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What is your pre-season Top 10?

G

Goal Scorer

Oct 23, 2008
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Rankings are meaningless but fun to discuss during a slow off-season. Lets see what you got.

Here is my pre-season top 10:
1) Iowa City West
2) Dowling
3) Valley
4) Bettendorf
5) Ankeny
6) Urbandale
7) Hoover
8) Johnston
9) Roosevelt
10) Waukee
Just missed: Ames, Pleasant Valley, CR Kennedy, CR Washington
This post was edited on 11/20 3:49 PM by Goal Scorer
 
Here is my pre-season top 10:

1) Iowa City West
2) WDM Dowling Catholic
3) WDM Valley
4) Ankeny
5) Bettendorf
6) Hoover
7) Johnston
8) Waukee
9) Urbandale
10) Roosevelt

I agree for the most part. Just seemed like Urbandale was driven by their forward #2. [forgive me for not remembering his name at this moment]

If you shut him down, they weren't as good of a team. I think Waukee will be exciting to watch this year as well as Hoover. Will be interesting to see how ICW recovers with the absence of Zobeck.
 
1) Iowa City West
2) Valley
3) Dowling
4) Ankeny
5) Hoover
6) Roosevelt
7) Bettendorf
8) Waukee
9) Johnston
10) Urbandale
 
1) Iowa City West
2) Dowling
3) Bettendorf
4) Valley
5) Hoover
6) Pleasant Valley
7) Cedar Rapids Kennedy
8) Ankeny
9) Cedar Rapids Washington
10) Davenport Central
 
QC -

You obviously feel that the eastern side of the state is stronger than those who previously posted on the topic. Side note - I agree that CR Wash and CR Kennedy deserve to be in the discussion.

I mean no disrespect, but what have Pleasant Valley and Davenport Central done in recent years to garner such respect? I don't think either of them have ever qualified for the state tournament, nor do they play a very demanding schedule. To my knowledge, neither school has players that play on top club teams within the state either. Do many PV or Central kids play for CRSA or Eastern Iowa United?

I'm just curious what the logic is that makes you think those two schools in particular deserve to be ranked ahead of the likes of Johnston, Waukee, and Urbandale. All three of those programs have had past success at the state tournament, they play in the toughest conference in the state (CIML), and they all have players that play on top club teams (Menace, JUSC, WDM).

My rankings may very well be biased toward central Iowa, but they also have some facts to support them (previous success or tradition, returning players, # of quality club players. etc.). I'm not trying to stir up an east vs. central Iowa soccer debate, but I am curious as to how you support your top 10. It seems to me that PV and Central should prove something before being ranked in the top 10. Teams from the CIML may have more losses, but that is because the quality of play is higher and those teams beat up on each other.

Just some food for thought. I'll be interested to hear your logic.
 
I agree that PV may not deserve to be in the preseason top ten but Central warrants some respect. Many of Central's starters play for QC United which has beaten the EI United and the combined IC/CRSA teams in IPSL competition. Many of Central's players are top notch. I look for them to be top of the MAC. And no, I am not from Central.
 
Did QC United play at State Cup this year?

While beating EI United and CRSA in IPSL is no small task, the elite teams in this state play MRL rather than IPSL. With that said, I have heard from a couple of different sources that Central should be good this year. Proven = NO. Potential = YES.
 
Goal Scorer,

No doubt I am a little more biased toward the east than the other posters. Bettendorf has been to the state tournament every year there has been a state tournament. PV is perennially ranked in the top 10 and is a very close #2 in the MAC every year. Central has been up and coming over the last few years and will be very talented again this year. The IHSAA puts the best teams in the MAC (Bett & PV) in the same sub-state every year which would explain why you haven't seen PV at state.

Three years ago PV was actually ranked #1 for a large portion of the season, beat Valley in Iowa City and lost in the sub-state final to Bett on a phantom goal. Two years ago the state actually put PV in a different sub-state and they played ICW in the first round. ICW won a great game on PK's 4-3 and went on to lose to Ankeny in the final. Also, PV has played Urbandale in 2 of the last 3 years and handled them fairly easily. Central's resume is not nearly as strong, but they do have good skill.

I don't know of any current Bettendorf, PV or Central kids play for any of the CR/IC clubs; EIU, CRSA, Heartland or ISC. However, many of the Bettendorf and Central kids do play for the QC United. Unfortunately, the QCU is the only high school level club team in the Quad City area. During their youth years the Bett/PV and some Central kids all play for the Bettendorf Soccer Association Club.

I also don't believe the state of Iowa has enough "good" club teams (Menace, EIU, JUSC, CRSA & ISC) to populate the various high school teams enough to make a huge difference. Many of those players get split up and play on different high school teams, if they even play high school soccer. I would assume even the top high school teams in Iowa have to rely on some good athletes who play other sports and are unable to play club, to make up a large portion of their rosters.
 
Hey fellow poster and fans,

I just wanted to give some information on the mac and there teams.

The mac is returning six all-state players including 4 second teamers. Central alone is returning 4 by themselves while only graduating only 3 players. None of those players played for isc, eastern iowa, or crsa. So in your face buddy.Also Central has a player that has already committed Division 1.

Last year in the first round of sub state Central had to play IC West (the team that got second). They matched each other in total shots and Central lost a heart breaker 1-0.
 
Who are the 4 "all-staters" that Central is returning?

I'd also argue that part of the reason Central and PV lose in heartbreaking fashion come post season play is because they don't play a tough enough regular season schedule. Too many "cupcakes" that don't adequately prepare you for the tough match when everything is on the line.

Just one man's opinion, but I think if you strengthen your regular season schedule you'll start to get better results in substate play. Playing only a handful of ranked teams each season is just not enough preparation. Competing against top competition game in and game out and playing in tight matches nearly every time you take the field has made the difference for teams such as Valley, Dowling, Ankeny, IC West and even Norwalk for that matter. You'd be hard pressed to find programs that play 8-12 ranked teams each year like those schools do.
 
Rock Star,

Here are the IPSL scores you speak of for QC United. They beat EIU Silver U17 which is the "lesser" of the two EIU U17 teams and CRSA/IC Alliance U16 team by a goal in the last 2 minutes.

358 QC United U18B White 1 EI United Silver U17B White 0
597 QC United U18B White 2 CRSA/Alliance U16B Premier RED 1

Central will be a talented side this year, but they'll need to earn respect by beating Bett or PV.
 
Goal Scorer;

QC United did play in the State Cup and lost to Ames 5-1 in the opening round...not a good showing vs an avg Ames team.

Which "elite teams in the state" play MRL this year? I believe MRL is a spring league for boys so players on those teams would not play for their high school teams, correct?
 
MRL is played in both the fall and spring.

Clubs that I know of that had at least one team playing MRL this fall would include WDM, CRSA, and Ankeny. I do not know if JUSC or Menace entered any teams in MRL during the fall season. All five of the aforementioned clubs travel to elite tournaments in the midwest and across the country.

P.S. Beating up on EIU's "B" team and a CRSA/ISC team that is two years younger is hardly something to boast about.
 
I guess we will have to see how the games play out. It was asked if Central or PV players play for any of elite club teams (CRSA, Eastern Iowa United, etc). The answer: yes. And last I checked a win is a win. Oh...and didn't QC United beat that same Ames team in league play 8-4? The east side of the state has lots of great players who can and will compete with other elite Iowa players.
 
One more thing...I would look for Central to beat PV during the season. Some of their all-staters from last year who will be returning: Pena (Junior), Ryder (Senior), Nims (Senior), Capper(Senior), and Canwright ( Senior). I know I am missing some so help me out.
 
Hey Rockstar;

Which Central or PV players play for CRSA or EIU? Central's all-state and all-conference selections were a joke, most of their "all-staters" wouldn't start for Bett or PV. If you don't play for Central I'm not sure why you would brag on these boys. Maybe their 3rd place MAC finish got them all of their all-state votes!
 
I am sorry to confuse the post. When I say "elite", I consider QC United to be an elite team. Most of Central's starters play for QC United. They are good players. I also think that the ones that made all state would start for either Bettendorf or PV. I am not from Central as I said before but I know guys who play with them on QC United. I do agree that some of them did not deserve all-state honors but some of them did. I think it will be fun to see what unfolds in the season.
 
And one more note... Both PV and Central by far have no standout goalkeepers. Eastern Iowa really has no standout goalkeepers, all but a very few. That will be a major factor this year also.
 
Our definition of elite is very different. What makes QC united an elite team? What big tournaments have they won? How many state championships?

To me, the elite teams in Iowa are the teams that are playing at Regionals every year. If you are from Iowa and aren't winning state championships and competing at the regional level, then you aren't elite. In HS soccer, the elite teams are those that win conference championships and compete at the state tournament on a regular basis.

Just a difference in opinion or at least what we view as elite.
 
Good question. I will clarify. I guess I don't consider any high school teams to be elite. I consider club teams who travel to showcase tournaments to be elite. That is why QC United is elite. So Menace, CRSA, Heartland, EI United, etc are also elite in my book...at least at the high school level.
 
Originally posted by thierrysambaking15:
Hey fellow poster and fans,

I just wanted to give some information on the mac and there teams.

The mac is returning six all-state players including 4 second teamers. Central alone is returning 4 by themselves while only graduating only 3 players. None of those players played for isc, eastern iowa, or crsa. So in your face buddy.Also Central has a player that has already committed Division 1.

Last year in the first round of sub state Central had to play IC West (the team that got second). They matched each other in total shots and Central lost a heart breaker 1-0.
Click to expand...

which guy has committed to div1 and where?
 
Scholarship or walk-on?

Very impressive if Nick is going to Drake on a soccer scholarship. Coach Holmes is not always quick to offer Iowa kids.
 
I think he is technically going to be a walk on but they recruited him to go there so look at it however you want
 
who cares about that nick kid thats not important. what is important is andrew piotter from pv. he is going to play soccer at either DRAKE or bradley next year
 
I heard that Creighton and Northwestern were looking at him. Can someone confirm any of this?
 
Its funny how theres no debate against IC West being #1...not even a little bit.
I think Bettendorf is highly overrated in your polls. They're style is athletic play but this year they will barely have that going for them. They lost most of their "true" players last year. I can guaruntee they wont win their conference. Davenport Central will...they need to be in the top 10 for sure.
As for the other teams I would definetly put CR Washington in the top 10 if not 5 or 6 and put CR Kennedy in the mix too. CR Washington has a few exceptional players that can single handily take over a game..Such as Jake Johnson.
CR Kennedy has a fair ammount of solid players with some good leadership thrown in there also...they're gonna have a goalie problem by the looks of it so thats their biggest fault in my book for being out of the top 6 or 7 for them.
This post was edited on 12/4 12:26 AM by whs18
 
We try not to mention IC West in any conversation because there is always 5 or 6 asshats that come in and think IC West is god and should be the main topic of discussion about everything from soccer to water polo.
 
1)Iowa City West
2)Dowling
3)Bettendorf
4)Valley
5)Ankey
6)Hoover
7)Davenport Central
8)Urbandale
9)Pleasant Valley
10)Waukee
I don't know much about the teams in western iowa so I'm just going by what I've heard
 
1) IC West
2) Dowling
3) Valley
4) CR Washington
5) Davenport Central
6) Hoover
7) Urbandale
8) Ankeny
9) CR Kennedy
10) Bettendorf (by the skin of their teeth)
 
Composite Rankings

I've taken each set of pre-season rankings that has been posted to this thread and compiled a composite top 10 from those rankings. Teams were awarded 10 pts. for a 1st place vote and 1 pt. for a 10th place vote. Total points received is in parenthesis next to each school.

I thought it was interested how this turned out. IC West was a unanimous #1 despite not winning a state championship for over 3 years. The teams are ranked 4-6 were separated by only 2 pts. I'll do another composite top 10 when more people chime in with their rankings.

Composite Pre-Season Top 10:
1. IC West (60 pts.)
2. Dowling (53 pts.)
3. Valley (47 pts.)
4. Bettendorf (33 pts.)
5. Ankeny (32 pts.)
6. Hoover (31 pts.)
7. Urbandale (15 pts.)
8. Davenport Central (11 pts.)
9. Johnston (9 pts.)
Cedar Rapids Washington (9 pts.)

Also receiving votes: Roosevelt (8 pts.), Waukee (8 pts.), Pleasant Valley (7 pts.), Cedar Rapids Kennedy (6 pts.)
 
Re: Composite Rankings

1. IC West
2. Dowling
3. Bettendorf
4. Valley
5. Ankeny
6. Hoover
7. Urbandale
8. Pv
9. Johnston
10.Central
 
I've only seen club play from these bigger schools, but I thought Urbandale played rather weak this summer, compared to past performances at least. QC United was still strong, I'd put dowling at #1.

My IPSL didn't do so hot this year(CV)
 
I agree that City West will be very good this year, but if they play Bettendorf it should be a better game than some may think. Bettendorf has a pretty solid team returning this year.
 
Johnston is going to be a young team this year with a lot of new guys playing at the varsity level as seniors and also with a new head coach so i hope they do well
 
Johnston always puts a competitive team on the field. That will be no different this spring.

With that said, they do have some question marks. How will the team adjust to a new head coach and possibly a new system? With a handful of inexperienced players expecting to contribute, how will JHS handle playing in the tough CIML Central? This is the conference that has produced the last two state champions (Dowling & Ankeny) and had another state qualifier in Urbandale just last year.

I'd expect Johnston to finish 3rd or 4th in the CIML Central. They play a tough schedule so they'll take some lumps along the way. I think they'll be a good team once their young players develop @ the Varsity level and once they adjust to their new head coach. They could be a dangerous team during post season play.
 
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