Jefferson Cup 2024 Championship Division Preview: U17 Girls

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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 Girls age group.

This year’s Championship Division features twelve of the top teams competing in a single table format. To check out the entire U17 age group click here.

Bethesda SC ECNL 07 (MD):  Coming off of the fall high school season, BSC came out of the gate in the ECNL strong, winning all three of their matches at ECNL Tennessee. Their defense has particularly been on point, earning three shutouts in seven matches across all ECNL competitions.

Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth GA 07 (NJ):  Held off Oakwood Soccer Club 3-2 back in December to start their Girls Academy Northeast Conference play. Their 07s are looking to improve upon a 2022-2023 run which saw them make the GA National Playoffs and finish third in their group.

Maryland United FC ECNL 07 (MD):  Earned their first ECNL North Atlantic Conference victory by holding off Bethesda SC 3-1 at home. United are coming off of a successful Bethesda Premier Cup where they finished atop their group, defeating NJ Premier FC (3-1) and Reading Rage (3-0) while holding a potent Baltimore Armour attack to a 0-0 draw.

Match Fit Academy FC 07 (NJ):  After going undefeated in last year’s Championship Division (2-0-1, 21 points) Match Fit are hoping for similar fortunes in this year’s event. They are coming off of a major win in ECNL North Atlantic Conference play, having just held off Pipeline SC 2-1.

NC Courage Academy ECNL 07: Finished up their ECNL regular season with a five game unbeaten run (3-0-2, 11 points) that included two major wins at the Florida event in January (5-1 over Midwest United and 5-0 Eclipse Select SC). The Courage are a highly balanced team that can score at will (33 goals, third highest in the ECNL Mid-Atlantic 07 Conference) and hold their opponents at bay (11 goals allowed, tied for the lowest in the conference). Forward/Midfielder Sarah Martinez (Puerto Rico) and Goalkeeper Wicki Dunlap (United States) are both coming back from strong performances at the CONCACAF U-17 Championship and will undoubtedly use their experience to help the Courage on the pitch.

Northern Virginia Alliance ECNL 07 (VA): Captured the ECNL Mid-Atlantic Conference crown (9-1-2, 29 points) by dominating both sides of the pitch throughout the fall (29 goals scored, 11 goals allowed). At the recent Maryland United Showcase, they continued their strong run of form, defeating the hosts 2-1 while playing a tough FC DELCO team to a 0-0 draw. Midfielder/Forward and Penn State verbal commit Taylor Wilson leads a talented, experienced team that can match any style of play thrown at them.

Penn Fusion SA ECNL 07 (PA): Looking to build off of their top five finish at last year’s Jefferson Cup (2-1-0, 18 points), DELCO will be bringing their stifling defense down to Richmond in March. In their first two ECNL North Atlantic Conference matches this season, their highly organized backline blanked PDA White (1-0) and Match Fit Academy (2-0) to start their season off on the right foot. Goalkeeper Sophia Hall, a 2025 verbal commit to Delaware, leads the defense and has made multiple key saves to PFSA’s season.

STA GA 07 (NJ): Pulled together two solid wins at the GA Winter Showcase over FC United Soccer Club (2-1) and Washington East Surf Soccer Club (2-1) to start their club season. With the club just starting Northeast Conference play, STA will use their Jefferson Cup experience to help prepare themselves for the season ahead, with ambitions of once again making the GA National Playoffs.

SUSA Academy ECNL 07 (NY): Currently sitting in first place in the ECNL New England Conference, SUSA are coming off of two impressive ECNL National Showcase events where they went undefeated in six matches (2-0-4, 10 points). Defensively, they are a difficult team to break down, making few errors and working seamlessly with one another to halt the opposition’s advances.

TSJ FC Virginia GA 07 (VA): Last year’s GA National Semifinalists are looking to build off of a fall season which saw the team go 11-2-0 on 33 points in Mid-Atlantic Conference play. Forward Mya Townes, the 2023 United Soccer Coaches Youth Soccer Player of the Year, is coming off of winning the 2024 CONCACAF U17 Championship with the United States, where she scored the opening goal in the final against Mexico.

Mya Townes scores the opening goal for United States in the Grand Final! ⚽️ ??#WU17 pic.twitter.com/aHa7qApmsb

— Concacaf W (@ConcacafW) February 11, 2024

Virginia Union ECNL 07 (VA): Went undefeated in last year’s U16 Championship Division finishing atop the group (3-0-0, 29 points) without having conceded a single goal. Their defense was once again on point this past fall in the ECNL Mid-Atlantic Conference, having only allowed 14 goals (third lowest in the Conference).

World Class FC ECNL 07 (NY): In their first ECNL Showcase of the season back in January, World Class earned two big wins over FL Premier FC (2-1) and Indy Eleven Pro Academy (1-0). They are led by two United Soccer Coaches Fall High School All-Americans forwards in Alexa Pino, who was also recently called up to the Philippines under-17 National Team, and Kennedy Ring, who is a 2025 verbal commit to Penn State and was the ECNL U16 New England Conference Player of the Year last year.