2nd Division Preview & Predictions

This time Michael Schieber is drinking the Kool Aid that is D2 hype. Read his mad ramblings here

2nd Division Preview & Predictions

2nd Division Overview:

I love D2. Top to bottom I think its super strong. The playoff battles here are going to be so hotly contested……..Whoops I forgot to change this heading from last year…..OR DID I?!?! No. No I did not. As much as I loved D2 last year it’s even better to me in 2018. Outside of my owns teams fortunates I’ll probably be paying the most attention to D2 than any other  BDSL division. Most likely this is because of the influx of new teams to the division and the league as a whole but who cares. D2 hype!!! Feel the BDSL excitement!

 

D2 Burning Questions:

You’re really showing how big of a loser you are for being excited about D2 BDSL soccer.

…..That’s not a question…..

 

Why are you such a big loser?

OK while that’s a question it’s not really BDSL nor 2nd division related nor nice.

 

You know you’re replying to your own questions here right?

Yes.

 

We think this bit ran its course.

Fair.

 

Why should we care about D2?

Because the division is completely stacked with teams who many I think are better then at least third or more of D1 (sorry. ehhh no I’m not). History has proven this as well. Pendelton United FC, East Aurora FC, West Side FC have all proven that D2 success is often an indication of future success in BDSL. I expect Los Chupacabras to continue that trend too this year. So with that in mind It wouldn’t shock me at all to see 2 of the teams we see in D2 2 years from now playing in Championship. This year’s crop of new teams and many of those D2 playoff teams from last year are that good to me.

 

Ok well then who is the favorite?

Legit no clue.  I really couldn’t pick one. It’s totally wide open.

 

At least tell us which conference is better.

Fine. Its Odenbach. I’d say 8 teams have legit playoff chances and that half of them could be D2 champs. I think Simpkin only has two true contenders by comparison. What will be of great interest to me is to see if Odenbach can take three or even all four of the playoff wildcard spots. More likely though which teams will survive the regular season blood bath to make it into the playoffs at all. It’s going to be a struggle week in and out. Can’t wait!

 

Lets try this. Are there any relegation favorites?

I truly think that only one team is going to struggle mightily in Kingsmen SC but record wise, FK Bosna and WNY United Reds have the most to worry about. Odenbach is just so stacked and I struggle to find them points. They might be mid table in Simpin but thats not the case.  Their best best is an implosion of the wild card that is 11 Stars FC. Similar to Great Lakes Africa last year they are a complete unknown to me and could be amazing or terrible and I wouldn’t be surprised in either case.

 

Which new team is the best?

Sorta a trick question because I would say its West Seneca Panthers which is a merged team of sorts. This is essentially half a Championship roster mixed with a weakish D2 side from last year. So it will be a true indication of just how right I think I am about D2. If WS Panthers cruise then D2 isn’t as strong as I thought maybe. But if this mix of players with BDSL experience aplenty struggle vs the newbees of D2 then I think it should prove my thoughts. WS Panthers will sorta be a measuring stick game for many teams because I’m so familiar with that group I think I have them pegged pretty well here.

 

Can Devils turn their D3 performance last year into D2 success this season?

They are set up pretty well for it. Simpkin is definitely an easier path to points. They return a good chunk of the squad that annihilated D3 opposition weekly. But FI look closer at their year last year you could poke holes in their season with a weak schedule and fatting up on the bottom half. They did crash out in the playoffs to eventual champs Great White Buffalo too. So for their first D2 season I’m playing safe with a mid table finish.

 

You’ve avoided the elephant in the room long enough. Medina is one thing but really why in the world did you allow Olean in here?

Fine fine fine…Consider this for a moment. I love this league( an unhealthy even if you ask my wife). As your elected president I would never do anything I thought would put the tremendous growth and interest in jeopardy for something I thought wouldn’t work or wasn’t worth it. Essentially I’m saying I’m positive this is a worthwhile attempt for us. Look I know that's easy for me to say with my own team in Championship where I have no chance of making the trek down there.  I can only tell you I’d have happily requested my team to play them away to prove it. You can believe that or not. I’m putting my faith in two things. First is in Olean 1845 FC. In my years on the board I’ve not seen any other team rival the interest that Olean has shown in trying to do right by our league (to be honest West Seneca FC and NY Elite also were impressively prepared). But they did everything we asked of them. Did you see they had scarves made? They are committed to this. I truly believe that teams who head down there will be in for an trip worth the drive. Its a sunday in Olean what else is there to do there. Whole town might show up for all I know. And understand that while 5 teams will make 1 long trip down there, they’ve signed up for 6 of those trips. So I think they are all the way in here. Second I’m putting my faith in you. Look at meetings, post games, and when ever I see BDSL guys around, the talk generally turns to how great things are and what proud we are of what we built here. Sure its a Sunday league way deep down but few act like it. We have fun play hard and celebrate afterwards. Our league is great because we all collectively care and treat it with importance.  Remember those college, high school or travels games that all seemingly had more meaning to it? We’re all chasing that here whether we admit it or not. So what’s a longer car ride other then an opportunity to with the car pool with the guys, and have a fun trip? And for visiting teams it would be 1 trip maybe every 2 years or so. I don’t think that’s unreasonable. I went off on a tangent there didn’t I? Sorry.

 

Fine we’ll all begrudgingly accept it for now. But again that last paragraph was another example of how big of a loser you are. We still don’t like you and your crazy ideas like this.

Oh. You CAN’t like whAt I’m about to say next. What if I tolD you…….***muffled voices*** oh ok yeah sorry. Never Again guys.

 

D2 Tiers:

Relegation Zone: FK Bosna, WNY United Reds, Kingsmen SC Revolution SC

Pretenders: Future Stars, 11 Stars FC, Meerkats FC, Celtic Brigade, Devils, DSC Buffalo, Delco Academy, Queen City Pride, Celtic 1888

Contenders: Clarence Rebels, Youngstown Marksmen, West Seneca FC, Olean 1845 FC, Great White Buffalo

Favorites: West Seneca Panthers

 

Second Division Table:

* = Playoffs

Odenbach:                                              Simpkin

1) West Seneca FC *                             1) Youngstown Marksmen*

2) West Seneca Panthers *                   2) Clarence Rebels*

3) Olean 1845 FC*                                3) Celtic 1888*

4) Great White Buffalo*                         4) Queen City Pride

5) Delco Academy*                               5) DSC Buffalo

6) Lykan United                                     6) Devils

7)11 Stars FC                                        7) Celtic Brigade

8) Future Stars                                      8) Meerkats FC

9) WNY United Reds                             9) Revolution SC

10) FK Bosna - R                                 10) Kingsmen SC - R

 

 

S1) Youngstown Marksmen over O8) Delco Academy

O2) West Seneca FC over O7) Great White Buffalo

S3) Clarence Rebels over S6) Celtic 1888

O5) Olean 1845 FC over S4) West Seneca Panthers

 

O5) Olean 1845 FC over S1) Youngstown Marksmen

S3) Clarence Rebels over O2) West Seneca FC

 

Promotion Game:

O2) West Seneca FC over S1) Youngstown Marksmen

 

Championship Game:

O5) Olean 1845 FC over S3) Clarence Rebels