US Club Nationals

[Unregistered]

I disagree with a lot of this post. Anyone who looked at the regions or last years National cup knows there is a super group and a premier group. People should forget about the term National cup = National champion in its most literal term. Super group is for the Mostly ECNL and NPL teams to enter and the Premier should be for state cup winners and NEP type teams....in my opinion what is wrong with teams winning their Local league then a regional event and then play teams in other regions and calling it National cup??? It seems logical to me. The premier teams are not built to compete with the ECNL teams...some can hang but two different commitment levels and expectations ....let them play teams of same make up. Let the premier teams play other winners of regions with teams of the same make up....I guess I don't know what is so bad about this. My kids team is in the premier division and is playing 3 teams from other parts of the country.....pretty cool. If they were lucky enough to win do you think they really believe the are the "National Champ" and the best team in the Nation?? People need to calm down here...what I don't understand is NE state cup teams advance right in? Why no regional event here? I have no answer for that expect they tourney needs more teams maybe?

Having multiple competitions each year is commonplace in Europe/Americas...with three (sometimes more) trophies awarded during the course of a season. For example - England has the Premiership (league), FA Cup, Capital One Cup, etc. Even in Europe there's the Champions League (think ECNL, NPL) and Europa League (NEP-caliber teams; but with the option for NPL teams that miss out on NPL national finals to compete to win something).

On any given day there are Europa League teams that can beat Champions League teams - to the poster's point above, I'm guessing that the NEFC GU13 Elite team playing in National Cup this week could beat several ECNL teams; but on balance, there are different competitions for different classifications of clubs/teams.

In the end - you can only play who you're scheduled against. Wishing all of the players and families a fun & memorable week!

[Unregistered]

Having two separate divisions for national championship is a complete joke.the best teams in the country should be headed to a national. Not state cup winners that can't even win there own division in the nep. Going out to Colorado for 3 games against the same teams you play all year is a complete waste. Sad that parents and kids had no idea about the 2 divisions super and premier. Super being the actual national cup for us club and the premiere division is like I don't even know what you call it.

My sons team is playing teams from North Dakota, California and Virginia in pool play.

[Unregistered]

My sons team is playing teams from North Dakota, California and Virginia in pool play.

Independent of whether the competition winner is a true "national champion" or not - playing strong teams from different parts of the country that your player's team wouldn't have played against otherwise is a pretty cool experience, no?

[Unregistered]

Having two separate divisions for national championship is a complete joke.the best teams in the country should be headed to a national. Not state cup winners that can't even win there own division in the nep. Going out to Colorado for 3 games against the same teams you play all year is a complete waste. Sad that parents and kids had no idea about the 2 divisions super and premier. Super being the actual national cup for us club and the premiere division is like I don't even know what you call it.

Do your kids play any other sports? This is commonplace. I know kids who go to aau basketball "national" championships, baseball "national" tournaments, etc... Those who attend may have won a specific tournament or I know of a team that was added after another team dropped out of an aau basketball tourney... To be honest, I think a lot of these are just money makers... My only point is to say that these national championships aren't the end all, be all... But it's very common in many sports.

[Unregistered]

Independent of whether the competition winner is a true "national champion" or not - playing strong teams from different parts of the country that your player's team wouldn't have played against otherwise is a pretty cool experience, no?

Absolutely that was my point. A great way to end the season.

It appears that the organizers went out of the way to avoid the NEP clubs from playing in pool play. The wildcard game may be a different story

The National Cup is more of a cup competition than a national championship. As someone mentioned above its like a smaller FA Cup or US Open Cup, neither are national championships. No one claimed that when Wigan Won the FA Cup several years ago that they were national champs

Let the kids have fun.

[Unregistered]

US Club needs to improve the process to get to nationals with clearly defined regional tournaments and remove the win your state cup to advance directly or have teams find some low level event to advance. This is watering down the competition and devaluing the accomplishment.

I agree but USClub may be testing out the concept this year with NE teams. Maybe if they play well against teams that came through a regional they will expand the concept to other state cups. Or if the NE state cup teams get destroyed then they make them go to regionals next time and everyone forgets about it.

[Unregistered]

I agree but USClub may be testing out the concept this year with NE teams. Maybe if they play well against teams that came through a regional they will expand the concept to other state cups. Or if the NE state cup teams get destroyed then they make them go to regionals next time and everyone forgets about it.

They didn't change the rules this year. There has always been state champ option to Nationals.
It was NEP that chose not to have regionals.

[Unregistered]

I agree but USClub may be testing out the concept this year with NE teams. Maybe if they play well against teams that came through a regional they will expand the concept to other state cups. Or if the NE state cup teams get destroyed then they make them go to regionals next time and everyone forgets about it.

Finals wrapped up today and while I was skeptical of the NE states' "win a State Cup only and you're qualified for nationals", the NE teams more than held their own with 8 of the 20 champions across the various age groups/genders Hailing from New England. Additionally a further 6 teams from NE made it to the final for their group.

Congratulations to the 3 GPS NH teams that made it to the final: GU13, GU15 NPL and BU15 NPL (Supergroup champions).

Write-up - including Final champions/runners' up by age/gender listed below:

IMG_4457 - website
FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OF NATIONAL CUP CELEBRATED WITH 20 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Posted at 01:00h in News Share
Results | Photos | Champions | Daily log/media coverage

AURORA, Colo. | Forty teams walked on stage Monday afternoon – 20 champions and 20 finalists – at the conclusion of the National Cup XV Finals at Aurora Sports Park.

Some players danced. Some cried. Some took selfies with the Doug Hamilton Memorial Trophy. Most cheered. No matter the emotions, all made history as triumphant members of US Club Soccer’s 15th anniversary of its cup-based national championship series: the National Cup.

The National Cup XV Finals served as the culminating event of the National Cup XV, which featured six National Cup XV Regionals and numerous qualifying state cups. U-13 through U-17 boys and girls champions from Regionals and state cups qualified directly to the Finals.

The wide array of qualification events ensured challenging conditions, as participants faced varying styles from teams around the country. The tournament field began with 158 teams and was narrowed through group play, semifinals and, finally, championship Monday. It was the largest number of total teams in National Cup Finals history.

Video recap coming soon
“The National Cup Finals is always special, and with this year being the 15th anniversary, it added to the prestige,” US Club Soccer Director of Events Chad Williams said. “We’ve seen this national championship event grow, and that’s a testament to all the clubs, coaches, players and parents who have been a part of the National Cup.”

The championship round, which included 15 different states, featured 12 games that were decided by one goal:

BOYS:

U-13 Super Group: NEFC Elite (Mass.)
NEFC Elite (Mass.) 2, Chicago Inferno ’03 Elite (Ill.) 1

U-13 Premier Group: Jackson Red Bulls (N.J.)
Jackson Red Bulls (N.J.) 3, Campton United ’03 (Ill.) 1

U-14 Super Group: Salinas Galaxy ’01 (Calif.)
Salinas Galaxy ’01 (Calif.) 5, Chicago Inferno Elite (Ill.) 1

U-14 Premier Group: GPS ME Phoenix (Maine)
GPS ME Phoenix (Maine) 2, Fredericksburg FC ’01 Black (Va.) 1

U-15 Super Group: GPS NH Classics 00/01 NPL (N.H.)
GPS NH Classics 00/01 NPL (N.H.) 3, STA Morris United NPL ’00 (N.J.) 2

U-15 Premier Group: Frederickburg FC ’00 Black (Va.)
Frederickburg FC ’00 Black (Va.) 3, GPS ME Phoenix (Maine) 1

U-16 Super Group: Match Fit Academy FC ’00 Black (N.J.)
Match Fit Academy FC ’00 Black (N.J.) 2, Marin FC 99/00 Blue (Calif.) 1

U-16 Premier Group: NEFC Premier South (R.I.)
NEFC Premier South (R.I.) 3, Napa Sport Academy ’00 Blue (Calif.) 2

U-17 Super Group: Marlboro SA Warriors Blue (N.J.)
Marlboro SA Warriors Blue (N.J.) 2, Holmdel FC Njx Sounders (N.J.) 1

U-17 Premier Group: Seacoast United Maine SC Mariners (Maine)
Seacoast United Maine SC Mariners (Maine) 3, Connecticut FC United 98/99 (Conn.) 2

GIRLS:

U-13 Super Group: Chicago Inferno Elite (Ill.)
Chicago Inferno Elite (Ill.) 3, Leahi ’03 Premiere Green (Hawaii) 0

U-13 Premier Group: Cleveland United Elite (Ohio)
Cleveland United Elite (Ohio) 2, GPS NH Elite Classics (N.H.) 1

U-14 Super Group: FC Boston Scorpions ECNL (Mass.)
FC Boston Scorpions ECNL (Mass.) 4, STA NPL ’01 (N.J.) 3

U-14 Premier Group: Hawaii Rush ’02 (Hawaii)
Hawaii Rush ’02 (Hawaii) 2, NEFC Premier South (Mass.) 0

U-15 Super Group: NEFC Elite (Mass)
NEFC Elite (Mass) 1, Orlando City Youth Soccer 00/01 Purple (Fla.) 0

U-15 Premier Group: Hawaii Rush ’01 (Hawaii)
Hawaii Rush ’01 (Hawaii) 4, GPS NH Classics Elite (N.H.) 1

U-16 Super Group: NEFC Elite (Mass.)
NEFC Elite (Mass.) 3, Hawaii Rush ’00 (Hawaii) 0

U-16 Premier Group: Colorado United White (Colo.)
Colorado United White (Colo.) 1, Mercer FC Magic (N.J.) 0

U-17 Super Group: Downtown Las Vegas SC ’99 Academy (Nev.)
Downtown Las Vegas SC ’99 Academy (Nev.) 4, NEFC Elite (Mass.) 2

U-17 Premier Group: FC Boulder ’99 Elite (Colo.)
FC Boulder ’99 Elite (Colo.) 3, Sockers FC NPL (Ill.) 2

[Unregistered]

I'm glad they came home with some tournament champions.
Results show that New England teams are overall average at best.
1/3 of all teams participating in the tournament came from New England.

[Unregistered]

I'm glad they came home with some tournament champions.
Results show that New England teams are overall average at best.
1/3 of all teams participating in the tournament came from New England.

1/2 of everyone you meet is below average intelligence. I am fairly certain your you fall into this category.

[Unregistered]

The best thing about the tournament in Colorado was the weed.
Figured you want to turn this in to the Mass site.

[Unregistered]

Congratulations to the BU15s for winning the National Cup (Supergroup) - way to represent NH!

[Unregistered]

Congratulations to the BU15s for winning the National Cup (Supergroup) - way to represent NH!

Well done to the U15 boys and the other two GPS NH teams that made the finals.

[Unregistered]

Epilogue

Summary/breakdown of various associations/regions for NPL National Finals and US National Cup teams:

http://usclubsoccer.org/2016/08/09/t...cup-xv-finals/