U17 Girls
The U17 Girls group features 8 teams (2 brackets with 4 teams each). Only the 1st and 2nd placed teams in each bracket will advance.
Bracket A = Solar 04G ECNL, FC Dallas 04G ECNL
Solar 04G ECNL is our pick to win this talented group. Their top challenger will be FC Dallas 04G ECNL, in town rivals. Solar is 1-0-1 vs FC Dallas, so look for that matchup to determine the bracket winner.
Bracket B = DKSC 04G ECNL, Crossfire Premier XF 04G ECNL
DKSC is a very well coached team, with both the pedigree and skillset to match. They should edge out some tight competition and win this group. Their top challengers will be Crossfire Premier. Our dark-horse in this one is SoCal Blues. Coach Dido is a top coach in Southern California that has coached for LAPFC and Surf. This is second stint at So Cal and he produces top teams. So look for them to make some noise here and potentially upset this prediction in some way.
Note: There are not wildcard teams.
U17 Boys
The U17 Boys group features 32 teams (8 brackets with 4 teams each). Only the 1st place team in each bracket will advance. There will be no wildcard teams.
Bracket A = Weston FC U17 MLS Elite
The competition here is going to be very tight, but talented group from Florida, Weston FC, should win this group. Dallas Texans will push be the top challenger.
Bracket B = FC Dallas U17 Academy
This is arguably the most talented bracket in the entire tournament. Featuring multiple teams ranked within the top 10 nationally, FC Dallas will win this group. Every matchup will be tight. I have Strikers Miami FC as the top challenger.
Bracket C = PSG Academy U17 Blue (FL)
PSG Academy U17 Blue (FL) should win this group, but the competition will be stiff throughout. FC DallasETX 04B Premier is going to be the top challenger for this group.
Bracket D = SC Del Sol U17B Academy (AZ)
SC Del Sol U17B Academy will win this group. RGV FC Toros should be considered to be the top challenger for this group.
Bracket E = NM Rush 04 ECNL (NM)
This scrappy group from New Mexico should edge out their competition and win the group. Their top challenger is going to be Real Salt Lake ECNL. (AZ).
Bracket F = Sparta United 04b Premier (UT)
This is SPARTA..... This is a very talented team from Utah. They are well coached and will this group. Solar ECNL will be their top challenger. That's a matchup I'm interested to watch.
Bracket G = Solar 04 MLS Academy
Solar MLS should win this group. Baltimore Armour U17 (MA) will be the largest test as their top challenger.
Bracket H = Downtown LVSC 04 GOLD (NV)
This will be an interesting group to watch. My pick to win it will be the Vegas crew, Downtown LVSC. We certainly can't overlook Chelsea East or DKSC, as both are strong teams that could upset the bracket and win the group. I'd say Chelsea is the the top challenger.
