U16 Girls NorCal NPL Fall Showcase Preview
NPL 1 East
Coming as no surprise to anyone, defending Champions League champion FC Elk Grove have already wrapped up the fall division title in the NPL 1 East with a perfect 6-0-0 record. Things become tricky from there, though, with seven sides in contention for the final three Champions League berths at stake. San Juan sit in second place with 13 points, but have just one game remaining on the season. If San Juan win Saturday against Elk Grove, they’ll qualify for the Champions League, but a draw will likely be enough. From there, other squads in contention are Placer United (11 points), Central California Soccer Academy (8), Folsom Lake Quakes (8), Mustang Elite (5), Diablo FC (5), and San Ramon FC (5).
NPL 1 East Schedule and Results
NPL 1 West
Unlike the NPL 1 East, the NPL 1 West hasn’t been wrapped up yet, with Marin FC pacing the division with a 6-0-1 record. Sitting six points behind Marin in second are MVLA, which has just one game remaining and cannot challenge for the title. But just behind MLVA are Vision, who are on 10 points from just five games and will look to make the most of a three-game weekend. Should Vision win Friday and Saturday, a third win against Marin FC will see them win the title, but any dropped points in any of the three games will cause Marin to win it. Also in contention are fourth-place EBU Bay Oaks (9 points), San Jose Surf (7), and Force North (6). For the remaining sides — Pleasanton Rage, Santa Clara Sporting, and Mustang SC — the focus will be all about not finishing in the bottom two spots, which relegate sides to the spring’s NPL 2.
NPL 1 West Schedule and Results
NPL 2 East
In a division in which two 4-0-2 sides have paced the action, California Odyssey and South Tahoe FC meet Saturday in a match in which the winner will clinch the division title. If there is no winner, the action could go down to Sunday, where both sides are in action again. As only the winner is granted spring NPL 1 status, the Saturday match puts everything on the line. Should one of the teams falter, IR Academy has a chance to slip into second place with a win Sunday to earn NPL 2 status.
NPL 2 East Schedule and Results
NPL 2 West
West Coast Soccer have proved the class of the NPL 2 West thus far, going 5-0-2, but their quest for first place and the spring NPL 1 berth that comes with it is not quite complete yet. Four points in two games will clinch it for West Coast, but right on their tales are 4-1-2 MVLA, which drew 2-2 with West Coast earlier in the month. 4-1-2 Impact SC are still in the race for the title as well, but will need to win both of their games and get some help from other games in order to claim the title.
