Girls Development Academy Playoff Draw results unveiled
CHICAGO – The U.S. Soccer Development Academy conducted the Girls’ Academy Playoff Draw on Thursday, June 13 at Soccer House, U.S. Soccer’s Chicago headquarters.
For the 2018-2019 season, 32 teams qualified for the Academy Playoffs at the U-15 and U-16/17 age groups and the teams were drawn into eight groups of four teams each. At the U-18/19 level, 16 teams qualified to the Playoffs and were drawn into four groups of four teams.
For the second year, elite female players from the nation’s top youth clubs will contest the Academy Playoffs at the SoCal Sports Complex in Oceanside, Calif. Games begin on June 20 as the U-15 and U-16/17 age groups will play their group stage and quarterfinal matches in Oceanside while the U-18/19 age group will play out the group stage, semifinals and final. The draw breakdown can be found below and on the Development Academy’s Twitter ( @ussoccer_da). The number in parentheses indicates the team’s seed entering the draw.
U-18/19 Academy Playoffs Draw
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Tophat (Atlanta, Ga.) (4) | United Soccer Alliance (Jacksonville, Fla.) (3) | NEFC (Holliston, Mass.) (2) | FC Virginia (Loudon, Va.) (1) |
| FC Dallas (Frisco, Texas) (6) | Real So Cal (Woodland Hills, Calif.) (7) | Solar Soccer Club (Dallas, Texas) (8) | Sockers FC (Palatine, Ill.) (5) |
| San Diego Surf (San Diego, Calif.) (11) | Real Colorado (Centennial, Colo.) (12) | Midwest United (Grand Rapids, Mich.) (9) | SC del Sol (Phoenix, Ariz.) (10) |
| Penn Fusion Soccer Academy (West Chester, Pa.) (14) | La Roca Futbol Club (Kaysville, Utah) (15) | Legends FC (Chino, Calif.) (16) | Crossfire Premier (Kirkland, Wash.) (13) |
U-16/17 Academy Playoffs Draw
| G roup A | G roup B | G roup C | G roup D |
| Midwest United (Grand Rapids, Mich.) (5) | Tophat (Atlanta, Ga.) (2) | NEFC (Holliston, Mass.) (6) | NC Courage (Raleigh, N.C.) (8) |
| IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) (12) | Dallas Texans (Plano, Texas) (15) | San Diego Surf (San Diego, Calif.) (9) | Crossfire Premier (Kirkland, Wash.) (16) |
| LA Galaxy San Diego (Carlsbad, Calif.) (19) | Cincinnati DA (Cincinnati, Ohio) (24) | Real Colorado (Centennial, Colo.) (18) | Nationals (Pontiac, Mich.) (23) |
| Oakwood Soccer Club (Glastonbury, Conn.) (29) | So Cal Blues Soccer Club (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) (26) | La Roca Futbol Club (Kaysville, Utah) (30) | Real So Cal (Woodland Hills, Calif.) (25) |
| G roup E | G roup F | G roup G | Group H |
| Solar Soccer Club (Dallas, Texas) (1) | Legends FC (Chino, Calif.) (4) | Sporting Blue Valley (Overland Park, Kan.) (7) | Penn Fusion Soccer Academy (West Chester, Pa.) (3) |
| New York City FC (New York, N.Y.) (10) | Lonestar SC Academy (Austin, Texas) (14) | Charlotte Soccer Academy (Matthews, N.C.) (13) | FC Dallas (Frisco, Texas) (11) |
| California Thorns FC (Santa Clara, Calif.) (21) | Sockers FC (Palatine, Ill.) (20) | Beach Futbol Club (Long Beach, Calif.) (17) | OC Surf Soccer Club (Laguna Hills, Calif.) (22) |
| LA Galaxy (Carson, Calif.) (28) | FC Virginia (Loudon, Va.) (31) | Cedar Stars Academy – Monmouth (Aberdeen, N.J.) (32) | FC Fury NY (Bay Shore, N.Y.) (27) |
U-15 Academy Playoffs Draw
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| FC Virginia (Loudon, Va.) (8) | Tophat (Atlanta, Ga.) (4) | LA Galaxy San Diego (Carlsbad, Calif.) (5) | Cincinnati DA (Cincinnati, Ohio) (7) |
| New York City FC (New York, N.Y.) (9) | Solar Soccer Club (Dallas, Texas) (12) | Colorado Rush (Littleton, Colo.) (14) | Cedar Stars Academy – Monmouth (Aberdeen, N.J.) (15) |
| Reign Academy (Seattle, Wash.) (24) | Beach Futbol Club (Long Beach, Calif.) (18) | Midwest United FC (Grand Rapids, Mich.) (23) | Legends FC (Chino, Calif.) (17) |
| LA Galaxy (Carson, Calif.) (28) | Long Island SC (Plainview, N.Y.) (25) | Washington Spirit Academy – Maryland (Boyds, Md.) (27) | Sporting Blue Valley (Overland Park, Kan.) (31) |
| Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H |
| San Jose Earthquakes (Santa Clara, Calif.) (1) | Real Colorado (Centennial, Colo.) (3) | San Diego Surf (San Diego, Calif.) (2) | FC Dallas (Frisco, Texas) (6) |
| IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) (11) | Nationals (Pontiac, Mich.) (13) | NEFC (Holliston, Mass.) (10) | Charlotte Soccer Academy (Matthews, N.C.) (16) |
| Oakwood Soccer Club (Glastonbury, Conn.) (21) | Placer United (Rocklin, Calif.) (22) | NC Courage (Raleigh, N.C.) (19) | Penn Fusion Soccer Academy (West Chester, Pa.) (20) |
| So Cal Blues Soccer Club (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) (32) | FC Fury NY (Bay Shore, N.Y.) (26) | Lonestar SC Academy (Austin, Texas) (29) | Michigan Jaguars FC (Novi, Mich.) (30) |
At the start of the U-15 and U-16/17 draws, the top eight seeds (Pot 1) from each age group (based on the final standings of points per game average (PPG) from regular season play) were drawn into Groups A through H, similar to the FIFA World Cup. Seeds 9-16, 17-24 and 25-32 (Pots 2, 3 and 4, respectively) were then drawn to fill out each group, one pot at a time. If drawn with a divisional opponent, teams were placed back into their respective pot, resulting in a new selection, to keep same-division opponents separate in order to generate a variety of competition. For the U-18/19 age group, the same principles were applied with four teams per pot and the top four seeds (Pot 1) drawn into Groups A-D alongside seeds 5-8 (Pot 2), 9-12 (Pot 3) and 13-16 (Pot 4).
The group stage of the 2019 Girls’ Academy Playoffs kicks off the Academy postseason, which features teams from the Academy’s three oldest age groups. Eight group winners at the U-15 and U-16/17 age groups qualify to the quarterfinals on June 28 and 29 in Oceanside. The winners of those matches will secure berths to the Academy Championships, set for July 9-11 at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif. At the U-18/19 level, the four group winners will qualify to the semifinals on June 26 and compete for a spot in the Academy Championship Final, set for June 28 in Oceanside.
The Playoffs take place concurrently with the 2019 Summer Showcase, where all U-14 Academy clubs, as well as the U-15 and U-16/17 teams which did not qualify for the Playoffs, will play three Showcase games. The Summer Showcase and Playoffs allow teams to compete against a variety of competition from across the country in meaningful games. The event strives to focus on overall development of players, coaches and referees and also serves as a quality opportunity for talent identification.
Between Boys’ and Girls’ programming, the Summer Showcase and Playoffs will feature 677 games at SoCal Sports Complex from June 17-29. The entire event schedule will be announced later this week.
The Development Academy will highlight the quality of clubs and players with select Feature Games streamed live on ussoccerda.com , U.S. Soccer YouTube and the Development Academy Twitter. The feature matchups will be selected based on competitive games and clubs that exemplify the Academy philosophy.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- This year marks the second year of the Girls’ Development Academy and second year of the Girls’ Academy Playoffs.
- Historical Academy champions can be found here. Last year, FC Dallas took home the U-15 Academy Championship, Real Colorado won the title at the U-16/17 level and LAFC Slammers topped the U-18/19 age group.
- The San Jose Earthquakes enter as the U-15 No. 1 overall seed with an undefeated record (28-0-3).
- Solar SC U-16/17 and FC Virginia U-18/19 enter as the overall No. 1 seeds in their respective age groups.
- Of all 40 clubs to qualify for the Playoffs, 19 clubs qualified in two age groups and ten teams triple qualified in all three age groups.
- FC Dallas FC Virginia, Legends Midwest United, NEFC, Penn Fusion, Real Colorado, Solar Soccer Club and Tophat are the 10 clubs to qualify for the Playoffs in all three age groups.
- FC Dallas and Penn Fusion, two of the ten triple qualifier clubs, were drawn into the same groups at U-15, U-16/17 and U-18/19.
