U-23 & U-20 Cups Announcement

National U-23 & Region I U-20 Cups

We are taking entries for the U.S. National Men & Women Under-23 Cups that will take place on the weekend of 27-28 June at the Manalapan Recreation Center in Manalapan, New Jersey. The men and women winners will represent Region I in the USASA National Finals that will take place from 24-25 July at the Seminole Country Sports Training Center in Sanford, Florida.

The Region I men's tournament will consist of 24 teams. Teams will be divided into 8 groups, 3 teams per group. There will be 2 matches played by each team in group play on Saturday, 27 June. The games will be 80-minutes in length. The 8 group winners will advance to the quarterfinals that will take place on Sunday morning, 28 June. The winners will play the semifinals on Sunday afternoon. Those matches again will be 80-minutes in length. Penalty kicks will determine winners in case of a draw. There will be no overtime in the quarterfinals and semifinals. The two semifinal winners will play the final on 5 July at a location to be determined. The final will be a full match, including overtime if necessary.

The Region I women's tournament will consist of 16 teams and take place only during the weekend of 27-28 June. Teams will be divided into 4 groups, 4 teams per group. There will be 3 matches played by each team in group play on Saturday, 27 June. The games will be 60-minutes in length. The 4 group winners will advance to the semifinals that will take place on Sunday morning, 28 June. Those matches will be 60-minutes in length. The winners will play the final on Sunday afternoon with a full 90-minute match. In the semifinals and final, penalty kicks will determine a winner if necessary. There will be no overtime.

Dates and method of the Maryland qualifiers for the U23 Cup are dependent upon the number of entries. The earliest we will begin to play qualifiers is 7 June. The qualifiers will be completed by 21 June. Matches will be played on Sundays and week nights. In the past, Maryland has been able to send at least two teams to the regional tournament as we have had high number of entries in the region. The number of teams that go through to the regional tournament will be dependent upon the number of entries from the other state associations.

Eligibility for U23 are players born on or after 1 August 1985.

Registered teams with the Maryland State Soccer Association and Maryland State Youth Soccer Association are eligible to enter the cups.

New teams forming to play in the cups may register their players after the entry deadline. Players need to be registered before the qualifiers begin. Registration is handled online and new teams will be given instructions for registration along with a password. Registration fees are $20 per player. Youth teams may enter on their youth registration as long as they receive permission to compete. Those teams may use their MSYSA passes. Youth players may be registered to adult teams as long as they have permission to compete. Youth players on adult rosters must register on MSSA passes and the fee must be paid for those individual players.

U23 Cup - Entry deadline is 1 June 2009. Information on the participants and the draw to follow shortly afterwards.

U23 Cup Entry Form (Word Document)

The USASA Region I U20 Cup will once again be hosted by the New Jersey Soccer Association. It will take place on 19-20 July in Manalapan, New Jersey. Saturday will be qualifiers and Sunday the finals. This is an open tournament as there are no state qualifiers to enter. Teams must be registered with USASA or USYSA (U19 and younger). For more information concerning the U20 Cup, contact Carlos Pais at carlospais@matiota.com or check the U20 Cup site.

Eligibility for U20 are players born on or after 1 August 1988.

Cup Information:

Rules of competition for national cups
MSSA Cup Policy

For more information, contact cups@marylandsoccer.com