Jefferson Cup 2025 Championship Division Preview: U16 Girls

SoccerWire continues its annual article series previewing the Jefferson Cup’s top brackets. In this edition, we take a look ahead at the U16 Girls Championship Division.

This year’s top flight features 12 of the top teams in the country in a showcase style format. (COLLEGE COACHES)

Fairfax Union ECNL 09: Booked back-to-back wins against Skyline Elite (6-0) and Rush Select Blue (4-0) to finish second in Bracket C of the visitRaleigh Girls College Showcase. They have also recently earned a strong 3-1 victory over NVA in Mid-Atlantic Conference to put them in contention for a Northern American Cup contention.

FC DELCO ECNL 09: Pulled off four consecutive victories in ECNL play, outscoring their opponents 10-3 during that time span. Midfielders Kherington Yezik, Zara Burke and Lilah Helwig lead a talented group that is looking to expand upon their ECNL National Playoffs Round of 16 performance from last season.

(+Players to Watch: Jefferson Cup 2025 Girls Showcase)

FC Prime ECNL 09: Blanked Florida West FC 5-0 in ECNL Southeast Conference play as a tune-up for this year’s Jefferson Cup. Their stifling defense has conceded just ten goals in conference play this season, the second lowest among all teams.

FC Hawaii 09 Red: A perennial power in the West, FC Hawaii will look to make waves in Richmond. Hawaii have dominated USYS play over the past two years winning the Far West Regional Championship in successive seasons and the 2023 National Championship at the U14 level. The team also features recent USWYNT U-16 call-up Kylie Tang.

Nationals Blue ECNL 09: In just their first year in ECNL play Nationals SC has more than held their own finishing Midwest Conference play 8-3-3 on 27 points and put them in contention for a Champions League spot. Playing under pressure is nothing new for Nationals as they were finalists last season in the Girls Academy National Championship.

NC Courage Academy ECNL 09: Earned three consecutive victories at the visitRaleigh.com College Showcase, earning top honors in Bracket A. Their defense was particularly on point, blanking Elite XI Soccer Academy (4-0), Rush Soccer Global White (8-0), and South Carolina Surf (2-0) to earn three clean sheets.

PDA Legacy Blue ECNL 09: The 2023 ECNL National Champion squad is a perennial national powerhouse in the 2009 age group. PDA features four players that were recently invited to participate in the USYNT U-16 ID Center event in Pennsylvania: Deus Stanislaus (Forward/Midfielder), Lizzie Rubin (Midfielder), Amari Manning (Forward/Midfielder), and Sandra O’Neill (Defender).

Penn Fusion ECNL 09: Across all ECNL competitions, Penn Fusion have excelled in both league and National Event play accumulating a 8-1-0 record on 24 points. At the ECNL Florida Winter event they dominated the competition defeating Concorde Fire Platinum (4-1), Nationals Soccer Club-Nationals (3-2), and World Class FC (1-0). After making the Quarterfinals last year, they are looking to use their experience in Richmond to prepare for the ECNL’s second season.

Richmond United ECNL 09: Finished off ECNL regular season play for 2024-2025 with three consecutive victories at the recent National Event in Texas. Richmond is highly effective at burying their shots into the back of the net having scored 29 goals in Mid-Atlantic Conference play this season.

SUSA FC ECNL 09: Earned their third consecutive clean sheet on Sunday by blanking Connecticut FC in New England Conference play. Midfielder Vanessa Puerta was recently called up to both the Colombia and United States Youth National Teams and has been instrumental in organizing play through the the center of the field.

VDA ECNL 09: Finished off their Mid-Atlantic Conference season by knocking off their in-state rivals Richmond United 2-0 back in February. With the win, VDA improved their record to 9-0-2 on 29 points while leading the conference in goals scored (37) and goals allowed (8).

World Class FC ECNL 09: Knocked off Scorpions SC (3-0) last weekend to earn their first victory in the ECNL’s New England Conference. World Class always puts a high level of importance in their defensive work and it has shown on the biggest of stages. Their 2009s have conceded just six goals in ECNL National Events this season while earning shutouts against Charlotte SA (1-0), Seattle United (0-0), and Tennessee SC (1-0).