2008 Illinois State Cup

Discussion in 'Youth & HS Soccer' started by chicagosoccer38, Mar 6, 2008.

  1. chicagosoccer38

    chicagosoccer38 New Member

    Dec 21, 2007
    The brackets come out saturday at the soccer expo. It will be interesting to see how things shake up at the academy ages with all the major teams and players gone to academy. Any predictions on seeding and who will win at each age group?
     
  2. Scotch41

    Scotch41 Member

    Jul 31, 2007
    13 Sockers
    14 Wind
    15 Sockers
    16 Sockers
    17 Sockers
    18 ?
     
  3. FIRETILIDIE

    FIRETILIDIE Member

    Jan 5, 2007

    :eek: I hope Soccer America doesnt see this!!!!
    (dont you look at the rankings???);)
     
  4. beautifulgame11

    beautifulgame11 New Member

    May 16, 2005
    Of all those selections I don't think any of those proposed champions would be "upsets". Certainly not in the eyes of people who follow these age groups and don't just go hunting for vendettas, would you be happy if we said the Fire Jrs were going to win at 14 :) (and in all honesty if any of the following won I wouldn't be shocked Fire Jrs, Wind, Sockers, Magic, or Eclipse).

    I don't think the predictions were to far off at all. From 16-18 who knows what will happen...as upwards of 95% of the top players play for the 3 academy teams. I would think that Eclipse would win the 18 championship based on the fact that they have always been close to the top at that age..and the magic/sockers/raptors teams are now all pulled apart because of the academies, but the 16 and 17 teams could very well be won by Sockers as they use a very deep player pool and still have strong sides for those ages.

    At 15 I still like the Fire Jrs. over the Sockers though. The Fire Jrs kids seem to always find a way to get the close results to land in their favor in state cup, and the sockers seem to be snake bit in the event. I will say that with Richardson now working with this group (at least I would assume he does) that they have a much better shot now than in previous years.

    But its hard to guess on winners until the draw is out. After Saturday it will be much easier to predict who will win, as some of the better teams might have draws that make it very hard for them to get through (esp at 13 and 14).
     
  5. beautifulgame11

    beautifulgame11 New Member

    May 16, 2005
    aaaaaaaaaaaaand haven't you heard...its about development silly silly hoosier.
     
  6. bcboy

    bcboy Member

    Nov 16, 2007
    I will be very surprised if the Wind u-14 doesn't win State Cup. They remain a very formidable team (they retained all of their players over the winter) and the Magic and Sockers have yet to assemble teams up to their usual high standards. For whatever the reason, u-14 in Illinois is not as strong as it has been over the past several years.

    At the u-15 level, the Sockers have to be the team to beat. They are loaded from top to bottom and the Fire's run should come to an end. By the way, does anyone know if any of the Sockers or Fire players at u-15 are ineligible due to Academy participation?

    Unfortunately, at u-16 and above, it just doesn't matter any more.
     
  7. FIRETILIDIE

    FIRETILIDIE Member

    Jan 5, 2007
    Well it would be silly to say that the Wind arent the favs at U14, so I wont. But I havent had a chance to see them play Sockers,Magic or Eclipse (with their full squad) so I dont know how their games have been played and how they match up. As for the CFJ U14's we should be better prepared for the tournament than last year ( our first).
    I just wish they rotated some of the games to different sites or something so I could go watch the other clubs and age groups. :)
     
  8. so1mio

    so1mio Member

    Jan 10, 2007
    Lake Zurich
    Club:
    FC Kaiserslautern
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Wind u14 are the favorite. They only lost one real good player to Sockers. Sockers would be better if they combined players from their elgin and white team. CFJ u14 will never get anywhere until they stop caving into politics and nationalism. How many decent players have left because of this.
     
  9. so1mio

    so1mio Member

    Jan 10, 2007
    Lake Zurich
    Club:
    FC Kaiserslautern
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    True. Sockers u15 could split into four five teams and all of them will have chance to win the state. They sure are loaded.
     
  10. JohnR

    JohnR Member+

    Jun 23, 2000
    Chicago, IL
    My understanding is that several new Fire recruits at that age are tied to the Academy, but only one guy from last year's Naperville squad (VP).

    Every Sockers U15 is eligible and will play in State Cup.

    So, it looks like pretty much the same cast as last year.
     
  11. Scotch41

    Scotch41 Member

    Jul 31, 2007
    At 13 the Sockers added 2 new players from the Blast, the team they beat in the State cup Championship, both were starters for the Blast.
    At 15 seem to be playing well, while the Fire lost a couple of players to the Academy
    At 16 they have 10 players that played with the top team last year plus a couple of new players along with a strong second team.
    At 17 same as 16.
    This may be one of the last years for the Sockers /Magic domination, as I hear a lot of the parents of the younger kids talking about moving to the Fire Juniors for a better chance of being chosen for the Fire Academy team when they are of age to play.
     
  12. so1mio

    so1mio Member

    Jan 10, 2007
    Lake Zurich
    Club:
    FC Kaiserslautern
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    I also hear that a few u15s will move to wind as wind need some good players and sockers have no room for them.
     
  13. bcboy

    bcboy Member

    Nov 16, 2007
    Everybody is ignoring the Wind u-15 team. Never underestimate Sole and JD--I would expect them to add a number of very talented players, particularly in light of the Magic/Wind affiliation beginning at u-16. Some of those Sockers players live much closer to the Wind than the Sockers.

    Why drive to Elgin when Highland Park is in your backyard, particularly when the best coach in Illinois is in charge of the Wind.
     
  14. dumpnrun

    dumpnrun Member

    May 30, 2006
    I'm sure you mean JD. Pass me another one. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
     
  15. chicagosoccer38

    chicagosoccer38 New Member

    Dec 21, 2007
    Does anyone have any news regarding the brackets yet? I thought they come out today but I haven't seen anything on the IYSA website.
     
  16. FIRETILIDIE

    FIRETILIDIE Member

    Jan 5, 2007
    really not for this thread but we've been with the U14 team for just over 2 years and the answer to your question is zero.
     
  17. beautifulgame11

    beautifulgame11 New Member

    May 16, 2005
    Anyone know when this is released??
     
  18. the Next Level

    Mar 18, 2003
    Chicago, IL
    I would disagree with that.

    The best U14 players are as strong or stronger than years before and certainly deeper. Of course who knows what happens to these kids as they get older, find social lives, jobs, etc.

    Many of the teams are coming together later than previous years. Top teams like Galaxy, Eclipse, Magic and Fire Jrs. were all average up until this Fall when many of the holdout players finally started to consolidate.

    I would say the preseason faves are going to be Fire Jrs and Wind, especially if Fire picks up the kids that have been training with them this winter and gets them to gel.

    Overall U14 in IL this year is better for individual development of players and not as good for dominating teams.
     
  19. beautifulgame11

    beautifulgame11 New Member

    May 16, 2005
    You dont happen to have a kid at this age do you :)
     
  20. the Next Level

    Mar 18, 2003
    Chicago, IL
    so would you like to talk soccer?

    Have you seen this African kid at Fire Jrs yet? He may be the best U14 in IL. Period. Came out of the blue.

    They also picked up a couple other tough players over the winter.

    They are actually going to have a midfield this Spring, which should make them very tough.
     
  21. beautifulgame11

    beautifulgame11 New Member

    May 16, 2005
    Not sure what this has to do with what i said...but whatever.

    I never said the Fire Jrs weren't good...i just made a joke because you love this age group in IL and act like they are some revolutionary age, so i simply asked if you had a kid in the age. I know the Fire Jrs have a very strong 14 team (and never said anything contradicting that)...and they would be one of the teams that are in the pack that could take down the defending champs. No doubt about it. But again...that didnt really have anything to do with what I said previously.
     
  22. beautifulgame11

    beautifulgame11 New Member

    May 16, 2005
    Man the IYSA is dragging their @$$es on releasing the brackets! Anyone have an idea about when they come out? I heard from a lil birdie that the Sockers have some great seeds!
     
  23. the Next Level

    Mar 18, 2003
    Chicago, IL
    We've already been through that. I have liked many age groups in IL history. I particularly like this one because almost 0 of the top 5-10 players play for Sockers or Magic.

    I am especially interested to see what that will mean for their future careers. So far all of our successful players have been GKs or defensive players at the nat and pro levels. I suspect that the club upbringing of these players will change that.

    Regarding bcboy's post - and not to attack him personally - but any state that has as many as 6 players in the national pool at an age is in no way having a downturn in talent.
     
  24. beautifulgame11

    beautifulgame11 New Member

    May 16, 2005
    No doubt....that brian mcbride guy sucks.
     
  25. Around the World

    Around the World New Member

    Nov 21, 2007
    Wow that's a serious knock on the talent level of U14 Sockers and Magic. :eek: How about the kid that moved from the Wind to Sockers that is in the 94 Natinal Pool, NG to you as well?

    Would really like to see your top 10 list (no need for names, just Sockers 0; Magic 0; Wind 6; Fire 1; Galaxy 3 etc). This should spark a heated discussion. :rolleyes:

    BTW, for U14 State Cup my vote goes to the Wind. The King is stil the King until proven otherwise. Likewise for the U15 Lightning/Fire except I also like a more focused U15 Sockers this year. More can be said after seeing how the 2 teams perform in Dallas Cup.
     

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