The Gameday STATE CUP Breakdown

Rain or shine it's time to lay it all on the line for the North Texas State Cup!

This year's (04) edition features more independents (7 teams from 6 clubs) vs. the big clubs (4 FC Dallas, 2 Dallas Texans, 1 Solar) rounding out the field of 14 teams.

All teams are local with the exception of Falls Town FC from Wichita Falls and the High Plains Drifters from Amarillo.

Here's what to look for in each Group:

Group A
CHELSEA EAST who we saw recently look like a runaway freight train. Fast up top, solid in the back.
FC PREMIERE FORZI - D1
DALLAS TEXANS RANGEL - D1
HIGH PLAINS DRIFTERS - PPL D1

Group B - GROUP OF DEATH - whoever makes it out in one piece will surely have deserved it!
DALLAS KICKS - D1
SOLAR HEDGES - D1
FALLS TOWN FC - D2
RAYOS - D2

Group C
FCD PREMIERE- D1
FCD KANG - D1
FC PREMIERE GREEN - D2

Group D
DALLAS TEXANS FABER - D1 Defending State Cup Champs
FCD PINO - D1
FCD MOLINA - D2

Only two teams will advance from groups C/D.  We don't see any reason why we wouldn't expect FCD Premiere advance as their familiarity with their opponents and use of guest players. The second spot will likely come down to the winner between Kang vs. Pino which will be right off the bat.  

Good luck players!

Breakdown?
Yes, in a ways some teams certainly did breakdown. Wait, what? Huh? Excuse me?

Apparently,  Division 2 is once again imposing its will against Division 1. That's right,  I'm bringing back that crazy assertion from years back, but it's hard to argue against the final scores?  

Let's start with FC Dallas Molina's 2 - 1 defeat of a virtually unrecognizable FC Dallas Premiere. Think about that, a D2 offense broke down this D1 defense that only allows 1 goal per league game? That's a huge D2 victory over a D1!

Next was Rayos 5 - 0 BLOWOUT vs. Dallas Kicks who must be running on fumes as previously mentioned? That's another D2 win over a D1.

However, Texans Faber defended D1 by beating D2 FC PREMIERE Green 3-1. That's one D1 win vs. D2.

Solar Heges squeaked out a 1-0 win vs. the highly regarded Falls Town.  That's another D1 win vs. D2.

But the last head scratcher of the opening night was Chelsea East's scoreless draw vs. PPL's High Plains Drifters!

The beauty of the State Cup is that anybody can rise up, compete and beat anyone regardless of Division or how many DA players you can "guest/club-pass" onto your team with the nod and a wink from North Texas?  

It's a shame that some players and their families who have paid the contracts,  put on the miles to practice,  kept their end of the bargain only to have their kids playing time eaten up by "guest/club-pass" players. What is the lesson here for our young men? What is the lesson to the parents and their wallets?

Did I just say what a lot of people are thinking out loud?

ALERT: GET YOUR POPCORN READY!!

FALLS TOWN VS. DALLAS KICKS
After last night's surprising loss, the Kicks find themselves in a MUST WIN situation against a tough, fast Falls Town who themselves need a win to keep their dream alive.

FC DALLAS PINO VS. FC DALLAS PREMIERE
FCDP is licking their wounds and are also in a MUST WIN situation if the Franchise expects to advance.

Things self corrected just a bit and every group has meaningful games that will decide which teams will  be advancing to the knockout phase.

Group A
Chelsea East and High Plains Drifters came up with wins on Saturday and are tied at 13 points going into Sunday. So it will come down to the game results and possibly tie-breakers.
C.E. vs. FC Premiere Forzi
HP Drifters vs. Texans Rangel

Group B
The highly touted Dallas Kicks have been eliminated with their second ugly loss. Falls Town came up with a win but the Rayos earned another 4 points with a draw vs. Solar. So it's the D2 Rayos currently sit on top, and the group will be decided by the outcome of both Sunday matches.
RAYOS vs. Falls Town
Solar vs. Kicks

Group C/D
FCD Kang, FCD Premiere and FC Premiere Green came up with wins to make things interesting.
ALL 6 TEAMS are between 9 and 11 points!  
The current points leaders FCD Pino can likely advance with a win vs. FC Premiere Green.  FCD Kang vs. FCD Molina can reveal one of the teams that will advance?  The other game that will be pivotal is FCD Premiere vs. Texans Faber, the defending champs need the result and some help.  

Group B will have a clear winner,  but keep a look out for Group A and Group C/D which could come down to the tie- breakers that are;
A. Head to head winner,
B. Winner of most games in group play,
C. Goal differential,  max 4 goals/game,
D. Fewest goals allowed,
E.  If a tie still exists it will come down to PKs between the two teams.  

Looks like a very interesting Sunday morning with all 7 games being played simultaneously!

"How the mighty have fallen."
We should have known we were onto something when we included the word "breakdown" in the title of this topic?

As previously mentioned,  the beauty of this tournament is that teams from different Leagues and divisions get to play out their game style on the field in search of the State crown.  

If we would have predicted at the beginning of the tournament that Chelsea East, Dallas Kicks and FC Dallas Premiere would not be advancing to the knockout stage- you would've called us crazy!  But yet,  that's where we're at.  

Looking at the tables it's odd that Chelsea East despite winning 2 games and drawing one,  and only allowed 1 goal are not advancing.

Who could have predicted Dallas Kicks winless tournament and only 1 goal scored? Then again, we practically did.  

Consider FC Dallas Premiere who never recovered from their opening night loss to D2 FC Dallas Molina has got to make you wonder considering they get the pick of the litter?

BUT LET'S GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE.
Starting with those HP DRIFTERS  whose story is interesting. Remember, they won the Classic League Division 3 and were set to be in D2 this year, but opted to turn down that invitation because Classic League could not assure them that they would accommodate their travel from Amarillo by simply scheduling 2 games per weekend. How hard is that to do? Shame on Classic League for not being more open minded? Imagine if the North Texas soccer scene really opened itself up to teams from outside DFW? In a way,  it would be righteous payback if they actually win the whole thing.  We'll see.  

Let's hear it for the Division 2 RAYOS who are in the mix despite them probably staying put in Division 2 by failing to finish in the top 2.  

FC DALLAS KANG will have a crack at the crown by playing solid defense only allowing 2 goals.

And last but not least FC DALLAS PINO who showed some intestinal fortitude to find a way.  

One could argue that the higher seeds did end up playing a tougher schedule,  but this is a quick, tight tournament and teams simply need to max out on the 10 point system despite their seeding.  

CONGRATULATIONS to all teams that participated because all of them are quality teams as are their clubs that is for sure. Should their be a different format for the tournament? Maybe? We're sure the nuance of the tournament would be different if the guest players and club passes could be minimized instead of the liberal policies it currently has,  but then again the teams advancing are the ones that appear to have their year long roster players on the field.  

Once again,  congrats to all and may the team playing best in this tournament win!

Well said Gameday,that is the beauty of soccer and specially this tournament.You can come out and dominate your 3 games and still come short at the end.
Give credit where credit is due.The 4 remaining teams have had a tremendous tournament.Good luck to all 4 teams

The High Plains Drifters did not actually win Division 3 last year. We came in third place behind two great teams in Falls Town and Rayos. The other facts about us not accepting our bye is true though. Thanks.

Thanks Tileboy68 for that clarification. We think it has become part of the Drifters urban legend that they won D3 but walked away on their own terms? Also thanks to Chelsea East for demonstrating some good sportsmanship!

What do you two think,  are the Drifters last years Chelsea East? A team from D2 making a deep run all the way into the finals?  Last year it seems like people kind of new about Chelsea East already, but didn't necessarily expect them to run past a few of the big teams?

Good luck moving forward!

WHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF AN ALL FC DALLAS FINAL?
Then again, what are the chances of an all NON D1 final?  At this point both scenarios seem possible. The astonishing thing is that the remaing 4 teams may not even be top 5 seeds? Even crazier is that 2 teams were in fact not top 10 seeds. But again, more power to them.  Call it favorable scheduling,  luck of the draw, good timing, whatever.  The point is they beat their brackets and now find themselves just one game away from the final.

HIGH PLAINS DRIFTERS  
vs.
FC DALLAS KANG
In group stage,  the Drifters dealt the fatal blow of the tournament by virtually eliminating Chelsea East in that opening 0-0 draw. But it is the often overlooked,  often underestimated Kang krew that rebounded from an opening loss to play balanced ball up and down the pitch in their remaining games. Their battle tested defense closed the goal zone allowing zero goals. We look for them to play with that same resilience in the semis.  

RAYOS
vs.
FC DALLAS PINO
When you really get down to consider this tournament,  there were some scheduling anomalies when you consider the Rayos beat a seemingly uninterested Kicks team, then drew vs. Solar, and then a sound beating of a seemingly unready Falls Town? But again, you can only play the games on your schedule.   Pino's only mark against was a 1 goal loss to FCD Premiere.  Favorble scheduling put them against the familiar Kang and D2 FC Premiere Green. Again, you play the games in your bracket We look to Pino to stifle the D2 uprising by using their experience at this level.  

Let's see how this plays out- good luck and play safe!

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WEATEHER UPDATE-- THIS RAIN IS GOING TO CREATE SOME SCHEDULING HEADACHES!
What if this weekend is rained out? This week Pino has 2 Classic games on the schedule, Kang and Rayos have 1 each?

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST-
NORTH TEXAS SOCCER NEEDS TO RECONSIDER THE STATE CUP.  NO WONDER OTHER STATES HAVE THEIRS IN THE FALL?

It was soon after that we raised the concern that the semi-finalists would be playing on dead legs due to unplayed Classic games,  that we now seen a reshuffling in the schedule.
Pino and Rayos now only have one game this week and oddly enough Kang has none.

Honestly, we didn't think we had that much influence in the matter? But, ok.

Some of our parents don’t understand why we have to keep checking our kids out of school for half a day and us taking off of work to play a game at 8:00 on a Friday night. Last time I checked I thought this was the North Texas State Cup that encompasses all of North Texas not a tournament for Metroplex teams only. We all pay the same North Texas Dues, I think. Yes we may play in different leagues or live in different parts of North Texas but anyone can represent North Texas Soccer at the next level. What’s worse dead legs from playing a soccer game earlier in the week or riding in a car for 5 1/2 hours to then get out and play a soccer game. The most crucial thing after all that being said is I hope we get to play the game there is nothing worse than driving down and back and not even getting to play the game because of Mother Nature. Friday is probably a better day weather wise for soccer it looks like than Saturday anyway. May the best team win whoever it may be and represent North Texas well.

It appears that scheduling and the weather have finally gotten on the same page so it's play on!

Tileboy68 gave us some insight on the challenges of competing in the State Cup and believe me, we hear you.  This is the State Cup, not the Metroplex Cup. There has to be a better way to sort out this extremely important competition. On the one hand,  North Texas has to re-think on how it could be more accommodating the out of market teams,  but even it comes to weather it's anyone's guess. Perhaps making it a mult- tier competition where points are accumulated then a final four? Moving it to the Fall seems like a no brainer? Since High School ball has to be factored in,  maybe it should be modified? Change is so hard to implement considering the powers seem to be happy with the status quo? Apparently more questions than answers?

HP DRIFTERS vs. FC DALLAS KANG.
This appears to be headed into in defensive showdown. The Drifters have proven that despite playing in PPL, have got the game to hang with anyone in Classic. On the other side Kang and their top 4 finish in Classic have proven that they are a team that has been refined by fire this past year.  We look for their ability to move up and down the pitch to give them the edge.  

RAYOS vs. FC DALLAS PINO
We're not going to say that either team may have had the benefit of favorable scheduling,  thei played their games and earned their path into the knockout stage. We think the Rayos Cinderella run comes to an end as that crafty bunch finds ways to punch their ticket into the Final.

The folks up in Frisco must be giddy with the possibility of an all FC DALLAS Final? On the flipside the possibility of a non- D1 Final looms?  

Wishing all teams and fans a great evening of North Texas soccer and congratulations in advance regardless of the outcome!!