next three weeks and will have no issue qualifying.

That leaves basically 5 teams fighting for one spot, LP Rush, FWFC, DFeeters, LP Barnes, and FCD Red.

Now with remaining games against FCD Gold, DTS, SRSA, that only leaves Barnes with about 4 winnable games without pulling an upset and even if they won all 4 of those games you are only talk 22 total points so they are a long shot.

FCD Red has 7 games left that you could easily make the argument they could win so they at least have a shot, although asking a team to win 5 out of 7 games when they've only won 3 so far might be asking a lot but at least there is a shot. I guess you could also add Andromeda to the discussion as well because they have 7 games left and each one of them would be considered a toss up so they could get hot at the right time but it's still asking quite a bit.

DFeeters have a tough schedule as well with games remaining against LP Elite, DTS, FCD Gold, and SRSA. So they would need to pull off an upset win or two in order to give them a shot gaining 15 points out of a possible 21 remaining.

So it really looks like it's just going to come down to LP Rush and FWFC for the 10th spot (unless Andromeda or FCD Red go on a tremendous winning streak). When you look at both schedules it really looks like it might come down to their 4/12 matchup. If one of the teams can get the win straight up it might just be enough points to lock down the spot.

I know that's a bit off topic but its cold outside and no one is coming in today so I was bored.

Very nice summation by Grand.  

I thought FC Dallas Red was the team to look out for, but dropping the first 2 spring games really hurts.  Given some of their earlier results in the fall I thought they could go nearly unbeaten in the spring (many of those being draws).  FWFC becomes the interesting team for now (could change after a week or two of results).

And congratulations to Solar - they have already qualified for D1 next year!  The best the #11 team can do is 35 pts and Solar already has 36pts.

i think its a matter of inconsistency and poor effort for LP Rush. The ten spot is theirs if they want it, but given their lackluster performance, one wonders if they really want it...

One game can really make a difference. FWFC wins 1-0 over FCD Red and I think they were both tied at 11 pts going into that game. Now FWFC looks like they have a fighting chance and FCD Red might have to catch a hot streak.

As far as LP Rush goes, they are a solid team but over the past two years that's always pretty much been their profile. Good athletes, good at taking advantage of a mistake but at times struggle to make their own opportunities, however you could say that about almost any team really. I'm sure last week they were probably pressing a little because you always want to show well against the other teams in your club but things apparently didn't go their way, from the sounds of things Elite finally played up to their name so it was just their day. It happens.

I'm not sure any 10/11 year olds really know what they want or really even care if they are DI, DII, or DIII next year. I'm sure they are told about it by coaches and parents but I'm fairly certain there probably aren't but a handful of kids that even know what the process is for qualifying for the league next year, heck most parents don't really have a clue either.

My guess is the team that worries the least about making the 10 spot and just goes out and plays each game without the extra stress will end up earning the spot.

Should make for a very interesting next 7 weeks.

Yes fcd red and feet are in for tough spring...

3 weeks since you posted about head-scratchers and not much has changed:

FC Dallas Red jumps up to 10th and then loses 4-1 to LP Barnes.

LP Rush finishes their tough stretch of games, wins once, and gets back into 10th.

FWFC gets 1 point against 2 top 10 teams and is hanging in there, but their schedule looks more difficult than the others.

Fever still plays both Rush and Red (and Warriors) - can they go on a run?

4 games left with 1 spot still to fight for (not mathematically, but realistically)!

FWFC has the hardest path of the contenders for the 10th spot.
FCD Red has a good chance that could be enhanced with some CPP love.
But my money is on Rush or Fever.