USL News Release
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
TAMPA, FL – United Soccer Leagues (USL) announced today the Super Y-League First and Second 11 Club rankings for the 2008 regular season, recognizing the league’s top clubs on a competitive and administrative basis. The release of the list precedes the 10th Annual Super Y-League North American Finals, where all 22 of the clubs in the rankings will be competing for 10 championships up-for-grabs beginning Friday, November 21. The 22 clubs will also be recognized during USL’s Annual General Meeting, the second half of USL’s SoccerFest, which is held in conjunction with the North American Finals in downtown Tampa.
The Super Y-League launched the First and Second 11 Ranking System in 2005 with the top clubs ranked from 1-22. 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 system publicizes the top 22 clubs in both the boys and girls categories, as well as overall. 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.”
Juventus Sport Club, who finished 22nd in the Final 2007 SYL Second 11 Rankings, bypassed all 21 teams in their path to finish atop the 2008 SYL Regular Season First 11 Rankings. Their final score of 60.7 in 2007 increased by 23.6 points in 2008, giving the club the regular season title by two points over the 2006 regular season leader, the Chicago Magic.
Juventus sent four teams to the 2007 North American Finals. Those four teams had a combined mark of 4-3-5 at the league finals. This season Juventus will feature five teams in the North American Finals: their U13, U15 and U16 boys as well as their U16 and U17 girls. Juventus finished seventh in the boys rankings with a score of 75.7. The club’s girls moved from 15th in 2007 to second this time around. Their regular season score was 85.9, 10 points off the pace set by the Washington Freedom.
The Freedom are sending their U13, U14 and U16 girls to this season’s North American Finals. Including the club’s Super-20 League side, the Freedom finished the regular season with a club record of 47-8-5 for a winning percentage of .783. Last season the club scored a 76.0 in the girls’ regular season rankings.
The Cleveland Internationals, who finished eighth in last season’s regular season girls rankings, shot to the top of the First 11 Girls 2007 Final Rankings after winning three North American Championships. Their 14-0-1 record at the league finals boosted the club’s ranking from a 96.8 regular season ranking to a 105.8 final ranking, the only score in any of the three categories to surpass the century mark in the four-year history of the ranking system.
The Chicago Magic were the regular season leaders in both 2005 and 2006 before falling off the pace last season. They rebounded this season, topping the boys regular season ranking for the first time with a final score of 87.2. Last season their boys finished with a ranking of 73.4, good enough for 10th. The club’s girls finished the season with a ranking of 71.3, up from last season’s 62.4 to move into 12th.
