Expanded format announced for ECNL Girls Regional League Postseason

RICHMOND, Va. – ECNL Girls announced a significant expansion to the ECNL Girls Regional League Postseason for the 2021-22 season, including for the first time, the crowning of a Regional League Champion across all ECNL Girls Regional Leagues in the country.

The ECNL Girls Regional League Finals will be held concurrently with the ECNL Girls Club Competition National Playoffs in Seattle in June 2022.

“This is an extremely exciting time for the ECNL Girls Regional League and is a major step forward for these athletes and teams,” said ECNL Girls Commissioner Jen Winnagle. “As the Regional Leagues have continued to grow and create an important pathway for these extraordinary female players, we felt it was important to have a postseason structure that reflected this growth. The ECNL Girls Regional League Finals, held during the ECNL Girls National Playoffs in Seattle, brings both of the ECNL Girls’ postseason pathways together in an incredible atmosphere.”

At each age group from U13 – U18/U19, eight teams will compete to be ECNL Girls Regional League Champions in single-elimination knockout brackets. Each team will be guaranteed three games. The qualification pathways to the ECNL Girls Regional League Finals will vary by age group and are outlined below.

U13

At the U13 level, three spots in the ECNL Girls Regional League Finals will be filled from the winners of three Regional League Postseason Events: the Northeast event (including teams from the New England and North Atlantic leagues), the Southeast event (including teams from the South Atlantic, Florida and Virginia leagues) and the Texas event (including teams from the Texas, North Texas and United Soccer Clubs leagues). Three additional spots will be filled by the regular-season winners of the Ohio Valley, Heartland and Southwest Regional Leagues. The second-place team in the Southwest Regional League from the regular season will receive the seventh spot and finally, the Texas ECNL Regional League Postseason Event finalist will be the eighth team selected.

U14

At the U14 level, four spots will be filled from the winners of four Regional League Postseason Events: the Northeast event (New England and North Atlantic), the Southeast event (South Atlantic, Florida and Virginia), the Texas event (Texas, North Texas and United Soccer Clubs), and the California event (Southwest and NorCal). Two additional spots will be filled by the regular-season winners from the Ohio Valley and Heartland Regional Leagues. The final two spots will be filled by the California ECNL Regional League Postseason Event finalist and the Texas ECNL Regional League Postseason Event finalist.

U15, U16, U17, U18/19

At each of the U15, U16, U17 and U18/19 levels, four spots will be filled from the winners of four Regional League Postseason Events: the Northeast event (New England and North Atlantic), the Southeast event (South Atlantic, Florida and Virginia), the Texas event (Texas, North Texas and United Soccer Clubs), and the California event (Southwest and NorCal). An additional three spots will be filled by the regular-season winners from the Ohio Valley, Heartland and Northwest Regional Leagues. Finally, the California ECNL Regional League Postseason Event finalist will be selected as the eighth team, completing the pool for each age group.

For more information regarding the ECNL Girls Regional League Postseason structure, click here.