(Scroll to the bottom of this article for the day’s match results. Along with these daily observations from the fields, we will publish our traditional match reports from the event this coming Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday)

ZAREPHATH, NEW JERSEY – The PDA Memorial Day Showcase once again is hosting the final regular season recruiting event for the ECNL, with more than 100 teams from the U15, U16 and U17 age groups on hand for three days of matches.

You won’t find a better level of competition in girls club soccer and the number and level of college coaches here tell you it’s a prime recruiting venue as well, so it’s very nice for me to return to New Jersey to cover this event.

We will have our normal detailed match reports running this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday when more interested parties can read them. For now I wanted to just give some brief observations from the day’s games. I’ll do the same about Sunday’s action on Memorial Day.

Let’s start with the ECNL playoff format. These matches do have some bearing on part of the system.

I’m not going to bother explaining it beyond that because:

1. I don’t understand it.
2. A lot of the coaches here don’t understand it.
3. The league has already decided to change it for next year. Basically the future seasons will look more like the USSF Development Academy setup where the top 2 or 3 teams from each division qualify for the postseason, with a certain number of wildcard teams added based on overall record. But that doesn’t kick in until next year. For this year, just follow our site and we’ll tell you who made it in to the nationals, to be held in the Chicago area at the end of June.

The sights and sounds of a big soccer tournament are unmistakable.  I’m talking about things like:

1. Loud cheers from distant fields echoing through the rustic New Jersey countryside, announcing goals have been scored.
2. College coaches lined up in their respective team’s colors, making sure everyone knows they’re there.
3. People lined up at port-a-johns and users emerging and politely holding the door open for the next person to step in. Why does this seem odd to me?
4. Siblings of players reading, playing with toys or otherwise trying to pass the time.
5. People yelling things at referees, regardless of whether they know what they are talking about.

Speaking of referees, I did not see any yellow cards given out at the matches I watched Saturday, but I did hear a lot of referees telling coaches to zip it.

I also saw a rather heated argument between two coaches after a game. They weren’t going to come to blows or anything, but the anger level was real. Coaches are competitive too.

Special thanks to the weatherman. Skies were threatening for much of the day, but it never ended up raining more than a few sprinkles at the main complex. On the other hand, when the sun came out midday, it transformed the playing conditions from a cool, overcast and enjoyable early morning to a cauldron of humidity. There’s been a lot of rain here this week and it all seemed to be boiling up while the sun was out. Some more cloud cover came later in the day and it was bearable again.

Which is why ice baths probably didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Dallas Texans’ U15 coach Sean Bubb told his players they were mandatory after their win over Bethesda SC, and he said to a bystander that the team would probably object. But this time, nary a grumble was heard. Perhaps the idea sounded refreshing after playing in the hottest part of the day.

Coaches felt the effects of the heat as well. Illinois’ head coach Janet Rayfield was only half joking that the whole section of coaches she had just walked past had a 1000-yard stare going on. Having watched five games in a row myself, I believe her.

The early games had the best conditions, and Penn Fusion U15 forward Bryce Watts provided her own heat, scoring 4 goals on the day. He nose for the net punctuated a total team performance for Sean McCafferty’s crew.  More details coming Tuesday.

For the rest of the day’s results, read on.

U15

Freestate SA 2, Scorpions SC 1

World Class FC 2, FC Delco 0

Connecticut FC 3, Virginia Rush 1

FC Stars of Massachusetts 4, FC Virginia 1

Gwinnett SA 4, Ohio Premier Eagles 2

FC Bucks 2, East Meadow 0

Penn Fusion 6, SoccerPlus Connecticut 0

Albertson Fury 0, Ohio Elite SA 0

McLean Youth Soccer 3, Eagles SC 2

Dallas Texans 5, Bethesda SC 2

PDA 2, Carmel United 0

U16

Scorpions SC 2, Virginia Rush 1

SC Del Sol 3, Penn Fusion SA 1

Pleasanton Rage 1, FC Virginia 0

Heat FC 1, Birmingham United 0

Slammers FC 2, Carmel United 0

Concorde Fire 1, FC Delco 1

McLean Youth Soccer 2, Real So Cal 1

Dallas Sting 4, Eclipse Select 1

FC Stars of Massachusetts 4, Mustang 1

Freestate SA 3, Sereno SC 1

Las Vegas Premier SC 1, World Class FC 1

Ohio Elite SA 2, Gwinnett SA 1

Eagles SC 2, East Meadow 1

PDA 1, San Diego Surf 0

SoccerPlus Connecticut 0, Irvine Strikers 0

Dallas Texans 3, FC Bucks 2

Colorado Rush 2, West Coast FC 2

Ohio Premier Eagles 1, Real Colorado 1

Connecticut FC 2, Solar-Chelsea 0

De Anza Force 4, Minnesota Thunder 1

Albertson Fury 1, So Cal Blues 0

Arsenal FC 1, Bethesda SC 1

U17

World Class FC 2, Minnesota Thunder 0

Ohio Elite SA 2, Connecticut FC 1

Bethesda SC 3, SoccerPlus Connecticut 0

FC Delco 1, Real Colorado 0

Virginia Rush 10, Las Vegas Premier SC 0

SC Del Sol 3, FC Bucks 0

PDA 1, Dallas Texans 0

West Coast FC 0, Albertson Fury 0

Solar-Chelsea 1, Penn Fusion 1

FC Virginia 6, So Cal Blues 3

Ohio Premier Eagles 8, Arsenal FC 0

McLean Youth Soccer 2, Heat FC 0

Colorado Rush 0, Scorpions SC 0

Freestate SA 1, Carmel United 0

Mustang SC 1, Dallas Sting 1

Birmingham United 1, De Anza Force 1

East Meadow 2, Sereno SC 0

Real So Cal 3, Eclipse Select 2

Concorde Fire 4, San Diego Surf 2

Slammers 3, Gwinnett SA 3

FC Stars of Massachusetts 3, Eagles SC 0

Irvine Strikers 2, Pleasanton Rage 1