Washington Freedom

Freedom Named #1 Girls Club in Final Super Y Rankings

USL News Release

Friday, December 5, 2008

TAMPA, FL -- United Soccer Leagues (USL) announced today the final Super Y-League First and Second 11 Club rankings for the 2008 season,

recognizing the league’s top clubs on a competitive and administrative basis following the regular season and the 10th Annual Super Y-League North American Finals. All but five of the 37 clubs in the rankings were competing for the 10 championships that were up-for-grabs November 20-25.

With parity spreading among the high caliber of clubs participating in the North American Finals, the movement from the regular season rankings previously announced was minimal as only three clubs moved up the table in the Overall list. Three clubs advanced in the Boys table and six ascended up the Girls chart. The Chicago Magic remained number one in the Overall and Boys lists while the Washington Freedom were still the top club among the Girls table.

Final 2008 SYL First & Second 11 Rankings [+]

CASL, the Atlanta Silverbacks Jrs and TSF Academy made gains in the Overall First and Second 11.

CASL jumped from eighth to fifth on the efforts primarily of their U13 Girls, who claimed the league championship with a 2-1-0 run in group play followed by a semifinal penalty kick tiebreaker decision over Washington Crossfire after a 2-2 draw and a 1-0 win over Schulz Academy in the championship. The U15 Girls wrapped up the event 2-2-0. In the Girls table, they advanced one spot to third.

The Silverbacks’ lone squad in Tampa also proved to be the only Super Y-League team to finish unbeaten with a league championship, capping their 11-0-1 regular season with five consecutive victories. After dominating their division 60-2 on aggregate with the lone draw coming in a 1-1 road meeting with Triangle FC, Atlanta posted 2-1, 1-0 and 3-0 victories over Seacoast United, Match Fit Academy and Chicago Magic, three clubs with 12 SYL championships total in league history, in group play. They then edged out Alliance FC 1-0 in the semifinals and topped their division rival Richmond Kickers 2-0 for the title to finish the season with just three goals allowed for the year. Atlanta rose three places in the Girls table to 12th.

Although TSF Academy is just outside the top 22 in the individual Boys and Girls tables, they moved up from 21 to 18 in the Overall table, which ranks clubs with full programs. Their U16 and U17 Boys teams each reached the championship games with the U16 squad going 3-0-0 in the group and posting a 1-0 victory over Kendall SC in the semifinal before falling to Mountain WFC 2-0 in the championship. The U17 side was 2-1-0 in their group, suffering a stunning 5-0 defeat to Fort Wayne, before downing the South Jersey Barons in the semifinals and Parsippany SC in the championship by the same 1-0 scoreline to claim the league title.

2008 SYL Regular Season First & Second 11 Rankings [+]

Final 2007 SYL First & Second 11 Rankings [+]

The Fort Wayne Fever, who were TSF’s U17 blemish, were among the three clubs to move in the Boys table, joining PDA and Cal Odyssey. The Fever’s U17 squad joined TSF in the semifinals with a 2-1-0 record, but were upended 3-2 in the semifinals by Parsippany. Their U16 team finished 1-2-1 in the event and the Fever moved up from 12 to 11.

Cal Odyssey and PDA faced one another in the U14 championship game. Cal Odyssey’s championship, through unusual circumstances, helped propel the club from 21 to 15. The Odyssey were 2-0-1 in their group and downed Mountain WFC 3-0 in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, PDA would see both of its Finals participants finish as two of the three teams at the event to complete the year unbeaten without a title. The 12-0-2 U13 side went 2-0-1 in their group and defeated Schulz Academy 1-0 in the semifinals. They would battle Diablo FC to a 2-2 draw in the championship game, falling in the penalty kick tiebreaker 5-3. Their 11-0-2 U14 team swept their group matches and dropped the Abbotsford Mariners 3-0 in the semifinal. Trailing 1-0 late in the championship against Cal Odyssey, a stoppage time equalizer under controversial circumstances in which neither teams’ players were aware the play was live on a restart led to a tie score as the final seconds ticked away. PDA’s coaches Sam Nellins, Todd Moser and Gerry McKeown then displayed a surprising act of fair play following the conclusion of regulation. During the break before overtime, the trio conceded the match to the side from northern California. The match was officially still ruled a draw, maintaining the club’s unbeaten status.

Joining Overall table movers CASL and the Silverbacks as clubs who moved up in the Girls table were the Chicago Magic, Ottawa Fury, Quickstrike FC and Schulz Academy.

The Magic, already number one in Boys and Overall, moved from ninth to sixth in the Girls table with the U16 Girls winning the club’s ninth SYL league championship, marking six consecutive years of at least one SYL champion from the club. The U16’s were 2-0-1 in their group, edged Ottawa 1-0 in the semifinal and downed Real So Cal Blue 1-0 for the title. The U14 squad was 2-1-1 for the event.

In addition to the U16s reaching the semifinals (2-0-1 in group), Ottawa’s U17 team would go one step further. After posting a 2-0-1 record in their group, they downed the Northern Virginia Majestics 2-0 in the semifinals before falling 2-1 to the MPS Cape Cod Lady Crusaders. The U15 team was 1-3-0 for the event. The club moved one spot to 10th.

More known for their success in boys competition, Schulz Academy moved up one spot as well to 16th after reaching the U13 girls championship match. They were 2-0-1 in their group and downed the Atlanta Fire 2-0 in the semifinal before being edged out 1-0 by CASL for the title.

Quickstrike FC’s U14 and U15 girls squads both reached the semifinals before being eliminated. The U14s were 2-0-1 in their group with the Richmond Kickers notching the 1-0 semifinal decision and the U15s were 2-1-0 before a 2-0 defeat to Diablo FC. They moved up one spot to 13th.

The Super Y-League launched the First and Second 11 Ranking System in 2005 with the top clubs ranked from 1-22 in three categories: overall, boys and girls. The extensive growth of the USL Super-20 League in the past three seasons has led to the inclusion of the under-20 league in the ranking process. The rankings are based primarily upon the on-field results. Winning percentage accounts for 70 percent of the score while minimum standards and operations complete the other 30 percent.

“The criteria used to rank these clubs is basic yet essential to the Super Y-League’s philosophy of providing a professionalized atmosphere for the top youth players in North America,” said USL Senior Director of Youth League Development, Jeff McRaney. “United Soccer Leagues wanted a way to salute those clubs who consistently succeed not only on the field but off the field as well.”