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USL News Release

Thursday, August 21, 2008

TAMPA, FL – The Southeast Division is all that remains unclear with the exception of Orlando FC who has qualified in theUnder-17 boys tournament set to begin in conjunction with nine other finals brackets at the 10th Annual Super Y-League North American Finals. Group play will begin on Friday, November 21 and run through Sunday, November 23. The Semifinals will play out on Monday, November 24 and the Championships will conclude on Tuesday, November 25.

Group A
Shaping up in Group A is a Mid Atlantic vs. South Atlantic matchup that will look like a championship game when Rage SC goes up against the Northern Virginia Royals. Both of these teams made it to the North American Finals last year in the U-16 age group and will look to use that experience to their advantage when play begins in November.

Rage SC dominated through the Mid Atlantic Division with a record of 11-1. The Rage used a tough defense that held opponents to under one goal per game while still showing the ability to find the back of the net by scoring 45 goals in just 12 games.

Ready to test Rage SC is the Northern Virginia Royals who are very familiar with postseason play. The Royals went through the 2008 season undefeated with a record of 6-0-2 and will be looking to build on that success against tougher competition in November.

Joining a very strong group A is the Toronto Lynx who finished in second place in the Midwest Division. Toronto is club who has already experienced success in the 2008 season with their PDL club making the playoffs in July and their U-20 team making it to the North American Championship game in August. The U-17 Lynx will try to finish the deal and bring home some hardware to cap off what has been an impressive 2008 campaign.

Group B
Over in Group B TSF Academy will look to use the strength it received from a tough Mid Atlantic schedule to start off strong in Tampa. TSF finished second in their division with a commanding 9-2-1 record and only surrendered ten goals in those 12 games. After losing their first game of the season, TSF rolled off five straight wins to set the tone for an impressive season.

Making the long trip from Concord, California is Diablo FC who will be representing the Pacific Northern California Division. Diablo FC is undefeated at 6-0-1 through seven games and has already clinched the top spot and the berth to Tampa that goes along with it. Diablo FC has a very balanced attack which features an offense that averages more than three goals a game and a defense that allows less than one goal a game.

Trying to take out Diablo FC and the rest of Group B will be the Kalamazoo Kingdom who finished third in the Midwest Division. The Kingdom finished the season with two strong victories, one of which against the fourth place Chicago Fire which sealed Kalamazoo’s advancement to the North American Finals. The Kingdom will rely on a strong offense that averaged more than three goals a game if they hope to have success in Tampa this November.

Group C
Parsippany SC will look to carry on their tradition when they take the field this November. Parsippany is led by a strong defense that carried them through Mid Atlantic play and will look to them again this November to achieve similar success. Parsippany only allowed seven goals in their 12 games which led the Mid Atlantic Division. Their 9-2-1 record and tough style of play will create problems for the other teams in Group C.

The Ottawa Fury travel to the North American Finals as champions of the New England Division. The Fury cruised to the division title with a record of 11-1-2 and was 11 points clear of second place. Ottawa’s offense implemented their dominance by scoring more than six goals in three of their first five games. The Fury finished the season by outscoring their opponents by a margin of 54-23.

Much like the Fury’s offensive prowess, Alpharetta United boast a forceful offense. Alpharetta United finished the season with a 6-2-2 record and finished in second place in the South Atlantic Division. Using their powerful offense, Alpharetta United started the season on fire winning their first three games by a combined score of 18-4. Alpharetta United finished the season by leading the division in goals with 44 in only ten games.

Group D
The South Jersey Barons finished fourth in the top heavy division that was the Mid Atlantic, but finished good enough to qualify for the North American Finals. The Barons finished the 2008 season with a record of 8-2-2 which included a 4-1 streak over their last five games. One of those four wins was against the division champions Rage SC, when the Barons won impressively 4-1.

The Fort Wayne Fever rose to the top of the Midwest Division and will hope to rise to the top again this November. The Fever went undefeated through seven games this season and went 1-0-1 against the two other Midwest Division teams joining them in Tampa. Like many other teams who have qualified for the North American Finals, the Fever was led by a powerful offense that averaged more than four goals a game.

The New Hampshire Phantoms struggled at times this season, but did enough to get the second automatic berth to Tampa from the New England Division. The Phantoms finished with a record of 8-6 but were outscored by their opponents by three goals on the season. New Hampshire used back-to-back wins over Nordic Soccer Club to clinch second place and will have to get better play from their defense if they want to make an impact in the 2008 North American Finals.