Jefferson Cup 2024 Championship Division Preview: U17 Boys

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SoccerWire continues its annual article series previewing the Jefferson Cup’s Championship Divisions. In this edition, we take a look ahead at the U17 Boys age group.

This year’s Championship Division features sixteen of the top teams in the country playing in a Showcase format, with each team playing three games over the course of the Boys Showcase Weekend (March 22-24).

Arlington Soccer Association ECNL 07 (VA): Limited opponents to just 12 goals in ECNL Mid-Atlantic Conference play this season, Arlington features an imposing defensive line that can make the difficult clearances late to earn results. Center-back Quinn Belt (ECNL Mid-Atlantic All-Conference Second Team) runs a tightly organized back four that is coming off of a 2-1 win against Solar SC Academy in the ECNL Florida National Event.

Baltimore Celtic  ECNL 07 (MD): Earned three major victories at the ECNL Phoenix event back in December to start their 2023-2024 campaign. In their wins over Nationals (4-1), Atlanta Fire United (2-1), and Florida West FC (5-3) Celtic showed a remarkable amount of balance, able to take an opponent’s best chances at goal, make the necessary stops, and immediately jump on the attack. Goalkeeper Mike Griffith, who was recently selected to participate in the Best of Cup All-Star Game has been instrumental in helping Baltimore retain their shape and make small adjustments during the game.

Beach FC  ECNL 07 (VA): Currently sitting atop the ECNL Mid-Atlantic Conference, Beach have dominated the 2007 age group with their prodigious scoring effort. Led by midfielder Jack Ottley, who just went on trial with the New York Red Bulls Academy, Beach have scored 26 goals in conference play this season. Defensively, they have also given opponents little to work with, limiting opponents to just ten goals in the conference.

Bethesda SC  Blue 07 (MD): Started their first season in the National Academy League in fine fashion, defeating SYC’s MLS NEXT II team 2-1. The Maryland State Cup Champions are coming off of a strong run at the IMG Cup, winning two of three matches.

Charlotte Soccer Academy ECNL 07 (NC): Placed in the top three in the U16 Championship Division last year, winning back-to-back games against Quakers Elite Rowdies (5-1) and SYC MLS NEXT (2-1) to finish 2-1-0 (their Friday match, a 3-2 loss against SUSA FC was a strong showing as well with result albeit not going in their favor). Led by midfielder Logan Grasso (ECNL FL National Selection Game invitee), Charlotte have won four of their last five games across all ECNL competitions.

DKSC ECNL 07 (TX): Started Texas Conference play on fire, earning points in nine of their first ten matches (9-0-1, 28 points). The 2021-2022 ECNL National Champions are looking to get back on top of the mountain in the ECNL and will certainly use this occasion to help see how they stack up against new competition. They placed third at the recent Surf College Cup, defeating Legends FC in the Quarterfinal (3-0) and Slammers FC (4-2) in the third place match.

Eastshore Alliance 2007 Navy (CA): Placed first in Group D in last fall’s NorCal State Cup State/Premier Division, outscoring their opponents 12-1. At the Arsenal Challenge in October, they held off RSL-AZ North (2-1) and knocked off FC Tucson Youth Soccer 07 B. ECNL (6-2) to finish second in Bracket B in their division.

FC Boston Bolts NAL 07 (MA): Scored back-to-back wins against NEFC (2-1) and Seacoast United Massachusetts (4-0) to start their 2023-2024 NAL campaign. Defenders Ashton Seymour and Max Lindo, midfielder Killian Doherty, and forward Jason Xintaropolouslead a talented core of players that are coming off strong high school seasons and looking to make a strong impact down in Richmond.

Pipeline SC ECNL 07 (MD): Dominated the U16 Championship Division last year, winning all three of their matches while outscoring their opponents 11-0. Pipeline have ambitions on improving upon last year’s Semifinal appearance in the ECNL National Playoffs and will undoubtedly use their time at Jefferson Cup to ready themselves for a tough North Atlantic Conference and for the league’s second season. 2022-2023 ECNL Mid-Atlantic Player of the Year and All-American Team member Ryan Andrews leads a star-studded side that have blown past their competition at both the ECNL Phoenix and Florida events (5-0-1, 16 points).

Richmond United ECNL 07 (VA): Outscored opponents 37-18 in ECNL Mid-Atlantic Conference play in the fall, pushing the team neck-in-neck with Beach FC at the top of the standings (9-3-1, 28 points). Goalkeeper Nathan Hall has led a talented defensive line that has earned four shutouts across all ECNL competitions this season.

STA ECNL 07 (NJ): Blanked Florida West FC (5-0), Kings Hammer SC (1-0), and Nationals SC (0-0) to earn an undefeated record at the ECNL Florida National Event. Defender Brady Hyland (2022-2023 ECNL All-Northeast Conference First Team) leads a strong defensive line that can retain close leads during the final minutes of the match.

St. Paul Blackhawks Black 07 (MN): Placed first in the Minnesota NPL’s Super League last season, outscoring their opponents 34-8 to win top honors (13-1-1, 40 points). In addition to excelling in league action, St. Paul also captured the Minnesota State Cup defeating MU 16 Boys Academy 2-0 in the final.

SUSA FC ECNL 07 (NY): Looking to improve upon last year’s top five performance at the Jefferson Cup, SUSA enter the competition having gone undefeated across all ECNL competitions (2-0-2, 8 points). Midfielder Ryan Levy earned All-State and All-Region honors for Half Hollow Hills West and can make an immediate impact in any match with his speed and pace. At the Bethesda Premier Cup, SUSA won all three of their matches, outscoring their opponents 10-2.

SYC Soccer MLS NEXT 07 (VA): Have a strong recent of run of form in MLS NEXT action, earning points in each of their last five matches (4=0-1, 13 points) including beating FC DELCO twice by a combined score of 6-2. At MLS NEXT Fest they defeated FC Tormenta Academy 4-0.

TSF Academy NAL 07 (NJ): Scored seven goals over the course of three matches at the EDP Cup Fall Showcase, defeating East Meadow SC ECNL (4-1) and STA-MUSC ECNL (2-0).

Wake FC MLS NEXT 07 (NC): A high-scoring team (they average 2.33 Goals per match, second highest in the Southeast Conference), Wake are coming off of a strong MLS NEXT Flex event in which they defeated both Lanier Soccer Academy and the Queen City Mutiny (2-0).