ECNL Continues to Expand
ECNL Girls Regional Leagues continue to expand with the addition of the United Soccer Clubs
The Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) Girls will be adding a new league to its growing platform of Regional Leagues, as the ECNL Girls Regional League – United Soccer Clubs will begin to play in the 2020-21 season.
The ECNL Girls Regional League – USC will be operated by the United Soccer Clubs, and will include competition at the U13 through U18/U19 age groups.
The United Soccer Clubs (USC) encompasses all of South and Central Texas with more than 7,000 players and 28 youth clubs from all areas of Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Rio Grande Valley, and parts of the gulf coast.
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The league is split geographically into East and West Divisions, with each division consisting of local league play within the division, and a Champions League for qualifying top teams from each division.
Top finishers from the USC Champions League will meet top finishers from the ECNL Girls Regional League – Texas Conference for the opportunity to advance to the 2021 ECNL Open Cup at the Playoffs.
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“The national growth of the ECNL Regional Leagues reinforces the tremendous youth female talent pool across the country,” said ECNL Girls Commissioner, Jen Winnagle. “It is our goal to provide a pathway for players and teams to reach their fullest potential by providing the opportunity to compete against the best in the country, and the ECNL Regional League – United Soccer Clubs will help this happen.”
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ECNL Girls Regional Leagues are designed to service a deeper player pool from member clubs within the ECNL Girls and to provide a competitive platform for objective evaluation of new clubs for full ECNL membership in the future.
Through a post-season pathway, top-performing teams in ECNL Girls Regional Leagues earn the opportunity to compete in the Open Cup Division of the ECNL Playoffs at the U15, U16, and U17 ages, where they will match up against other ECNL Girls Regional League qualifiers as well as member clubs of the ECNL.
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The following clubs will be participating in the ECNL Girls Regional League – United Soccer Clubs division in the 2020-21 season.
| Albion Hurricanes FC | Lions FC |
| Ajax SC | Rise SC |
| Classics Elite SA | San Antonio City |
| Classics Elite SA Rio Grande Valley | San Antonio Surf |
| Challenge SC | SG1 Soccer Club |
| Central Texas Surf | Sting Austin |
| Dynamos | Sting San Antonio |
| Houstonians FC |
The USC board of directors are thrilled about the licensing of the Champions League division of the USC as a new ECNL Regional League, and the expanded opportunities it will bring to USC players and clubs,” said USC Board Member, Aaron Metzger. “The enhanced pathway into ECNL Open Cup competitions is a game-changer for the league and our members.”
There were six ECNL Girls Regional Leagues operating in the 2019-20 season: Northeast, Northwest, Ohio Valley, Southwest, Texas, and Virginia. In the past few months, the league announced the addition of the ECNL Regional League – Carolinas, ECNL Regional League – Heartland, and ECNL Regional League – Florida for the 2020-21 season.
Additional information on programs, qualification and participating conferences in the ECNL Regional Leagues for the 2020-21 Season will be released in the coming months.
