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So....2021?

General question.

How many games have you seen that have only had 2 refs? Just wondering how short-handed they are.

I‘ve just seen one so far, but it made a big difference in the game.
They are short on refs across the state. The national referee association made it harder to renew referee licenses, the fall before the pandemic hit. Then Iowa tried to move all refs to a new computer system as well at that time. They lost a lot of referees over the past year for all those reasons. Including many older, experienced ones.
 
I‘ve just seen one so far, but it made a big difference in the game.
They are short on refs across the state. The national referee association made it harder to renew referee licenses, the fall before the pandemic hit. Then Iowa tried to move all refs to a new computer system as well at that time. They lost a lot of referees over the past year for all those reasons. Including many older, experienced ones.
Seems like 50% of our games have only had 2. They’ve seem to be more physical games, too, with less eyes on the field.

Mepo picked up a 2-1 win vs. Centerville tonight. Moved to 9-3 on the year. Gaining confidence with each win. Got two more winnable games coming up plus conference tournament then end with Ft. Madison (good test for them) before postseason.
 
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Regals get a nice 5-3 win over a solid 3A Davenport North team tonIght.
Regina goes on the road tomorrow to 1A #5, undefeated Mid-Prairie.
 
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Was the team back to full form?

Not last night, but everyone is back now.
Regina controlled the game well tonight and came away with a 6-2 win over Mid-Prairie.

Other scores of note:
Solon 2, CPU 1 (PK’s)
Vinton-Shellsburg 1, Beckman 0
CB Lincoln 2, Treynor 0
Waukee 2, Dowling 0
IC High 2, Cedar Falls 1
 
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A couple other notables from the last couple days

West Liberty over 2A #13 CCA. 5-1
And
North Fayette Valley over Postville 11-4 !

new comers Cascade and West Branch getting votes this week
 
Be interesting to see the postseason pairings and how they split up the Top 6.
Do you think if they send someone west they can avoid a top 4 matchup. I'm not really sure number 5 and 6 play a role other than potential spoiler on any given day.

Some lopsided matchups on tomorrow's schedule, but CPU v Benton has potential and the big one I'm watching is BND at North Scott.
 
Do you think if they send someone west they can avoid a top 4 matchup. I'm not really sure number 5 and 6 play a role other than potential spoiler on any given day.

Some lopsided matchups on tomorrow's schedule, but CPU v Benton has potential and the big one I'm watching is BND at North Scott.
That’s an option and you’re probably right, but for some reason I think they’ll screw it up.
 
Not last night, but everyone is back now.
Regina controlled the game well tonight and came away with a 6-2 win over Mid-Prairie.

Other scores of note:
Solon 2, CPU 1 (PK’s)
Vinton-Shellsburg 1, Beckman 0
CB Lincoln 2, Treynor 0
Waukee 2, Dowling 0
IC High 2, Cedar Falls 1
Beckman possessed the ball 50% of the time and had Vinton on their heels for a while. Beckman had both forwards injured and a starting midfielder. Hopefully all back in two weeks.
 
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Wow, thanks for the color.

Hoping the keeper is well soon.

it’ll be interesting to see who has to matchup before state.

in other news, West Branch made a good showing against West Liberty, losing 2-1 and City pulls off the 2-0 win against Bettendorf.

Valley have Waukee its toughest challenge yet, but still a commanding win.

Not last night, but everyone is back now.
Regina controlled the game well tonight and came away with a 6-2 win over Mid-Prairie.

Other scores of note:
Solon 2, CPU 1 (PK’s)
Vinton-Shellsburg 1, Beckman 0
CB Lincoln 2, Treynor 0
Waukee 2, Dowling 0
IC High 2, Cedar Falls 1

A couple other notables from the last couple days

West Liberty over 2A #13 CCA. 5-1
And
North Fayette Valley over Postville 11-4 !

new comers Cascade and West Branch getting votes this week
Beckman possessed the ball 50% of the time and had Vinton on their heels for a while. Beckman had both forwards injured and a starting midfielder. Hopefully all back in two weeks.
Having seen them, West Branch and City High are for real. Both should be ranked higher, IMHO. Peyton Miller is a 3A player at a 1A school. Decent 'keeper too. I think they have JUST enough of a supporting cast if they blanket Miller though (assuming other school's best can keep up with him), WB can still beat many of the top 16.

Six straight wins for CR Jeff. Boy got his first varsity assist playing as an outside back last night in an 8-0 romp over Dub Hempstead, scored in JV1 earlier in the week coming off of injury. Head up to #15 Dubuque Senior on Friday, and #16 Waterloo West next week.
 
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Having seen them, West Branch and City High are for real. Both should be ranked higher, IMHO. Peyton Miller is a 3A player at a 1A school. Decent 'keeper too. I think they have JUST enough of a supporting cast if they blanket Miller though (assuming other school's best can keep up with him), WB can still beat many of the top 16.

Six straight wins for CR Jeff. Boy got his first varsity assist playing as an outside back last night in an 8-0 romp over Dub Hempstead, scored in JV1 earlier in the week coming off of injury. Head up to #15 Dubuque Senior on Friday, and #16 Waterloo West next week.
WB isn't going to get very far in rankings without playing anybody. It looks like they tried to play a conference schedule and conferences just aren't the key to program success in this game in this state. Luckily the season pretty much starts over with substate. So, ranking or not really won't matter much other than maybe seeding. But then, all you have to do is win, right? So, I'm not as convinced of their readiness for primetime, but they'll be interesting to watch in substate.

I agree with you on City. That was an impressive win at CF. Unfortunately, at this point they kind of need someone to fail and drop down, in order to move up. But they could be a strong factor in substates.

It does look like Jeff is on a roll. Dubuque Sr, W'loo West and IC West to close out the season are at least 2 real quality matches. So, a win out would be huge, both for ranking and seeding.
 
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Do you think if they send someone west they can avoid a top 4 matchup. I'm not really sure number 5 and 6 play a role other than potential spoiler on any given day.

Some lopsided matchups on tomorrow's schedule, but CPU v Benton has potential and the big one I'm watching is BND at North Scott.
I will say I’d like to see Mepo vs Mid-Prairie again. Mepo was coming off 3 games a couple days earlier and was pretty flat and sore. Although it was Mid-Prairie’s first game of the season so who knows.
 
WB isn't going to get very far in rankings without playing anybody. It looks like they tried to play a conference schedule and conferences just aren't the key to program success in this game in this state. Luckily the season pretty much starts over with substate. So, ranking or not really won't matter much other than maybe seeding. But then, all you have to do is win, right? So, I'm not as convinced of their readiness for primetime, but they'll be interesting to watch in substate.

I agree with you on City. That was an impressive win at CF. Unfortunately, at this point they kind of need someone to fail and drop down, in order to move up. But they could be a strong factor in substates.

It does look like Jeff is on a roll. Dubuque Sr, W'loo West and IC West to close out the season are at least 2 real quality matches. So, a win out would be huge, both for ranking and seeding.
It's notable that the West Branch game that was 2-1 vs West Liberty went to OT. Now, I'm just basing on observations off that one game, but that was pretty impressive to me. I'm not advocating anywhere top 10 by any means, but 14-16: absolutely.
 
West Branch has played the 156th ranked toughest schedule. Out of 169 total?
Prior to their last two games against WL and Cascade, their 6 opponents had a combined record of 10-35.
They even played Marquette Catholic twice.
I agree they are a solid team. But, hard to know how good yet. That game against West Liberty was a rivalry game. Many of those players played on the same youth team coming up.
 
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West Branch has played the 156th ranked toughest schedule. Out of 169 total?
Prior to their last two games against WL and Cascade, their 6 opponents had a combined record of 10-35.
They even played Marquette Catholic twice.
I agree they are a solid team. But, hard to know how good yet. That game against West Liberty was a rivalry game. Many of those players played on the same youth team coming up.
If West Branch doesn't at least stay within a goal of Mid-Prairie, I'll be on here to humble myself and bow down to your knowledge on this. If my eye test fooled me, its only because West Branch is still under-rated OR West Liberty is over-rated.
 
If West Branch doesn't at least stay within a goal of Mid-Prairie, I'll be on here to humble myself and bow down to your knowledge on this. If my eye test fooled me, its only because West Branch is still under-rated OR West Liberty is over-rated.
Don't get me wrong, I applaud where the Bears are for a young program. There are plenty of examples of more mature, weaker programs. If they were out west, they'd probably be ranked already. I think Pine and I are just trying to say that the road to respectability comes through shedding games like Anamosa, Marquette Catholic and PoP in favor of some top 5 matchups and even mid table 2As or 3As. They had no way to know when this schedule was developed. With Miller being a junior, he (and the supporting cast) will have another season to shine if they can get him a schedule with a little more meat.

I believe Mid-Prairie is a winnable game for WB, my question is if Mid Prairie might be over-rated. So, if WB can put up a 2+ win on them, that could push them into the bottom of the rankings. But the difficult thing is who do you drop out to make room for someone new?
 
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CR Jeff had their winning streak snapped last night, 1-0 OT loss to Dub Senior. They have an excellent goalkeeper. He put in a MOTM performance.
 
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Some scores of note over the past couple days:

IC Liberty over Cedar Falls 3-2
Clinton over West Liberty 3-1
CR Prairie over City High 1-0 (2OT)

Cedar Falls over Columbus Catholic 2-1
CPU over Postville 3-1
Columbus over Postville 3-1
Regina over Greene County 1-0
Regina over Nevada 4-3
 
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Some scores of note over the past couple days:

IC Liberty over Cedar Falls 3-2
Clinton over West Liberty 3-1
CR Prairie over City High 1-0 (2OT)

Cedar Falls over Columbus Catholic 2-1
CPU over Postville 3-1
Columbus over Postville 3-1
Regina over Greene County 1-0
Regina over Nevada 4-3
Did Regina have a third game at that tournament? Only the Greene county game is on varsity bound.

those are all interesting.

City could well be a spoiler in substate.

I think postvillle is done. North Fayette Valley and Denver are the teams on the rise.
 
Was West Liberty missing players? I find it hard to believe Clinton beat them at full strength.
I wondered the same thing. Historically, consistency has been West Liberty’s problem. I still think they win their substate.
 
In their third game (well, 2nd of the day), Regina lost to Marshalltown 2-0.
Looks like Nevada was ranked #4 in Class 2A, that’s a quality win.

They haven’t posted the stats yet, but I heard West Liberty may have been without leading scorer Galvan, due to a football camp. If true, goes to show how important he is to the team. I think Clinton is like 5-9.
 
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In their third game (well, 2nd of the day), Regina lost to Marshalltown 2-0.
Looks like Nevada was ranked #4 in Class 2A, that’s a quality win.

They haven’t posted the stats yet, but I heard West Liberty may have been without leading scorer Galvan, due to a football camp. If true, goes to show how important he is to the team. I think Clinton is like 5-9.
That’s what I was wondering, if he was at some other event. Mepo beat Clinton at the Solon tournament, that’s why I was asking.
 
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My son played on the ODP team with that GK. He’s pretty good but wasn’t the best one. The other one is in the Sporting KC academy and is from Marion.
My son backed up the keeper that is now playing for Sporting FC on their club team. That kid is an amazing keeper and athlete.
 
Some scores of note over the past couple days:

IC Liberty over Cedar Falls 3-2
Clinton over West Liberty 3-1
CR Prairie over City High 1-0 (2OT)

Cedar Falls over Columbus Catholic 2-1
CPU over Postville 3-1
Columbus over Postville 3-1
Regina over Greene County 1-0
Regina over Nevada 4-3
IC Liberty over Cedar Falls is a shocker. Maybe CF is more vulnerable in sub-state than I thought. That one with Jeff, Wash, Dub Sr, and CF is going to be a dogfight.
 
My son backed up the keeper that is now playing for Sporting FC on their club team. That kid is an amazing keeper and athlete.
Yep, my son split time with him in U13 the one year we played when FC United. Moved to Sporting Iowa East for a year after that. Hasn’t played club in 2 years now. Concentrating on football kicking, but still likes soccer and plays high school.
 
Yep, my son split time with him in U13 the one year we played when FC United. Moved to Sporting Iowa East for a year after that. Hasn’t played club in 2 years now. Concentrating on football kicking, but still likes soccer and plays high school.
I remember your son! He definitely has a leg for football! That year was my son's first year playing club. He has worked hard and finally is growing. Last fall he finally played with that FC Red team, playing keeper when the main one was gone.
 
I remember your son! He definitely has a leg for football! That year was my son's first year playing club. He has worked hard and finally is growing. Last fall he finally played with that FC Red team, playing keeper when the main one was gone.
Thanks. We really liked FC United just wanted a chance to play full-time and that wasn’t going to happen with how good MH is. Didn’t happen at Sporting East either. It led him to want to kick footballs more. We’ll see where he lands this summer nationally as he’ll be attending ranking camps/competitions.

Congrats on making the Red team. Good group of kids and parents though I don’t know how many are left playing with being in high school. How’s the high school season going? We’re doing fairly well. He’s playing mid/sweeper. With the strong leg they like to use him for a lot of through balls and free kicks. He can put it into the box from 50-60 yards out. Don’t know how he’s as accurate as he is either.
 
Thanks. We really liked FC United just wanted a chance to play full-time and that wasn’t going to happen with how good MH is. Didn’t happen at Sporting East either. It led him to want to kick footballs more. We’ll see where he lands this summer nationally as he’ll be attending ranking camps/competitions.

Congrats on making the Red team. Good group of kids and parents though I don’t know how many are left playing with being in high school. How’s the high school season going? We’re doing fairly well. He’s playing mid/sweeper. With the strong leg they like to use him for a lot of through balls and free kicks. He can put it into the box from 50-60 yards out. Don’t know how he’s as accurate as he is either.
They are good kids and parents on the FC team. My son is starting varsity for his high school team as a sophomore, Their season is a struggle somewhat. They've played some great teams and have beaten some great teams.

Good luck to your son!
 
They are good kids and parents on the FC team. My son is starting varsity for his high school team as a sophomore, Their season is a struggle somewhat. They've played some great teams and have beaten some great teams.

Good luck to your son!
I think I know this 'keeper you guys are referring to. My son used to play with/against him in CRSA winter soccer camps, and then later as an opponent in the Iowa 7-on-7 Indoor Championships up at the UNIdome. Mine is also a Sophomore on varsity. 1 start and plays 15-40 minutes per varsity match at outside back, and 40-65 on JV1 at midfield (though he's been brought on at midfield in OTs). Which school is he at?
 
I think I know this 'keeper you guys are referring to. My son used to play with/against him in CRSA winter soccer camps, and then later as an opponent in the Iowa 7-on-7 Indoor Championships up at the UNIdome. Mine is also a Sophomore on varsity. 1 start and plays 15-40 minutes per varsity match at outside back, and 40-65 on JV1 at midfield (though he's been brought on at midfield in OTs). Which school is he at?
The GK we’re referring to is with the Sporting KC academy last I heard.
 
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Some interesting scores from last night:
IC Liberty 1, Muscatine 0
BND 3, Davenport Central 2
Treynor 2, Riverside 1
 
Some interesting scores from last night:
IC Liberty 1, Muscatine 0
BND 3, Davenport Central 2
Treynor 2, Riverside 1
Liberty really seems to be stepping up of late compared to some of their early season performances

Not at all surprised by BNDs win

I really thought Treynor would win this one bigger. I had them picked to win their substate. I'm starting to lean more toward St Albert after this, but of course, one game does not a season make. I just thought they were trending higher and this seems like a weaker performance.
 
Liberty really seems to be stepping up of late compared to some of their early season performances

Not at all surprised by BNDs win

I really thought Treynor would win this one bigger. I had them picked to win their substate. I'm starting to lean more toward St Albert after this, but of course, one game does not a season make. I just thought they were trending higher and this seems like a weaker performance.

I don't know much about either team. But, that seemed like a big 1A western side match up. Treynor was 9-3 coming into the game, Riverside was 10-2.
Actually, just saw that Treynor had already beaten Riverside 4-0 in a tournament a week ago. So, this score was tighter.
 
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