03 Classic League D1: 2020-21

Everything is weird this year, including the lack of discussion.  We’re 2 games in (3 in a couple of cases), and we’ll have mid-season promotion/relegation after 9 games, so let’s get to it!  Comments in order of official 2019-20 finish.

Based on results, FCD Premier looks like they may prove to be stronger than last year when they won the league.  With FCD’s move of their Premier teams to ECNL, U18 will be the one year where CL will still see this level.

Solar DeLeon had a tough game with Sporting right out of the gate, but I expect they’ll be tough as usual.

Falls Town makes the jump to Frontier Conference play this year and won’t sneak up on anyone.  A 0-1 result this weekend against FCDP shows they’ll be a Top 4 consideration again this year.

FCD Che looks on brand so far, with Top 4-level performance an annual expectation.

FCD Borgarello took a step forward last year, and have 2 good results so far — will they make a serious run at Top 4 as well?  

FC Premier is always tough, and we’re making a move in the second round of games last year that got wiped from the record books.  Top 4 consideration is going to be crowded!

Solar Donnelly has gotten out of the gates slowly, and looks like 1 of 3 teams that will be in the mid-season relegation battle.

FCD Waters is a head-scratcher. Che had a situation a few years ago where his D2 team got promoted and his established D1 team got relegated — could we see Waters’s 2 teams exchange leagues at mid-season?

Sporting United has been posting strong tournament results over the last couple of years as they ascended the league ranks.  I expect they will be solidly mid-table and not in the relegation fight.

And Dallas Roma looks to be in the relegation fight as well. Congrats on the win today though!

Given all the above, I’m going to predict the mid-season standings as follows:

1. FCDP - 25 points
2. Solar DeLeon - 18
3. Falls Town - 17
4. Sporting United - 15
5. FCD Borgarello - 14
6. FCD Che - 13
7. FC Premier - 12
8. Solar Donnelly - 7
9. Dallas Roma - 4
10. FCD Waters - 2

Let the debate begin!

Nothing? No one? Bueller?

Crickets ...very good and probably very accurate like always. This is the last year for most of the kids. I think most of the kids are focused on getting a commitment for college and this season is just another year of parents to brag which team is the best

It will be interesting to see how recruiting goes for this age group this year with Covid. I tend to think colleges will be looking much later into the year (into the summer 2021) to fill up next Falls freshman class. With some college programs playing in the spring and some not playing at all, I anticipate recruiting is taking a back seat to all the college coaches have going on.

I am hopeful the National League and Regional league events have heavier than normal college coaches this year due to the ill put together MLS DA league/scrimmages they have going on as well.

Too early to tell how the teams in D1 will shake out but your list looks good as any. Surprising number of players moving around this summer and new faces on a number of teams.

Can someone give a recap of the Borg-DeLeon match in the PLD semis?  Borgarello has already beaten FC Premier and tied Che, and now PLD champs - maybe 5th was too low of a prediction?

[quote="Longview"]Can someone give a recap of the Borg-DeLeon match in the PLD semis?  Borgarello has already beaten FC Premier and tied Che, and now PLD champs - maybe 5th was too low of a prediction?[/quote]


Borgarello played really well and pressed like crazy. They were all over the ball and worked really hard and were the better team. The forward for Borg, I think #20, was a handful and won a lot of contested balls up top to keep them going towards goal.

Deleon can play better than they did in that game but all these teams are probably pretty close. So far, I have not seen any team that is way behind the others or one that is way ahead. It's possible FCD Premiere runs and hides at the top of table but time will tell.


Hopefully these tops teams can complete these Regional League and National League games and showcases so college recruiting kicks in for the fall and spring.

Borgorello is the real deal.  If they beat Deleon and Premiere they will take the lead into the break.  

Solar West also coming on strong to shore up their place in the middle of the table.  Heard they are moving teams down to D2 and some up at the break but not sure on the details or how that works.

After the first 9 games, D1 9th and 10th go down, and D2 1st and 2nd go up. Don’t know how they are handling points (maybe they are inheriting each other’s position and season to date record/points).

Looking forward to doing an analysis on my predictions after the first 9 games. I got plenty of things wrong!

Longview wrote:After the first 9 games, D1 9th and 10th go down, and D2 1st and 2nd go up.  Don’t know how they are handling points (maybe they are inheriting each other’s position and season to date record/points).

Looking forward to doing an analysis on my predictions after the first 9 games.  I got plenty of things wrong!

It's actually 8th, 9th and 10th go down. 1st, 2nd and 3rd move up, etc.

Should be interesting.

Longview wrote:After the first 9 games, D1 9th and 10th go down, and D2 1st and 2nd go up.  Don’t know how they are handling points (maybe they are inheriting each other’s position and season to date record/points).

Looking forward to doing an analysis on my predictions after the first 9 games.  I got plenty of things wrong!

At the CL manager's meeting, they said that after promotion/relegation, they would zero out the points, and take a three week break. First 3 games of the spring season will be played starting around October 31.

Longview wrote:Everything is weird this year, including the lack of discussion.  We’re 2 games in (3 in a couple of cases), and we’ll have mid-season promotion/relegation after 9 games, so let’s get to it!  Comments in order of official 2019-20 finish.

Based on results, FCD Premier looks like they may prove to be stronger than last year when they won the league.  With FCD’s move of their Premier teams to ECNL, U18 will be the one year where CL will still see this level.

Solar DeLeon had a tough game with Sporting right out of the gate, but I expect they’ll be tough as usual.

Falls Town makes the jump to Frontier Conference play this year and won’t sneak up on anyone.  A 0-1 result this weekend against FCDP shows they’ll be a Top 4 consideration again this year.

FCD Che looks on brand so far, with Top 4-level performance an annual expectation.

FCD Borgarello took a step forward last year, and have 2 good results so far — will they make a serious run at Top 4 as well?  

FC Premier is always tough, and we’re making a move in the second round of games last year that got wiped from the record books.  Top 4 consideration is going to be crowded!

Solar Donnelly has gotten out of the gates slowly, and looks like 1 of 3 teams that will be in the mid-season relegation battle.

FCD Waters is a head-scratcher. Che had a situation a few years ago where his D2 team got promoted and his established D1 team got relegated — could we see Waters’s 2 teams exchange leagues at mid-season?

Sporting United has been posting strong tournament results over the last couple of years as they ascended the league ranks.  I expect they will be solidly mid-table and not in the relegation fight.

And Dallas Roma looks to be in the relegation fight as well. Congrats on the win today though!

Given all the above, I’m going to predict the mid-season standings as follows:

1. FCDP - 25 points
2. Solar DeLeon - 18
3. Falls Town - 17
4. Sporting United - 15
5. FCD Borgarello - 14
6. FCD Che - 13
7. FC Premier - 12
8. Solar Donnelly - 7
9. Dallas Roma - 4
10. FCD Waters - 2

Let the debate begin!

I never circled back on this -- never let it be said that I hide from my bad predictions!

Underperformers (aka Longview was too exuberant)
Sporting United (Actual points were 10 below prediction) - That week 1 draw with DeLeon ended up being a mirage for both teams.  Didn't expect Sporting to end up this low, but that's why they play the games.

FCD Premier (-eight) - I don't think anyone had a 3rd place finish in mind for FCDP.  They had some big wins but didn't take care of business in a couple of cases.

FC Premier (-5) - I nailed the league position, but FCP seems a shell of the juggernaut they were a few years ago.

Overperformers (aka Longview sold them short in the predictions)
Solar Donnelly (Actual points were 7 above prediction) - This team took a step forward, and was even more impressive when you remember they started the fall with 3 losses.  Took 14 of 18 points after week 3.

Solar DeLeon (+4) - Fall champs, and went 3W 1L against the rest of the top 5.  Hard to argue with that.

FCD Borgarello (+4) - 2nd place, only loss to DeLeon.  Hats off to a great fall season.

FCD Che West (+4) - I was probably a little hard on Che in the prediction.  Typical steady play.

After 3 matchdays in the second half season, all 7 non-relegated teams are within 3 points of 1st place, so it is going to be tight come Spring.  Here's to a good HS season for those playing, good National League results for those playing, positive showcase experiences, and good health in the coming months.