SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Girls Varsity Soccer Wando in the polls

Shouldn't losing a game to the #14th ranked team in the state (James Island) have cost Wando at least one spot in the 4A poll. Still at #3 I see. Oh well...

Take a look at the boys poll and see what a loss to the #1 and #4 teams in the state did to FM and DF respectively.

...and the jump Irmo made.

...and the fact that Fort D lost big the past two weeks to ranked teams and holds their spot. You lose 7-1 and you need to take some time off from the polls. The final rankings are all that matter I guess.

TL Hanna is 8-3, how can they not be ranked?

How should a losing team be ranked in the top ten in the 2A polls? I know they can state strength of schedule, etc. But strength of schedule is relative to each individual team.

Yeah. How can the Yellow Jackets not be ranked???

[QUOTE]Originally posted by William Aiken:
[QB] ...and the fact that Fort D lost big the past two weeks to ranked teams and holds their spot. You lose 7-1 and you need to take some time off from the polls. The final rankings are all that matter I guess.

WA there are "Ranked teams" that have way more losses than FD YET u feel that these teams should be ranked but not FD. hhhhhmmmmm

Also bear in mind FD have also won games during this time frame but I guess that part "dosen't count right.

Wando As Black Hole

Upon further consideration, I think Wando's effect in the 4A poll is that of a soccer black hole. As we all remember from the Discovery Channel and high school and college physics there exist in space collapsed supernovae so massive their matter converges in upon their centers creating a superdense yet relatively small (in cosmic terms) body that sucks in all matter within its effective gravitational field. In reflecting upon a 5 day period of time when #3 Wando takes a 2-1 pk victory from #11 West Ashley then loses to #14 James Island in pk's one would assume some degree of parity (equalness) among the three teams in the polls. JI then defeats WA in regulation on Friday night. Such parity has historical precedent in recent memory.

But instead of the three Region 7 teams converging somewhere between the #6 - 11 spots we see Wando remain implacably at their #3 rank. No movement. JI and WA behave more as expected: JI moves in three spots reflecting their two victories over higher ranked opponents while WA with two losses on the week backs up a bit to #12, just on the other side of JI. Two good west of the peninsula teams play Wando even, but Wando doesn't budge in the rankings.

Is there a flaw in Newton's laws of gravity? No, Einstein's rules take over: It's the Black Hole effect. Wando (and Mount Pleasant in general) has long been known to exert a cultural and economic gravitational force that far exceeds its population demographics. Straighter teeth, better cars, a plethora of Starbucks, more bottled water per capita... these are but a few manifestations of Wando's gravitational force. Now we are seeing its effect in the polls. Play two lowly ranked Region 7 rivals to pk's, win one and lose one, yet hold steady on the 4A rankings like the North Star itself. Impressive feat.


ps: The only thing about the Black Hole analogy that bothers me is the name itself. As best my aging eyes have seen, no African American players have been present on the Wando Varsity team for the last 5 years. Any one for the White Hole effect?

I'll leave the Wando bit to the professionals. Outsiders have no voice in that matter.

Reggae, the sole win Fort Dorchester hangs their hat on is James Island. It seems JI wasn't clicking on all cylinders then as they are now. It happens. Coach makes some changes and BOOM the team is on fire. The opposite can happen as well. D.W. Daniel lost their stud and are struggling and will continue to struggle the rest of the season. Teams get streaky.

Other than that, what has Fort D done? I mean, they lost to 4-9 Stratford. They're 8-5 and have been outscored 26-2 in their losses.

T.L. Hanna is a team that should be ranked ahead of them. They're 9-3 while being outscored 5-9 in their losses. They've lost to #5 Dorman by 2, #4 Emerald in pks, and #11 Daniel by 2...and had already beat them earlier in the year.

Its all a matter of opinion and I respect yours and those that configure the rankings. What say you, man?