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Commentary: With respect to elite youth soccer in the state of South Carolina; there were basically three stories in 2006. CUFC in only its first year of existence came on strong in terms of placing finalists (and thus securing RIIIPL-East slots). CESA continues to dominate the state in terms of finalists and champions. And the Bridge experienced a "sophomore slump" in terms of making progress with respect to securing finalists and champion positions.

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Chico—

You have excellent info and conclusions from that data—Thanks—

My 2 cents—CESA has a great track record with Girls soccer; there is something there we could all learn from.

Also, how do we make a bigger impact regionally?

If you look at the U16B state championship match—Does SC aim to have a state champion (best team on that day) or do we look at a season's worth of success at a regional level (PLRIII champion)?—Interesting to look at the U16B and think of this—

I saw some "hot" teams at state cup that may or may not be the "best" team over the long haul—What does the state or any club want?—Then how do we do it?—

SC soccer can continue to improve—That is exciting—

purpleandyellow...interesting you should ask about the "overall" success of the U16 age group...

DSC
U13 - State Champion; beat CESA in overtime (golden goal)
U14 - Finalist; lost to CESA; R3PL CHAMPION
U15 - Semi-finalist; lost to Bridge in double overtime; R3PL-TIED FOR 2ND W/ CESA
U16 - State Champion

CESA
U13 - Finalist; lost to DSC in overtime
U14 - State Champion; beat DSC
U15 - State Champion; beat Bridge; R3PL TIED FOR 2ND W/ DSC
U16 - Finalist; lost to DSC; R3PL CHAMPION

So, over the course of the last 4 seasons, these two teams have been VERY evenly competitive, both with their fair share of ups and downs. It is unfair to imply in your post that DSC was just 'hot' yesterday...or maybe I just misunderstood your post. Either way, CESA Premier and DSC 90 Green have been pretty evenly matched. Anytime these two teams get together on the pitch, one never can predict the outcome...

Never intended a "hot" comment to be negative; first, there is nothing wrong with being "hot," although I was actually referring to U17 matches, not the U16B.

The U16B results are perfect for discussing what the GOAL in SC should be—state cup or regional/national success. In other words, should CESA U16B place NOT winning state in context of winning PL???

This is a hard one—raising it because I don't know.

Again, look at the U16B; they could easily BOTH deserve to be #1 in the state, whereas in other ages (either B or G), only one team is clearly the best.

I truly meant NO negative comments about either U16B; it was a well played match, two fine teams. And as posted above, a great record over years.

P&Y

I would be very interested in your comments on the U17 matches.... I would very much like your definition of hot

Lexington went 14-0-1, and CUFC went 11-3-1 in the season through cup, certainly not R3PL but still had to beat both R3PL reps and last years regional quarterfinalists to get to the final.

I am certain that both teams filled their schedule with tough outside the league opponents to ensure this type of performance.

Why the Hot comment?

OK—one more time—"hot" for me is not as negative thing! The two teams I pulled for that both won state cups were HOT Sunday. And individual players were hot.

As I stated above, I do not use that term as a negative. I will say that on Sat U17B Lexington was playing with fire and pace; I was pulled to watching that match because a team was hot.

I hate the focus has been on the "hot" comments because I am more interested in SC looking beyond single matches and to sustained quality. I believe shooting ONLY for state cup is asking too little of our soccer in SC. BUT winning state cup is great!

"Hot" (defined): In sports, a player or team that successfully combines talent and passion in a sporting moment that raises the level of results. And often inspires other athletes and the fans.

This was a fun group to watch...CUFC beat Bridge 1-0 and lexington beat CUFC 1-0..Very competitve group..
Between CESA,Bridge,CUFC and Lexington..Any team could win any given week

If I had to have picked an upset this weekend, other than the U17B (where last August I was calling out Lexington as a very, very strong team), it would have been U16B. I couldn't have predicted DSC (and no doubt would have picked Bridge given RIIIPL-East results); but I would have predicted that if an upset were to occur it would have been CESA U16B losing. Why? Because CESA U16B had already won a place at regionals by winning outright the RIIIPL-East title. Given the history of close, competitive play among Bridge, CESA, and DSC at this age group, it wasn't hard to understand how a relatively small factor could tip the scales.

Regardless, I'm a bit confused as to why the strong negative response to the "hot" comment made earlier. When I read it, it seemed to me that the point is simply being made that a one-and-done tournament format when there are closely matched teams may not yield the same result as a 2-out-of-3 (or whatever) format. Seemed to make inherent sense.

With regard to competitiveness, the goal differential for U15-U18 from 2004 through 2006 was as follows: 1.6, 2.4, and 2.0. This year for the first time the average goals against was effectively 0. The only final matches in which the goal differential was 3 or greater was U15B (CESA 3, MPSC 0), U18B (Bridge 3, CESA 0), and U18G (CESA 4, CUFC 0). Interestingly, a single CESA coach accounted for an impressive 7 point swing in the goal differential.

My apologies P&Y....I read more into it than there was.

I agree with your statement on the saturday game, it was one of the better ones this weekend