ECNL National Championships and Playoffs conclude in Seattle, PDA dominates
The Elite Clubs National League Under-14 and Under-18 National Finals, as well as the Under-15 through Under-17 Playoffs wrapped up in Seattle, Washington Sunday, with PDA and San Diego Surf earning bragging rights by sending three teams each to next month’s National Finals in Richmond, Virginia.
Wrapping up a nearly a week long event just north of the heart of in Redmond, Washington 48 teams booked a spot in the Under-15, Under-16, and Under-17 ECNL National Finals tournament, which begins with the “Rivah Draw” ceremonies on July 12, followed by five days of competition to determine the top teams in each age group.
Seattle also saw two overall champions crowned in the Under-14 and Under-18 age groups, with Michigan Hawks and PDA taking the prize respectfully. Michigan Hawks had a team in both finals, but while their Under-14 team won 3-2 over Colorado, their Under-18 side dropped a 1-2 result to PDA.
In all, 224 teams competed in the Emerald City event, with the 2013-14 ECNL season coming to end for 176 of those.
The under-14 and under-18 champions where crowned after playing five games over six days, beginning with four groups of four teams playing a round-robin format on June 24-26. The winners of each group had a one day rest, then matched up on semifinals on Saturday the 28th, followed by the championship on Sunday.
Semifinal and Final result and team links for the Under-14s.
| Date | Time | Home | Score | Away | Type |
| 06-28-14 | 9:30 am | PDA ECNL | 0:0 | Real Colorado ECNL National | Playoff |
| 06-28-14 | 9:30 am | Crossfire Premier ECNL | 2:5 | Michigan Wolves-Hawks 00 ECNL | Playoff |
| 06-29-14 | 8:15 am | Michigan Wolves-Hawks 00 ECNL | 3:2 | Real Colorado ECNL National | Final |
Semifinal and Final result and team links for the Under-18s.
| Date | Time | Home | Score | Away | Type |
| 06-28-14 | 11:30 am | PDA ECNL | 2:0 | San Diego Surf SC ECNL | Playoff |
| 06-28-14 | 11:30 am | Michigan Hawks ECNL | 1:1 | Real So Cal White ECNL | Playoff |
| 06-29-14 | 10:15 am | PDA ECNL | 2:1 | Michigan Hawks ECNL | Final |
For the under-15 through under-17 age groups, 64 out of the 70 clubs in ECNL earned their way to Seattle in either the Champions League or the North American Cup for post-season competition in each age group. Competing in eight groups of four teams, each played the other within those groups, with the best records advancing to Richmond.
The groups were seeded in order to keep the top teams in regular season play apart, giving each a chance to advance without taking each other out without a shot at even making it to Richmond.
The Champions League was made up of the top 24 teams that automatically qualify based solely on conference games. To get up to 32, the league then looked at the next best 14 conference-only records, and then added in non-conference games to come up with a ranking of all 14 teams based on total points per game for all ECNL games. From there the top eight (8) joined the 24 into eight groups of four teams each just like the World Cup.
The North America Cup field of 32 teams per age group was selected from the remaining clubs that did not qualify for the Champions League level by taking the next best overall points per game records for all ECNL games – conference and non-conference. Those teams too were each divided into eight groups of four teams each, with the winners booking passage to Richmond to compete for the National Cup Final.
Overall, North/Central Jersey’s PDA club had the best time in Cascadia, with all three of their teams first earning spots in Champions League play, then winning their groups in under-15, 16, and 17 age groups. While San Diego Surf also had three teams advance to Richmond at the Champions League level, PDA’s Under-18 Championship win edged out San Diego, which included a head-to-head 2-0 win for PDA in the Under-18 semifinals.
Here is a chart with all the clubs sending at least one team to Richmond:
| Club | Champions League | National Cup | Total |
| PDA |
3 |
0 |
3 |
| San Diego Surf |
3 |
0 |
3 |
| Minnesota Thunder |
0 |
3 |
3 |
| SLSG |
0 |
3 |
3 |
| Dallas Sting |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Dallas Texans |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Eclipse Select |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Real Colorado |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| So Cal Blues |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| West Coast FC |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| FC Dallas |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Internationals |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| SLSG Metro |
0 |
2 |
2 |
| Albertson Fury |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| De Anza Force |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| GSA |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Slammers |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| Colorado Rush |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Connecticut FC |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| FC Bucks |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| FC Wisconsin |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Maryland United |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| McLean |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| MVLA |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| San Juan |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Solar Chelsea |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Sporting Blue Valley |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Utah Avalanche |
0 |
1 |
1 |
Here is a full list of the 8-team fields that will compete in Richmond in the Under-15, 16, and 17 National Championships in Richmond:
Under-15 Champions League
Albertson Fury
DeAnza Force
PDA
Real Colorado
San Diego Surf
So Cal Blues
Tesas Rush
West Coast FC
Under-16 Champions League
Dallas Sting
Dallas Texans
Eclipse Select
FC Dallas
PDA
Real Colorado
San Diego Surf
Slammers FC
Under-17 Champions League
Dallas Sting
Dallas Texans
Eclipse Select
GSA
PDA
San Diego Surf
So Cal Blues
West Coast FC
Under-15 National Cup
FC Dallas
Internationals
Maryland United
Minnesota Thunder
MVLA
SLSG
SLSG-Metro
Sporting Blue Valley
Under-16 National Cup
CASL
Colorado Rush
Connecticut FC
McLean
Minnesota Thunder
San Juan
SLSG
Solar Chelsea
Under-17 National Cup
East Meadow
FC Bucks
FC Wisconsin
Internationals
Minnesota Thunder
SLSG
SLSG-Metro
Utah Avalanche
