IberCup Predictions

Anyone else? Here are my thoughts.

Group A
1. PST
2. Man City
PST has been extremely strong last fall and this spring, don't see anyone beating them in this group though Man City is a wildcard. The Houston team got wiped by some lower level NTX teams late fall/early spring so unless they come reloaded, they won't be a factor. Volkan isn't on the same level as PST at this point and has been sliding somewhat this spring with some player losses.

Group B
1. Elite
2. Solar Kennington
Winner of the Elite/Solar game likely win's this group though Club Menedy is an absolute wildcard though Kennington has been up and down since last fall, they could win the group or not win a game. . Numbers say the Sockers shouldn't be that competitive against either of the NTX teams (but who knows).

Group C
1. Solar McKinney
2. EFF Bagoso
Solar McKinney is a tough pick to win this group as they usually struggle in group play and pick it up once bracket play starts, even so, I think they pull this one out, they are very strong top to bottom and move the ball well which should mean a smoother transition out of 9v9 and into 7v7. DT White is solid but not sure they can compete with top 10 locally yet. FC Legends, DT White, and Bagoso seem to be a toss-up.

Group D
1. Dallas Rush
2. Intercups
Picking against DTR is a tough one here but they have struggled a bit this spring and Rush seems to be playing well. Intercups is a question mark but I'm going to go with a wildcard here and pick them through to the A Bracket over DTR. HDS Eagles shouldn't be that competitive with the NTX teams and Allegiance doesn't appear to be on the same level as DTR or Dallas Rush at this point.
A

Playoff
PST/Solar Kennington - PST
>PST has had Kennington's number since last fall, don't see that changing though Kennington has been very streaky at times.

Solar McKinney/Intercups - Solar McKinney
>McKinney steps up their play once the brackets start, see that continuing.

Elite/EFF Bagoso - Elite
>Elite has been on a steady climb since the fall, easy pick through the to Semi's

Dallas Rush/Man City - Man City
>Toss-up

PST/Solar McKinney - Solar McKinney
Elite/Man City - Elite

Solar McKinney/Elite - Elite

Elite has been playing very solid soccer all spring, improving steadily since a very slow start last fall.

All that said, 7v7 makes this a complete and total toss-up and likely makes the out of town team's the favorites if they are playing 7v7 full-time. Should be a fun tournament. Lets hope the weather holds.

Interesting commentary but I disagree on a few points. I have a hard time going against any of the International Teams. Have to bet that if they travelled this far, they can play. So I put all 4 international teams through. Agree on IL sides. I put through Elite, Solar-McKinney, Texans-Red, and PST. You're spot on with your analysis except Texans-Red will have the advantage of shortening their roster for 7v7 which is top notch. Some recent defections and GK play have hurt their depth for 9v9. Also expect DT-White to do better than anticipated as they'll load of from Red as well. I like Rush but they've had a rough Spring as well and can't match up w/ DTR. The other 3 are virtual locks.
The playoffs are pick 'em since nobody really knows what to expect from International sides. Elite is my favorite to be top US finisher and qualify for Iber-Denmark. Too bad that conflicts with QT tourney and US won't be able to send a representative.

The conflict for Iber-Denmark is a shame. Would hate to have to tell our boys they aren't going if were to finish as the top US team.

Should be a fun tournament. Only really missing FCD Premier Red from the top group of teams locally.

Wish I would have seen this before the tourney started! I would have thrown in my predictions.

But now that the dust has settled, one thing is for certain...Man City is the REAL DEAL! They had no threat whatsoever in this tournament. They stretched the (small) 7v7 field to the touch lines,
dominated possession moved the ball at will, and scored from all angles with ease. Once they secured the group, they played the reserves and coasted to a 5-1 victory over PST. The rest of that group beat each other up and tied w/ points the whole way down. The group was seeded by goal differential. It took Man City 1 game to figure out the format, 1 game to prove the concept, and then coasted out the tournament. Pure dominance.

Solar Volkan was outclassed from the whistle going down 6-0 in the first half before gathering their wits and keeping the second half close for a final of 8-0.

Solar McKinney scouted Man City early and tried to coach a plan, but the rumors had already circulated at how good City was and they, too, were stunned early before settling down. (2-0 in the first 3 min). Finished at 8-1 with the loan goal for Solar coming from a free kick at midfield that turned into a corner that rattled around the front of the goal before being poked in.

Intercups stumbled out of the gate, but then (undersized as they were) held strong against the likes of DT Red barely loosing at the last minute (0-1), beat Rush twice, beat DT White, and eventually one the B playoff.

The Panamanian team was big and tough, but played more like North Texas than Central America. Made for a brutal 2-2 tie with McKinney.

Kennington had tough run of close games in group play, but was rolled 9-0 in elimination.

Most of the NTX teams in the tourney followed their normal pattern of anyone in the top 10 can beat anyone else in the top 10 on any day (except for FCD Premier Red, most days)

The 7v7 concentrated the rosters, but the FIFA rules of no offsides really challenged the american teams who have trained their back lines to play high and trap offsides for the past several years. City seemed to exploit this easily with multiple diagonal runs from deep that cleared the defense. You could see several of the American forwards stop their runs when they were offsides on dangerous balls in the offensive third.

Lastly the super small fields led to shots on goal for kick-offs from the Americans, and punts on goal from the goalkeepers that generally turned into goal kicks or a return punt. Some games looked more like a ping pong match.

All-in-all it was a fun tournament with lots of talent. Would love to have seen it as 9v9 with off-sides.

If you search, several of the games were live-cast on youtube...Still available for viewing.

Dragon Stryker - "Only really missing FCD Premier Red from the top group of teams locally." The tourney was missing Liverpool Owen too. They lost some tight games this Spring, but consistently near the top of the table and a 2x Premier SuperCopa team.

Agreed. Oversight. Believe another poster mentioned 8 of the top 10 playing in the tournament. Liverpool Owen would clearly fall into that other missing team slot.