Monday, July 28, 2008
TAMPA – Each season, some of the most dramatic matches played in United Soccer Leagues yearly stable of dog-eat-dog soccer matches that take place in the now, three year old Super-20 League.
On the men’s side the story is the return of the defending champion, Player Development Academy (PDA) out of Zarephath, New Jersey. PDA represents the first time in Super-20 Men’s history that the champ will return to ward off the rest of the competition. The bad news for PDA is that all three of last season’s semifinalists will also be making the trip to Virginia Beach, Virginia (Toronto Lynx, Chicago Fire & Red Bull New York).
In the first game of the group play stage, which begins at 10:00 AM EST on Thursday, July 31, Red Bull New York will face the Toronto Lynx in what is arguably the match of the day. As only one team can advance from Group B, which also includes H.C. United and Seacoast United, the Red Bull/Toronto match will likely carry season-altering results.
“Basically you have last year’s third and fourth place teams meeting on the first day of competition,” said Toronto Lynx Head Coach Duncan Wilde. “We have some nice players. I don’t know what Red Bull has but I’m sure they’ll be strong. We have a 13-hour bus ride down there so we will have to deal with that but we will be prepared.”
Wilde is quick to point out the benefits of the Super-20 League to his organization.
“When kids come to us at a young age, they are looking for the Lynx to prepare them to one day be able to earn a soccer scholarship to a college or university,” said Wilde. “For our part, we want to develop soccer players who can one day compete for our Premier Development League and W-League teams.
This past season was the first time since 2000 that our PDL side qualified for the playoffs and a lot of those guys were members of the Super-20 team that lost to PDA in penalties last season. So, the system is working. We are developing players in the Super Y-League, retaining them through the Super-20 League and watching them excel in the Premier Development League.”
Another plot twist at the Super-20 Finals is the relationship between past Super Y-League champions. Toronto lost an overtime decision to the Chicago Magic to fall heartbreakingly short of a U17 Super Y-League North American Championship last November. Enter the majority of this season’s Super-20 Lynx side.
Add in the angle that this Red Bull New York/Toronto Lynx match may not matter much at all because of H.C. United, the 2006 U17 Super Y-League North American Champions. Who did they beat in that final? Seacoast United, who has been involved in each of the three Super-20 Finals competitions. They are not favored to advance out of this “Group of Death,” but Seacoast does have a deep history of playing solid team defense, a staple of one of the two North American Finalists in 2006 (Red Bull) and 2007 (Chicago Fire).
Speaking of the Fire, who occupy one fourth of Group D with the host club Hampton Roads, Potomac Soccer Club and Ironbound:
“The level of play has increased substantially in the Midwest in the last year,” said Chicago Fire Technical Director, John Dorn. “Qualifying was harder in our mind, but along with the challenge came greater rewards.”
“[When] played right, the Super-20 League is a great fit for our player development programs,” added Dorn. “It allows us to get the younger college players in our program, who may not have a chance to play on the Premier Development League side, a challenging environment with a number of good matches throughout the summer.”
Besting 14 of the 15 teams in the North American Finals last season, the Fire are the best team, on paper, in Group D. Potomac SC, who ended the season 5-0-3 and tied with two-time Super-20 semifinalist D.C. United, represents a very serious threat. Potomac and Chicago meet Thursday, July 31 at noon.
D.C. United tops the list of teams in Group C. As in the first two groups, D.C. United’s toughest match will come first. They face a Cincinnati United Premier team that earned 26 points by way of an 8-1-2 record in the same division (Midwest) as Toronto and Chicago. That match will kick off in unison with the Potomac/Chicago Fire match at noon, Thursday.
D.C. United has had trouble getting by the other MLS affiliated opponents the past two seasons. In 2006, D.C. United lost a 3-0 match to Red Bull New York. In 2007 they fell 2-1 to Chicago after outscoring Diablo SC and Beachside 11-3 in the first two games of group play. A dark horse team Cincinnati and DCU do not want to underestimate is the Northern Virginia Royals, who test the mettle of many of their Super-20 stars by way of the PDL.
Finally, the champs return to headline Group A. They come well-equipped, with 2007 Super-20 All-League Goalkeeper Bryan Meredith and 2007 All-League midfielder Bryan Martinez.
“Martinez is a central midfielder with great vision and outstanding technical ability on the ball,” said PDA Head Coach, John Murphy. “He was the Big East Rookie of the Year 2007. Bryan Meredith is a goalkeeper with great instincts and quickness.”
Out of the gate, PDA will face USL-2 affiliate Real Maryland, but their greatest challenge will come on Friday, August 1 when they square off with Florida Soccer Alliance, the lone team hand to H.C. United a loss in the Southeast region this season.
For the women the Super-20 Finals has always been an affair dominated by one region, the Mid Atlantic, and, more specifically, one rivalry – the Washington Freedom vs. Parsippany SC.
Last season the two met in group play, where Parsippany shown brighter, the season before it was Washington hoisting the cup. Year three, the rubber match of this fight, promises to intrigue the Virginia Beach crowd, who now includes the watchful eyes of four USL W-League Finalists. But first these titans must escape the challenge of six new obstacles in group play.
“Parsippany has been our biggest rival since the inaugural season,” said Washington Freedom Head Coach Win Puffer. “Over the past few seasons, Parsippany has had the better of the results; our only win was in the 2006 North American Championship game that ended in PK’s. Last year we were grouped together in the North American Finals and lost 2-1 after another great game.”
The Freedom occupies Group A after taking the Mid Atlantic Division title with an impressive 9-0-1 record. The only blemish on the Freedom’s record came at the hands of TSF Academy who tied them 2-2 early on in the season. That early result gave TSF the confidence it needed to go on and have a successful season. They will join Washington from the Mid Atlantic Division in Group A of the finals looking for an upset in their match on Friday, August 1.
Filling out Group A will be the Toronto Lady Lynx who comes in as the underdogs of the group. They stumbled to a .500 record on the season but did enough to get into the finals, which is all that matters. Rounding out Group A is Triangle FC who earned their reservation to the finals by winning the South Atlantic Division with a record of 8-1-1. Triangle FC, along with the Hampton Roads Piranhas, dominated this division and outscored their opponents by a margin of 47-8.
As mentioned, the Hampton Roads Piranhas also had an outstanding year and are one of the favorites to win Group B. Although Hampton Roads’ spot at the finals was already locked in by being the host team, they qualified the old fashion way; by claiming one of the two spots from the South Atlantic Division. The Piranhas will look to use their home field advantage to get a leg up on the other teams in their group.
Parsippany’s path to their third consecutive finals appearance began with a regular season record of 8-1-1. They have been as potent as ever on offense this season, scoring 39 goals in their ten games. They begin group play on Thursday, July 31 against the Midwest Division’s Chicago Gaels.
“From start to end, [this] was the most competitive season we’ve had in six years,” said Parsippany Assistant Coach Arthur Wells. “Washington again showed their quality, as did TSF, both of whom are here at the North American Finals.”
“A D-1 college coach, who has known us well for several years, paid us the highest compliment possible,” added Wells. “He said that he thought we were one of the few teams he’s seen that had gotten better each and every year, all the while playing at a high level, all the while developing its players.”
The Gaels undefeated record speaks of an offense that will be waiting to unleash artillery that has averaged 5.5 goals a game. This powerhouse went through a small division unscathed and is hoping to make a splash in Virginia Beach on the big stage, against the best women’s team in Super-20 League history.
Finally, the lone representative from the New England Division, the Connecticut Passion completes a very strong Group B. CFC is 7-0-1 on the season and displays a stingy defense that has only allowed four goals in their eight games. Watch out when CFC takes on Chicago as it will be the classic showdown of a great offense against a great defense. That match will kick off Friday, August 1 at high noon.
