I happen to think the soccer analogy is horrible. They may be more organized as an institution but where are they when it comes to player development? For the amount of time they want you to practice and play year round I just don't see kids getting the college looks as lacrosse on LI.
Let's try to define what you mean by player development. If you are looking for premier academies that support player growth, soccer academy consolidation has already taken place with the top regional academies already identified for both boys and girls.
If you are looking for college placements, my most recent data showed that 97% of girls players that were playing for premier league teams (club teams) between 2007 and 2011 were collegiate placed. Remember that in soccer, there are too many High School teams on Long Island (more than 110) with too many players (approximately 2,700 for both the boys and the girls - so 5,400 in total) to be able to argue that top quality can consistently be found at the scholastic level.
If you are looking for national presence, all I can offer in defense is that one of the players that our team battled for years (Crystal Dunn) is now a starter (not just on the team, but one of the starting eleven) for the Women's National Team.
All of this said, perhaps the soccer analogy is weak simply because it is more rigidly defined than the wild west that you currently have in youth lacrosse.
