just_do_it

As a casual empiricist, I have observed that national rankings do seem to mean more to those who are ranked than to those who are not. But to say the rankings are "meaningless" seems a bit strong. What it "means" is that you have a near flawless record, you play top competition and that you have a handful of DI athletes on the team. Does the actual ranking mean a lot? Probably not. Are worthy teams omitted from the rankings? Absolutely.

It is probably coming from the fact that a 4-5-1 is a defensive-minded formation. Many teams go to that formation late in games to preserve a lead.

Saturday night's final between Baylor (18-1) and St. Agnes (17-1-1) ought to be a great matchup. Both teams are undefeated against Tennessee teams with their single losses coming at the elite Zionsville Invitational in Indianapolis. Baylor is currently ranked 4th nationally by ESPN.

It seems more sensible to grant favorite status based on results from the current season rather than past seasons. Losing games to SD, Baylor, Beardon and CCS 3 times will certainly help raise your CoachT strength of schedule rating but I'm still not sure its a good criterion for granting favorite status. In any case, I have enjoyed your articles and thank you for your efforts in promoting girls soccer.

Hats off to ND for scheduling good teams but a tough schedule does not make one a favorite. Any team can play a tough schedule and lose lots of games.

B. B--An upset? Really? Did you take a look at the win-loss records of these teams and quality wins? On what basis was Notre Dame the favorite?

Isn't the goal of any game to do what you need to win as long as you follow and respect the rules of the game? Some teams test the boundaries of allowable physical contact to nullify at least partially an opponent's superior skill and athleticism. Other teams make the field shorter toward the same end. And others play eleven behind the ball in hopes of winning in PKs. Some of these strategies might detract from enjoyment of the game. But shouldn't we blame imperfect rules and not the teams trying to win while staying within the rules?

Baylor and St. Agnes are clearly the two top teams going into the tournament. After that, it's a toss-up. JPII would be my dark horse pick. Here are the match-ups from the TSSAA site for the quarterfinals: Battle Ground Academy v. Briarcrest St. Agnes v. Pope John Paul II Baylor v. Brentwood Academy St. Benedict v. Father Ryan

Courter saved Signal Mountain's first penalty kick but the Lady Eagles connected on the other three, unfortunately for the Lady Eagles the Notre Dame shooters hit all five to earn the win. Even if this was edited later, most readers are going to implicitly read the "for the Lady Eagles" into the text. My experience (like Indians) is that these articles without a byline are submitted by the winning team, often a coach and sometimes a volunteer parent. As someone with no dog in the hunt, I thought the article was objective and well done. Sounds like it was a great game.

Interesting that all of the girls in the top 4 played D1: (MTSU, UTC, UNC and UTC in that order). In addition, Kat Nigro was on the U17 National team. I would say that Brenna is among fine company. 184 Courtney Dunlap Donelson Christian Academy 2000-2003 168 Becca Smith Riverdale 2005-2008 163 Kat Nigro Livingston Academy 2007-2010 162 Crystal Mackezyk Spring Hill 2007-2010

TUSC '94 Red 95GSoccer hit the nail on the head but it still is a very significant accomplishment.

It's very tough to win in this league week after week, especially on the road. But I will go out on a limb here, Baylor wins a thriller on a last second field goal by place-kicker phenom Henrique Ribeiro. Final score 30-28 Baylor.

McCallie can host the game wherever they want but I think you are confusing the issues. McCallie stadium, like Baylor, has a capacity of around 6000, and the only people that will show up for the game are those that have tickets ahead of time. No one else gets in. So, the logistics of 10-13,000 is irrelevant since the logistics are the capacity of the stadium. Now, one might argue that all 10-13,000 that want to see the game ought to be able to see it, and if that is one's point of view, then Finley is a great venue. But if you want a great atmosphere with deafening noise and want to take advantage of a home field advantage (as Baylor does), then hold the game at McCallie. I don't think logistics are the real issue here. I think its the tradeoff between great atmosphere and access to all. One last word. I was at the game at Baylor when Baylor broke the streak and that was the single most exciting sporting event I have ever attended. The atmosphere was movie-like and pure "Friday Night Lights".

Hope you are kidding!

Page is having a fine season, and a tie against Centennial tells us that they can stay on the field with a good opponent. But I agree with CHAMPDDS that unless a team plays good competition there will always be insufficient information about that team to merit a high ranking along side teams that are playing good competition. Here are the win-loss records of the opponents of the top five in the poll: Notre Dame .608 CCS .576 CAK .545 Whitehouse .523 Fred Page .375 Because of their weak SOS, Page will have to wait until the state tournament to make their case about how good they really are.