Youth Soccer Teams Headed for USYS National Championship

Following successful USYS National League P.R.O. seasons, 144 teams have punched their ticket to the USYS National Championships, being played July 18-23 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.

Teams can be found at this link.

In each of the 14U through 19U age groups, National League P.R.O. competition saw 12 boys teams and 12 girls teams earn advancement to the National Championships, where they will be joined by the four representatives from the upcoming USYS Regional Championships – completing the field of 16 teams in each of those age groups.

“We’re so excited. We’ve been training and working and putting in the effort to try to get where we are right now,” said Coppermine SC 07G (MD) midfielder Riley Matthews in March after her team qualified for Nationals. “We’re just so excited and can’t wait to have a chance to play for the National Championship.”

The National League P.R.O. season featured five exciting events that spanned November through March. Each team attended two events, where they played at least six games before rounding out their seven-game season with a standalone game. With several highly competitive groups, many of the seventh games played during the spring determined National League P.R.O. group titles, as well as berths to Nationals.

The teams that qualified for Nationals through National League P.R.O. represent 28 USYS State Associations, led Eastern Pennsylvania with 16 teams. Illinois followed with 14 qualifiers, while Ohio had 13, Maryland had 10 and New Jersey had nine.

Among the 13 National League Conferences, the Midwest Conference led the way with 36 teams that secured their place in the National Championships, followed by the Great Lakes Conference and Mid Atlantic Conference with 21 each. Totals for the other conferences include: South Atlantic (16), Frontier (8), Sunshine (8), Desert (7), Mid South (7), North Atlantic (7), Pacific (5), Northwest (3), Piedmont (3), New England (2).

“After watching the amazing competition throughout the National League P.R.O. season, we know that any team that earned its place in the National Championships is full of talented and deserving players,” said National League Commission Simon Collins. “The challenges these teams faced throughout the National League season have prepared them well to compete for the ultimate title of USYS National Champions, and we can’t wait to cheer them on this summer.”