As we near the end of the 2011-2012 season, we continue unveiling our July update to TeamRank, the comprehensive ranking system for elite club soccer teams nationwide. Today we release the latest standings for U13, U14 and U15 Boys. Next week, we will update the younger age groups on the Girls side. We will update our National Top 50 of each age group at least once per month.

With almost all competitions for the year having been completed, except for the US Youth Soccer National Championship, the National Premier Leagues’ inaugural Champions Cup, and the US Soccer Development Academy National Finals, we will be unveiling our final updates for each age group this month. With some very minor tweaking based on the aforementioned competitions, will publish our final standings for each age group by August 1, and will begin updates for the 2012-2013 season in September.

(scroll down for system details)

Still can’t knock off the top three at U13

United FC Gold retains the #1 spot.  United FC added a US Youth Soccer Region IV title to go with its state cup win and Dallas Cup championship to finish a highly successful 2011-12 season.  Chicago Magic Pre-Academy moves into second after capturing the US Youth Soccer Region II title in June and winning the Midwest Developmental League playoffs last week.  Magic will attend the National Premier League Champions Cup which begins on July 27.

Though #3 Pateadores was overtaken by Chicago Magic this month, the Pats still had a great season, which started with a Surf Cup win last August, continued with a top finish in the Southern California Developmental League, and finished with a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to #1 United FC in the CalSouth National Cup semifinals.

PDA remains #4 and heads to the National Premier Leagues Champions Cup via its Northeast Pre-Academy League playoff win, and Washington Premier FC moves into the #5 position.

Sunrise Elite headed to nationals, remains #1

All of our top five continue their seasons through the end of July, whether it’s through the US Youth Soccer Championships or the National Premier Leagues Champions Cup.  #1 Sunrise Elite and #5 Vardar are headed to the US Youth championships, after capturing the Region III and Region II titles, respectively.  Michigan-based Vardar beat our #2 Chicago Magic Pre-Academy in the semifinals, but the Magic remains in the second spot after winning the Midwest Developmental League playoffs and securing a spot at the National Premier Leagues tournament.

FC Dallas and New York Red Bulls are also headed to the inaugural NPL Champions Cup, putting them at #3 and #4, respectively, in this month’s update.  FC Dallas finished the Texas Pre-Academy League undefeated and will see if they can remain unblemished as they start national competition, while the Red Bulls squeaked out a 4-3 win over Baltimore Bays last month in the Northeast Pre-Academy League final.

Decision made for Fullerton Rangers at U15

Fullerton Rangers remain #1 this month, and have chosen to represent Region IV at the US Youth Soccer National Championships after winning the Region IV title, which grants #48 LA Premier an extension to their season as the representative of the Southern California NPL at the NPL Champions Cup.

Our 2^nd and 3^rd ranked teams have done a flip-flop this month, after #2 Cincinnati United Premier beat #3 Chicago Magic head-to-head in the Region II final.  Both teams, however, will be headed to Rock Hill, SC on July 24 as the two representatives of the US Youth Soccer National League.

The New York Cosmos Academy remains in the #4 spot after capturing the Northeast Pre-Academy League championship, and Smithtown Kickers Arsenal move into the fifth spot after earning a bid to the NPL Champions cup via the Eastern Development Program.  The Kickers had a tough loss to #25 Manhattan SC Paris St. Germain in the New York-East state cup final.

Next Thursday: U13, U14, and U15 Girls

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.

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