Today we unveil a rankings update for the Grande Sports TeamRank Top 25, the comprehensive ranking system for elite club soccer teams nationwide, taking a look at the latest standings for U13, U14 and U15 Girls. In January, we will begin the 2017 rankings with an update for the older age groups on the Boys side. We will update our National Top 25 for each age group at least once per month.

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FC Dallas, Stars climb at U13

FC Dallas JDL Red moves up the ranks to No. 6 after taking the Texas Cup pre-ECNL crown over the Thanksgiving holiday. FCD defeated TSC Hurricane Griffin, Albion Hurricanes, and Lonestar Red and conceded just one goal in the three matches.

FC Stars of Massachusetts pre-ECNL currently sits in first in the Northeast Girls NPL pre-ECNL Division two points ahead of No. 8 East Meadow, but with two games in hand. The Stars finished the fall season with a Super Group championship at the GPS Thanksgiving Tournament to land at No. 17.

Tourney toppers at U14

Charlotte SA ECNL took home the Disney Junior Showcase crown over Thanksgiving, its only competition since our last update. CSA toppled No. 11 CASL ECNL in the semifinal, then Orlando City ECNL in the final to climb one spot to No. 8.

New to the rankings with this update is Placer United Gold at No. 23. Placer finished the NorCal NPL East fall season on top of the standings, then entered the Surf Challenge, making it to the final before narrowly losing to No. 2 San Diego Surf ECNL.

National League begins at U15

Cincinnati United Premier Gold blistered through the opening weekend of the USYS National League 2016-17 season, scoring 25 goals while conceding just one to go 4-0 and top the Red Division. U.S. U14 Girls National Team standout Kailyn Dudukovich (Class of 2021) finished the four matches with 10 goals, tied for the top goal scorer. Two other CUP standouts, Brooklyn Harris and Marcella Cash, finished with four and three goals, respectively, making it three CUP players on the top 10 scoring list for the weekend. CUP climbs to No. 16.

January 5: U16, U17, and U18 Boys

Grande Sports TeamRank is the comprehensive team-ranking system devised by TopDrawerSoccer.com to provide an objective and common-sense approach to determining which elite youth soccer teams are the best in the nation.

The rankings, updated monthly, are primarily results-based, with a nod toward the league and championship competitions that emulate how excellence is determined in leading soccer nations around the world.

Tournaments are also included but at a reduced value due to the many mitigating factors involving such events, including attrition and guest players.

A final layer of executive evaluation is provided to account for variables that often impact results, thus ensuring that the monthly lists are not subjective, but are not purely mechanical.