NPL 1 EAST PREVIEW

The NPL 1 East’s three Champions League spots may have already been secured by Placer United Gold (17 points), Galt FC United (15 points) and Sacramento United Red (14 points), but the overall league title remains very much in play. Neutral observers will look to attend both of Galt’s matches as the second-place side takes on Sacramento on Saturday and Placer on Sunday. Should Galt come out on top in the former match, a win in the latter will see them lift the league trophy regardless of other results. At the bottom of the table, California Odyssey South (7 points), Monarchs Academy (7 points) and San Juan SC Lightning IA (6 points) will fight to avoid a last-place finish that would drop that squad into the spring’s NPL 2.

NPL 1 WEST PREVIEW

Only one of the U17 Boys NPL 1 West’s five Champions League spots is accounted for heading into the weekend with undefeated Santa Clara Sporting GR (19 points) now looking to wrap up the title. Sporting enter the weekend ahead in the table by three points over Force I (16 points), who are one of five teams vying for the final CL berth: Marin FC Blue (14 points), MVLA Dortmund Blue (13 points), East Bay United – Bay Oaks SC (11 points) and Atletico Santa Rosa A (10 points). Overall, three matches between some combination of those five sides take place over the weekend with Sunday’s Marin – MVLA match-up standing out as the highlight.

NPL 2 EAST PREVIEW

With only four games on the slate left to play, the U17 Boys NPL 2 East features the fewest total matches of leagues playing in the overall showcase. But that doesn’t mean the action won’t be important as the bottom four sides still haven’t determined what division they’ll play their spring soccer in. Heritage SC has already wrapped up the title with a seven-point lead, but second place San Juan SC Lightning (9 points) still has work to do to if they want to pull away from the three squads that all sit on 7 points: Davis Legacy Red, Impact Soccer Impact GR and Union Sacramento FC Union F. Though second and third place will qualify for the NPL 1, San Juan hasn’t secured a spot and faces a stiff challenge in Heritage on Saturday. Meanwhile, both Impact and Union have a game in hand on the Legacy, making the Legacy’s Sunday finale against Impact a crucial match-up.

NPL 2 WEST PREVIEW

The U17 Boys NPL 2 West season has already concluded. CVM Academy wrapped up the title by a three-point margin and will play in the NPL 1 in the spring.