2025 BDSL Predictions

4th Division:

Pepper

1. Celtic Classic

2. Queen City Mavericks

3. WNY United Reds

4. North Collins United

Odenbach

1. Tonawanda United

2. Huskies FC

3. Big Green SC

4. South Buffalo FC

 

I think the big battle in D4 this year will be coming out of Pepper. All 4 teams in Pepper are very comparable. Classic are the been there done that team with a few good additions trickling down the Celtic pipeline. Mavs have retooled and look competitive. Reds after a tough relegation campaign last year have added some younger talent and have a different core to work with. North Collins are largely unchanged from last year coming off a playoff berth. Honestly I think the team that finishes 4th here is maybe at worst second place team in Odenbach. Speaking of that conference I feel Ton U is clearly the best team here. Huskies had a good year last season but lost a key contributor and didn't really replace that. Big Green SC i think could be better then we’ve seen in years past but still not quite in ready for the next step. SBFC is looking rough. Crying out for an injection of new blood.

 

Playoffs:

1p Celtic Classic over 2o Huskies FC

1o Tonawanda United over 2p Queen City Mavericks

 

1o Tonawanda United over 1p Celtic Classic

 

3rd Division

1. JL Dutch

2. nWo FC

3. Rust Belt United

4. Buffalo Brighten Stars FC

5. Queen City AFC

6. Buffalo Evening

7. Allen FC

8. Badger Academy 

9. WNY Phoenix

10. Meerkats FC

11. Lake Shore FC

 

I have been saying JL Dutch is the team to beat since divisions came out and see no reason that this is different with the season starting this weekend. If they don't win, it's their own doing. Not many holes on the team aside from maybe some speed along the back line. After them it's actually a really fun division overall I think. I fancy nWo and Rust Belt to continue their upward push with strong rosters. Brighten Stars is always a case to me that I think they have pieces that work but can they fit the puzzle together, and here we are again very much in the same position. After that can see a tough 4 way battle between Queen City, Evening, Allen FC, and Badger Academy where two of these teams lose out on the postseason. Phoenix could be the dark horse here. Most got their first taste of BDSL action last year in a one and done Wolverines club. It will be interesting to see what lessons they have learned this year. Meerkats made some changes and got younger. They will either all totally hit on these additions and be like a 2-3 place team or will struggle near the bottom most of the year. No in-between. Finally, it pains me but I have Lake Shore at the bottom. I think I typically rate them high and usually don't see much pan out with that. Maybe the old Prez reverse jinx plays in their favor.

 

Playoffs:

5) Queen City AFC over 4) Buffalo Brighten Stars FC

3) Rust Belt United over 6) Buffalo Evening

 

1) JL Dutch over 5) Queen City AFC

2) nWo FC over 3) Rust Belt United

 

1) JL Dutch over 2) nWo FC

 

2nd Division

1. Kunz FC

2. United Warriors

3. Infinity FC

4. Bangarang FC

5. Devils

6. Hamburg Monarchs SC

7. Buffalo Cosmos

8. Crimson Embers FC

9. Lasalle FC

10. FC Munster

11. Clarence Coyotes

 

Kinda love D2. Division looks super competitive. Lots of different play styles. Lots of different team dynamics. Lots of different possibilities. Didn’t know too much about new side Kunz but now that they look like Delco reincarnate I think they have to take the top slot for me. The Warriors had a great season last year that went sideways quickly in the postseason and I think they are itching to set the record straight. Of the group of promoted clubs Bangarang and Infinity are just too well constructed and managed to fail for me. I like the moves that Hamburg continue to make and they should be solid again despite the move up. I think Embers, Devils, Cosmos and Lasalle are all very similar clubs and should fight for a playoff spot. Won't surprise me if any of these teams finish higher then I have them listed here. At the other end I have FC Munster and Clarence fighting against relegation. Munster I feel like I caught some magic last year and I feel like the step up in competition here knocks them back. While Clarence survived last year I think they are just in for another tough go to stay up this season.

 

Playoffs

4) Bangarang FC over 5) Devils

6) Hamburg Monarchs SC over 3) Infinity FC 

 

1) Kunz FC over 6) Hamburg Monarchs SC

4) Bangarang FC over 2) United Warriors

 

1) Kunz FC over 4) Bangarang FC

 

1st Division

1. Buffalo Night

2. Southern Tier FC

3. Niagara FC

4. Honey Badgers

5. Ukraine

6. Mandem FC

7. Celtic Brigade

8. Chargers FC

9. Medina Mustangs FC

10. Great White Buffalo

11. Cheektowaga Stingrays FC

 

Aside from Buffalo Night who I think is a mortal lock for the playoffs (unless their top players miss due to other soccer commitments) the battle for the remaining 5 playoff spots should be hotly contested. Teams I have ranked 2 through 7 look very close on paper. Southern Tier have retooled and I think get a bonus home field advantage. Ukraine has some high end talent that needs to show out for them to make the postseason. Honey Badgers (full disclosure I have landed here this season)  made a lot of moves and sport a young roster. They’ll need to score consistently to make it. I like the balance that Mandem is showing with the squad and I think they’ll have enough results to qualify. Niagara FC could be probably be the biggest threat to finish 1st if Buffalo Night slip up. I really like Brigade too they have a quick attack and pair that with physical players in the back. Could easily make the playoffs too. Chargers and Medina are two teams that are built opposite ways. Medina's roster is overall good without much drop off after their starting 11 into the bench but for me maybe lack some start power in the moving up. Chargers on the other hand look pretty top heavy with the talent they have and the bench options concern me. Great White Buffalo likes to promote themselves as the old men of the division so I’ve placed them here because the rest of the division has a big youth influx. Truthfully I think they might like to be in D2 over D1 anyways if they did find themselves going down. And lastly I have Cheektowaga which roster is just in constant turn over at this stage aside from the Weigand core. They’ll have to run and gun to get results and I'm not sure they can do that.

 

Playoffs

6) Mandem FC over 3) Niagara FC

4) Honey Badgers over 5) Ukraine

 

1) Buffalo Night over 6) Mandem FC

2) Southern Tier FC over 4) Honey Badgers

 

2) Southern Tier over 1) Buffalo Night

 

Championship

1. Buffalo Celtic

2. Crimson Fire FC

3. Westside Blitz

4. Revolution SC

5. Williamsville Willies

6. Mes Que FC

7. Buffalo Stallions FC

8. Queen City Gunners

9. Outlaws

10. Rance FC

11. Buffalo Italia FC

 

If Celtic on paper look very solid. Can they put it together on the field though is the big question. Will they be able to keep their composure when things go wrong? Oddly i feel like i’ve written this sentence many times before about another Celtic club and it applies here. I think this team looks good but if a few things go against them it could crumble quickly. Crimson Fire basically added the remains of the Cavs and mixed in some younger talent. Team should be a playoff lock. I am picking Blitz to finish in the playoffs so they will now most likely get relegated. Sorry guys. Next we have the Champo holdovers from last year with Mes Que, Revs and Willies occupying the middle. Mes Que is most volatile in terms of where they could finish. But the other two seem like solid middle table clubs. To me the three other promoted sides, Stallions Gunners and Outlaws also fit together nicely. I think Stallions could maybe sneak into the playoffs while Outlaws could be the closest of new teams to head back down. Up until yesterday I had Rance last until they showed some life with more player adds. The split between them and Mandem is interesting. I'm wondering how this affects them as I know attendance issues plagued them last year. This leaves a Buffalo Italia team that is running light roster wise. Never a fan of this so last they go for me.

 

Playoffs

5) Williamsville Willies over 4) Revolution SC

3) Westside Blitz over 6) Mes Que FC

 

1) Buffalo Celtic over 5) Williamsville Willies

2) Crimson Fire FC over 3) Westside Blitz

 

2) Crimson Fire FC over 3) Buffalo Celtic

 

Premier

1. Amherst Sharpshooters

2. Queenston FC

3. BSC Raiders

4. Buffalo United SS 

5. NMB FC

6. Borussia Bees

7. Los Chupacabras

8. Celtic United

9. Olean 1854 FC

10. Polonia Legacy

11. Cattaraugus County FC

 

Defending the tremble, Sharpshooters are generally unchanged though losing Woolingham is tough. Still one of the most well rounded groups that can match any teams style and pace and play it better then you can. Queenston FC is similarly largely unchanged and should remain of course a top challenger here. BSC Raiders and BUSS are interchangeable to me. Raiders are the same controlling team that when playing at peak is impossible to score against. BUSS as a group now is just making the playoffs and then crank it up a notch. Its the Big Four. I mean we all know it's them and everyone else chasing. Slot them in any order you wish at this point. I think the next two teams looking to crack into it are Borussia and NMB. I actually like NMB’s continued improvements. On their day I think they can take down one of the top teams undoubtedly. Bees had a fantastic run to the Tehel Cup finals and nearly pulled it off vs Amherst. I'm a bit more concerned about the back end of this roster specifically in the back vs that of NMB’s but really it's a razor thin line. Los Chupacabras are a fine team that are stuck between a rock and hard place in this division. No where to go but stay put which is a tough existence. Celtic United, I mean…I feel like I’ve said it all about this team over the years. Nothing has truly changed but it just seems like more often then not they find themselves on the bad side then good in terms of team results. I think Olean gets a boost over Polonia with home field advantage. Seems they are getting the more experienced talent over the other Southern Tier team. Polonia I think gets relegated any other year unless im missing something, but we have Cattaraugus County here that I think in the future will become more of a feeder spot to blood some talent before they are ready to make a jump to Olean on the big stage. We’ll see if they can hold on though.

 

Playoffs

3) BSC Raiders over 6) Borussia Bees

5) NMB FC over 4) Buffalo United SS

 

1) Amherst Sharpshooters over 5) NMB FC

3) BSC Raiders over 2) Queenston FC

 

1) Amherst Sharpshooters over 3) BSC Raiders

 

Over 35 Premier

1. Blue Stars FC

2. Enigma FC

3. Oranje

4. Tidal FC

5. Lykan Next

6. SoHo FC

 

Over 35 Championship

1. West United Rowdies

2. Thunderkats FC

3. Blue Heavy FC

4. OLDevils FC

5. GOATS FC

6. International Friendlies

 

On the Premier side of things I think the tiers are Blue Stars & Enigma, Oranje, Tidal & Lykan, and a wildcard SoHo. Blue Stars are now like Raiders to me. Hard for me to pick against them at this point. I like Enigma but they just seem to lack the same steady level of play that Blue Stars produce week in and out. Oranje is that team you just simply don't want to play in the playoffs because they are just such a hard out. They know how to flip the switch. Then between Tidal and Lykan it's anyone's guess who is better than the other over the course of the season. The teams know each other well from summer even. SoHo FC at this stage is sort of a complete unknown. Not so much in terms of the players because it's largely the same group for years. But just in terms of commitment to the cause at this stage. 

 

Flipping over to the Championship side, I think the playoff battle among the top four of West United Thunderkats OLDevils and Blue Heavy should be a great one to watch. Really these teams are all pretty balanced. I think the Thunderkats may have the best, most reliable roster. West United has the best group of top talent. Blue Heavy has the best cohesion and understands their own strengths and weaknesses and then you have OLDevils which is the Championships version of Oranje. Just an annoying pesky team that wont quit. GOATS FC and International Friendlies are here and they play soccer as well. Have fun guys.

 

Premier Playoffs

1) Blue Stars FC over 4) Tidal FC

2) Enigma FC over 3) Oranje

 

1) Blue Stars FC over 2) Enigma FC

 

Championship Playoffs

1) West United Rowdies over 4) OLDevils FC

3) Blue Heavy FC over 2) Thunderkats FC

 

3) Blue Heavy FC over 1) West United Rowdies