Week 1 of US Youth Soccer National League Girls Concludes
The first weekend of the US Youth Soccer National League Girls concludes as teams began their journey to the US Youth Soccer National Championships. More than 300 college coaches stood on the sidelines with many more expected to attend the second National League weekend at the end of the month.
Youth Soccer News: With the opening weekend coming to a close, the US Youth Soccer National League U15, U16, U17, U18 and U19/20 Girls have solidified their spots in the standings until the next meeting between December 31st to January 2nd in Orlando, Florida. Teams will continue competition for a league title and a ticket to the US Youth Soccer National Championships in Frisco, Texas.
National League teams earned their berth into the league based on their record of success in US Youth Soccer regional and national competitions. Hundreds of collegiate coaches, as well as members of the U.S. Soccer staff, attended the National League games in North Carolina to recruit some of the top talent in the country.
The competition within each age group was extremely competitive, and multiple squads are still very much alive for every division title. The first-place team’s lead is two points or less in 12 of the 16 divisions, while seven divisions are tied at the top of the table. Meanwhile, just eight teams came away with a win in each of their four matches.
Of the defending National Champions, only U17 Midwest United FC 00 Royal (MI) managed to go 4-0-0 over the weekend. U17 Scottsdale Blackhawks Taylor (AZ) also finished the weekend unbeaten.
“To finish on top of the National League, whether expanded or not, you’re playing against some of the best teams in the country, so it’s always going to be difficult,” said Paul Taylor, head coach of the Scottsdale Blackhawks. “It makes it doubly hard now without the first two slots. You’ve got to beat the best to get the opportunity to go the National Championships.
“It’s one game at a time. We came here hoping for a couple of wins and a couple of ties. We were fortunate enough to come away with the four wins against great competition.”
National League Girls action continues when half of the 128 clubs meet December 31-January 2 in Orlando, Florida, alongside the Disney Soccer Showcase. The remaining 64 teams play March 17-19, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada, alongside the Players College Showcase.
Complete standings, scores and schedules, including goal scorers and match information, can be found at the results page here.
Photo Credit: US Youth Soccer
