U-15 / PLANO LABOR DAY INVITATIONAL

The U-15 brackets and schedules had been set for one of the years biggest tournaments until they were suddenly taken down on Monday. A message explaing that the schedules are being adjusted and be updated soon is on the website now.

The weather forecast shows "cooler" temps in the low 90s with no rain in sight so this is going to happen.

As soon as the schedules are reposted we'll take a look at where our local teams are placed.

Gameday04

This...is a tradition. It happens wayyyyy more than it doesn’t.

The schedules have once again been posted and here's a look at some of the brackets.

GOLD
Bracket 1
Chelsea East, Dallas Texans-Rangel, FC Dallas ETX and ID Houston Legends.  
Look for Chelsea East to lead the group and the other three to fight it out for number 2.  It will be difficult for a Wildcard to come out of this group.  Look for a very deep run coming from this group.

Bracket 2
Dallas Roma, FC Dallas-Pino, Houston Dynamo and Mandeville Lakers.
This Dynamo was here earlier this year and having them in the Gold tournament is a head scratcher? (assuming it's the same squad) Look for Mandeville who is ranked #1 in Louisiana and Pino to be 1 and 2 in this bracket. A Wildcard is possible.

Bracket 3
Baton Rouge, FC Premiere Green, HP Drifters and SLSC Cosmos.
This is the GROUP OF DEATH and should be the most compelling. Expect FC Premiere to bring a collective club effort. Baton Rouge was competitive last year and made it into the knockout stage. HP Drifters opted out of Classic League for travel reasons and will want to make a statement.  The Cosmos play a tough Oklahoma schedule and tournaments - so who comes out?

SILVER A
Bracket 1 has Barcelona SC and Dallas Tigres who were thought to have been Gold worthy? Who knows what quality will be coming from out of town in the likes of Maya FC and Oklahoma Energy? Looks like a very evenly matched tournament where a team can catch fire and make a run.  

PREDICTIONS ARE WELCOME.

Let's have a fun and safe tournament and "All I ask of the referees, (dramatic pause) is to protect the players".

The Mandeville Lakers are coming,  so what's the big deal?
A quick browse of the tournament schedule shows the Louisiana club bringing their Boys and Girls U-15 and U17s.  This is the first visit by the 04s who are the reigning Louisiana State Cup Champions and the #1 Gotsoccer ranked team in Louisiana.
At the 2018 Southern Regional Championships they-
Lost 2-0 VHSC Steamers (Reg. Camps),
Lost 0-1 Dallas Texans-Faber,
Lost 0-4 Rise 04 Elite.
One could ask if that close loss to the Texans opened their minds to the idea of visiting North Texas?  If that is the case or even if it's not,  the big deal is that the North Texas' reputation of quality teams and competition continues to grow throughout all of Region III and beyond.

So what's the big deal with that is also the more exposure our teams can get during the year, without even having to travel-  could perhaps make a difference at cracking the ceiling at the Regional level.   We must compete better at the Regional level if we are to have any ambitions at the,  dare I say it,  National level.  

Yes, we already have the Frontier/National League competition but it's exclusivity narrows opportunity. So IF we are able to draw the competition here to us,  this increases our exposure and that's a huge benefit!

So when you see the Mandeville Lakers- WELCOME THEM TO "DALLAS" AND THANK THEM FOR COMING.  

Now let's get out there and beat them!!

Day 1 is in the books and this is where things stand going into Sunday morning-

GOLD
Bracket 1
Chelsea East vs. Texans Rangel
FCD ETX vs. ID Hoston Legends
It's a little complicated but if the Texans or FCD can win by a 2 goal margin, they could advance as the #1 and #2.  Chelsea East and Legends advance with wins of their own. Also, a Wildcard is likely to come out of the top seeded group.  

Bracket 2
The winner of FCD-Pino vs. Mandeville Lakers will win the group.  However, Dallas Roma could leapfrog Mandeville if they can earn 10 pts vs. Houston Dynamo and a Mandeville loss with a shut-out. A Wildcard out of this group is likely but not guaranteed.

Bracket 3
The winner of Baton Rouge vs. SLSC Cosmos will be #1 and the other will be #2.  A Wildcard from this group is possible but not likely.  

SILVER A
Teams showing a good performance so far are Dallas Tigres, Inter United, FCP Dynamos and FCD Gold.  

Good luck to everyone moving forward and as they say in the fight game "protect yourself at all times". This is North Texas after all?

The knockout stage is set and we have some intriguing matchups.

Chelsea East vs. FCD ETX in what seems a regularly scheduled foe going back to their days together in D2.  FCD has only scored twice in the last 4 times (all losses) they have met. This has to to be of concern to the coaching staff.   How will draw it up and how will they plan their attack?

FCD-Pino vs. FC Premiere - nothing is easy at this level but FCP limps in with a 6/10 goal differential.

Cosmos vs. Mandeville is a great reason to have this tournament as Oklahoma faces Louisiana. Cosmos won a close one vs. Baton Rouge who is just a tick below Mandeville so get your popcorn ready!

Baton Rouge vs. Houston Legends features a welterweight style matchup. A lot of speed and physicality for 12 rounds. Ding-Ding!!  

Congratulations to all teams headed into the knock out stage! STAY HYDRATED and protect yourself at all times!!

Looks like there was some well contested games in the quarters and we're onto the semi-finals.

GOLD
Chelsea East vs. Houston Legends
Rematch from group play where it was a 1-1 draw. Both teams had close quarter final matches and it's likely a close one here.  What are the additional time rules for this tournament? For all practical purposes,  this seems to be the final.  In other words, the winner here could win it all.  

FCD-Pino vs. Mandeville Lakers
And this is the other rematch from group play where FCD won 2-1.  Will the Lakers put something together? It seems they have been hit and miss from game to game not scoring more against teams they should have? Look for Pino's side to find a way again?

SILVER A
Both the Dallas Tigres and FCP Dynamo found their way into the semis. We could have seen them better positioned in the Gold tournament instead of another participant?

Uh-oh, keep the umbrellas handy!

The final is set and it's D3-D2-D1 CHELSEA EAST vs. Louisiana's #1 ranked and reigning State Cup Champion Mandeville Lakers.

Chelsea East had an impressive 2-0 win vs. Houston Legacy who were a 1-1 draw in the group stage.  

Mandeville Lakers took a 2-1 win over FCD-Pino who had lost 2-1 in the group stage.

It's up to CHELSEA EAST to PROTECT THIS HOUSE!!
Let's have a great final!!

CHELSEA EAST 8 - 0 Mandeville Lakers

Let that sink in...

After seeing the posted score,  we did a double- take and had to look it up on Gotsoccer AND IT IS NO TYPO!

In a knockout stage that featured these tight scores; 2-1, 4-2, 0-2, 0-1, 2-0 and 1-2 Chelsea East "released the hounds",  "opened up a can", "Mama said knock you out"- insert your own phraseology for an 8-0 dismantling of an opponent.

CONGRATULATIONS are in order for this special team, Champions of the Plano Labor Day Invitational!

CONGRATULATIONS are also in order for the 3 North Texas teams that made it into the SILVER A semis; Dallas Tigres, Inter United and the FCP Dynamos who are the Champions beating our TSC Hurricane from Oklahoma with a 3-2 final!