Today we unveil our latest update to TeamRank, the comprehensive ranking system for elite club soccer teams nationwide. Let’s see what has changed for U13, U14, and U15 Girls. July 4, we will update the older age groups on the boys’ side. We will update our National Top 25 of each age group at least once per month.

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Far West Regionals highlight play at U13

There seems to be no stopping So Cal Blues Rennie/Bobak. The Blues entered the US Youth Soccer Far West Regionals as CalSouth National Cup champion, are 2-0 at the time of this writing, are the only team without a goal conceded at regionals, and are living up to their billing as TeamRank #1.

FC Stars of Massachusetts ECNL 99/00 climbs from #9 to #6 this month after winning the USYS Massachusetts State Cup. Like So Cal Blues, FC Stars doesn’t like to give up goals, sailing through state cup play scoring 23 goals for with no goals against. The Stars will begin play at the Region I Championships in Rhode Island on June 27.

First ECNL postseason set at U14

The regular season has concluded, and ECNL Finals berths are set at the U14 age group. The top two teams from each ECNL conference will be headed to Richmond, VA next month, with (no surprise) PDA as the top seed. If a regular season record is any indication, PDA should be ready to earn that national title. TeamRank #14 CASL ECNL’s loss and tie to finish ECNL conference play may have given them the short straw to face PDA on the first day of finals competition, but the postseason is always interesting, so we’ll have to see who comes out on top.

Florida US Youth Soccer State Cup champion Jacksonville FC moves up one spot from #24 to #23, and will have to face #15 Tophat SC Gold in group play at the Region III Championships, which starts on June 21. But if Jacksonville can’t top the Hatters, they will still have a chance for a national title. No matter the result in the US Youth Soccer competition, Jacksonville FC will be headed to the US Club Soccer NPL Champions Cup in July as the Florida Premier League champion.

Playoffs/Regionals begin at U15

There have only been a few matches since our last update, so minor tweaking is the norm at this age group as the 2012-13 season nears its final stages. The ECNL playoffs are set to begin Friday, and a couple of teams made strides in that last push for playoff seeding. 

OP Eagles climbs from #13 to #11 after winning its last two regular season conference matches, allowing them to move from third to second in the final conference standings. The Eagles have a tough matchup against TeamRank #1 San Diego Surf at the playoffs, and will have to keep #22 Dallas Texans’ top scoring duo of Madison Haley and Haley Berg from adding to their totals in order to qualify for Finals Week.

East Meadow’s ECNL squad climbs from #24 to #20 with this update. The Long Island based squad, although a mere fourth in the Northeast Conference, has only two losses on the season in all ECNL competition and is the 17th seed for the playoffs. TeamRank #4 Concorde Fire, which has not faced ECNL competition since February, and #19 Michigan Hawks, which hasn’t played since March, will have to put their best feet forward to keep East Meadow from topping the group. 

Next Thursday: U16, U17, and U18 Boys

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.