GREENSBORO, N.C. (June 27, 2008) – Development Academy teams discovered their possible placement at Finals Week during a live draw that was held this afternoon inside the Athletes’ Lounge at the Summer Showcase in Greensboro, N.C.
With a crowd of 150 people watching intently as the Finals Week Draw unfolded on a 30-foot screen, Development Academy Technical Director John Hackworth and Studio 90 host Michael Kammarman plucked envelopes from the draw pots to place the eight conferences in both the U-15/16 and U-17/18 age groups into two groups of four teams.
Conferences names were drawn in lieu of team names as only two of 16 teams have clinched the top spot in the Conference. Conference winners earn a berth to the Finals Week, which will be held from July 12-19 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
During Finals Week, teams will play a round-robin format in their four-team group during the first six days. The teams will then crossover and play placement matches on Friday, July 18, and Saturday, July 19.
All eight placement matches will be broadcast live during the two days, highlighted by the U-17/18 championship match that will be live on ESPN 2 on Friday, July 18, at 8 p.m. PT. The seven other matches, including the U-15/16 championship match, will be broadcast on ESPNU. Overall, ESPN Networks will air an unprecedented 20 hours of coverage over two days.
The majority of the 16 conference winners (eight from each age group) will be determined this weekend during the Academy Summer Showcase in Greensboro. The only two teams that have already secured a spot in the Finals are the U-17/18 Baltimore Bays, which won the Mid-Atlantic Conference, and U-17/18 CASL, which finished atop the Atlantic Conference.
The draw for Finals Week is below (it will be updated throughout the Showcase).
Group A (U-17/18)A1: Mid-America Champion
A2: Baltimore Bays (Mid-Atlantic Champion)
A3: West Champion
A4: Westchester FC (Northeast Champion)
Group B (U-17/18)B1: CASL (Atlantic Champion)
B2: Great Lakes Champion
B3: Concorde Fire (Southeast Champion)
B4: LAFC (So Cal Champion)
Group C (U-15/16)C1: Albertson (Northeast Champion)
C2: So Cal Champion
C3: Great Lakes Champion
C4: Schulz Academy (Southeast Champion)
Group D (U-15/16)D1: Mid-America Champion
D2: Atlantic Champion
D3: West Champion
D4: Mid-Atlantic Champion
Did you know?