All ECNL National Playoffs groups set for Oceanside, CA

RICHMOND, VA (Via ENCL) – After months of grueling competition the qualifiers for the 2016 ECNL Post-Season have been determined. On June 9, each of these qualifying teams learned their opponents for the 2016 ECNL Play-Offs in Oceanside, CA.

Every team in the ECNL Play-Offs in Oceanside will be competing for a championship or the chance to advance to the ECNL Finals depending on their age group.  At the U14 and U18 age groups, the ECNL Champions League National Champions will be crowned in Oceanside. At the U15, U16, and U17 age groups, qualifying teams will be competing in three divisions, the ECNL Champions League, ECNL North American Cup, or the ECNL Showcase Cup.

• U18 ECNL Champions League: 15 teams will earn automatic berths in the U18 ECNL Champions League based on the results of their regular season conference games.  The final spot in the U18 ECNL Champions League is a wildcard berth.  Teams will qualify for wildcard consideration based on the results of their conference games, and then the top team in the wildcard pool, based on points-per-game from all games, conference and national event, will qualify for the U18 ECNL Champions League. The 16 qualifying teams in the U18 ECNL Champions League will compete to crown the ECNL National Champion at the ECNL Playoffs, June 23-28 in Oceanside.  These teams will be seeded into 4 groups, where they will play 3 group games, a semi-final, and a final.
• U15-U17 ECNL Champions League: The top 32 teams in each age group (U15-U17) will play for the chance to hoist the trophy.  In total, 26 teams per age group will earn automatic berths in the ECNL Champions League. Results in regular season conference games will also determine which teams qualify for wildcard consideration for the ECNL Champions League.  An additional 14 teams will qualify for the wildcard pool in the ECNL Champions League based on their conference results.  Of these 14 teams in the wildcard pool, the top 6 teams based on points-per-game from all games played will qualify for the ECNL Champions League.  The U15-U17 ECNL Champions League Playoffs is a 32-team group-play, round-robin competition, followed by a knockout round. From group play, 8 teams will advance directly to a single game, single-elimination knockout quarterfinal match. Upon completion of the Playoffs, 4 teams, in each age group, will advance to the ECNL National Finals taking place in Germantown, MD on July 8-9.

• The U15-U17 ECNL North American Cup: 16 teams per age group (U15-U17) will qualify for the ECNL North American Cup. After the qualifiers are determined for the ECNL Champions League, the remaining teams (including wildcard consideration teams that did not qualify for the ECNL Champions League) will be ranked based on points (PPG) from all games played.  The top 16 teams in this ranking will qualify for the ECNL North American Cup and play a “knock-out” cup competition at the ECNL Playoffs.  The top 8 teams will be seeded in the bracket, and the remaining teams will be drawn into the bracket via a blind draw. The North American Cup consists of a guaranteed 3-game knockout competition with a fourth game to crown the North American Cup Champion. The North American Cup will be played in its entirety at the ECNL Playoffs.

• The U15-U17 ECNL Showcase Cup: After the ECNL Champions League and ECNL North American Cup participants have been determined, the next 16 teams in the ECNL based on PPG from all games played, will play in a guaranteed 3-game knockout competition with a fourth game to crown the champion at the ECNL Playoffs.

• U18 ECNL Champions League: 16 qualifying teams for the U18 ECNL Champions League will be determined in a very similar process to last year.  First, 15 teams will earn automatic berths in the U18 ECNL Champions League based on the results of their regular season conference games. The final spot in the U18 ECNL Champions League will be a wildcard spot.  The wildcard will go to the next highest finisher, based on points from conference games only, from the top conference based on Conference Strength from the previous year’s Overall Club Ranking. For the 2015-2016 season, one wildcard spot will go to the Southwest Conference. The 16 qualifying teams in the U18 ECNL Champions League will compete to crown the ECNL National Champion at the ECNL Playoffs.  These teams will be seeded into 4 groups, where they will play 3 group games, a semi-final, and a final.

• U14 Champions League: Click Here
• U18 Champions League: Click Here

• U15 Champions League: Click Here
• U16 Champions League: Click Here
• U17 Champions League: Click Here

• U15 North American Cup: Click Here
• U16 North American Cup: Click Here
• U17 North American Cup: Click Here

• U15 Showcase Cup: Click Here
• U16 Showcase Cup: Click Here
• U17 Showcase Cup: Click Here