NorCal’s Spring ECNL-RL and NPL Kick Off This Weekend

While many of NorCal Premier Soccer’s spring competitions kicked off this past weekend, this Saturday and Sunday sees the highly anticipated return of both the ECNL-RL and National Premier League.

Top teams from all across the state will be beginning their campaigns this weekend, with most of those in the ECNL-RL picking up in their league from where things were left off after the fall season, while those in the NPL will begin anew, looking to earn promotion.

“We’re excited for another great season of competition between some of the best teams in all of Northern California,” said NorCal NPL Commissioner Kelcey Chaidez. “We expect most of the title races to come down to the wire in what should be a fun series of games between squads who are around the same skill level thanks to our unique promotion and relegation system.”

Outside of the U13 and U14 age groups, which have seen teams qualify for the spring based on their fall NPL seasons, the ECNL-RL resumes this weekend with teams having played roughly half of their games already.

This means that points have always been at a premium for a series of hotly contested leagues that will conclude at the NorCal Spring College Showcase on May 18 and 19 at Davis Legacy Soccer Complex.

While only one team can be named ECNL-RL champions, four will qualify for the regional playoffs, which will take place at SilverLakes Sports Complex in Norco, California from June 13-17.

In the NPL, however, teams are starting fresh, with a new series of divisions in which the top teams will hope to earn promotion.

Additionally, there are still multiple spots in this summer’s NPL Finals, set for June in Commerce, Colorado.

While the fall NPL 1 champions for the U16-U19 age groups have already been granted one of those coveted slots, there will still be one more berth granted in each of these divisions following spring play.

In the U14 and U15 brackets, the top two teams in the NPL 1 will each qualify.

For more information about the ECNL-RL, click here.

For more information about the NPL, click here.