ECNL-08

smugrr wrote:On the RL front, DKSC won easily over Sting Austin. Perhaps they do not have much depth past the A team.

There isn't a lot of depth. We didn't even really have an 08 team at all last year. Pulled over 95% of the top Lonestar 08 team to make the ECNL team, and then pieced together the RL team. I imagine more depth will arrive as they get older.

Close game today for the 08 ECNL vs Sting Black. Black won on a late goal. Good game and can't wait to do it again.

Game of the week is Solar vs Sting Black on Sunday. It increasingly looks like a three team battle for the conference title (along with Sting Austin) and the winner this weekend will have a leg up, while the loser will have very little margin for error left.

Neither should look past their Saturday opponents, Texans and DKSC, however, who are each good enough to beat anybody and will see the games as "must win" to keep alive any hopes of getting into title contention.

Big weekend for Albion, whose only loss was on a late goal to Sting Austin. Tall task, but two wins would springboard them into the conversation.

My guesses:
Saturday
Sting Royal -1 Challenge
Sting Black -2 Texans
Solar -1 DKSC
Sting Austin -3 Tulsa
CE -1 Celtic
Albion pick'em FCD

Sunday
Solar pick'em Sting Black
DKSC -1 Texans
CE -1 Tulsa
Sting Austin -3 Celtic
Albion -1 Sting Royal
FCD -2 Challenge

DKSC beat solar 4-1

Weather prevented the Sting Austin and Classics Elite trip to Oklahoma, but results elsewhere offered a shakeup to the standings. Power rankings :
1. Sting Black - most complete team and clear title favorite
2. Sting Austin - held their own vs #1 and #3 last week and are probably the only team with a chance to knock off Sting Black
3. DKSC - Two big wins this weekend show they are legit.
4. Solar - beat up on the Oklahoma teams, but yet to post an impressive result against anyone else.

And the rest...
5. FC Dallas
6. Albion
7. Texans
8. Sting Royal
9. Classics Elite
10. Challenge
11. Celtic
12. Tulsa

Watched the 2nd half of the Sting Black vs Solar game while waiting for my DD game. Solar was only playing with 10, but had a strong wind at their back and it was pretty evenly matched.

If those are two of the best teams the Texas conference has to offer, there is a long way to go before either is a national title contender.  Solar was undisciplined and sloppy. Sting Black was just playing kickball and hoping for a mistake.  Both coaches seemed more interested in yelling at the ref than encouraging their team to connect passes through the midfield. It wasn't very pretty soccer.

U-13 is too young for ECNL. It is a money grab. They should still be focused on “development” I use that term loosely.

I give my odds to DKSC to more than challenge Sting Black.I have watched all teams play, some twice and some more. DKSC seems to work better as a unit than any of the other teams. btw I'm impartial to any team. Just see it that way with 52 years in the game.

In the U13 DSKC I witnessed an amazing feat by one one the back defenders as she performed a Cruyff turn move not only once but twicet in a great mazy run to goal....clinical indeed.

Any action this last weekend?

smugrr wrote:Any action this last weekend?

Several Stings were seen in the U90 tourney, they won, not shocked.

But games coming this weekend in ECNL and RL.

1. Sting Black
2. Sting Austin
3. DKSC
4. Solar
5. Albion

Game of the weekend is Albion vs. Solar. Must win game for both to have any chance at postseason play.