The EDP Winter Showcase was held February 18-19 at Capelli Sports Complex in Tinton Falls, NJ, and was once again one of the top recruiting events in the region. The invite-only event hosted fifty Boys teams from 16U-19U from the nation’s top leagues. College coaches from some of the top conferences in D1, D2 and D3 were in attendance, including the Big East, Big 10, Ivy League, Patriot League, CAA, A10, America East, MAAC, NEC, Horizon League, Northeast-10, CACC, PSAC, NESCAC, NJAC, NECC, Landmark, GNAC, MAC, Liberty League, SUNYAC, Centennial, Atlantic East, CSAC, Skyline and C2C.
Clubs from MLS NEXT, National League P.R.O., Elite 64, ECNL, USL Academy, plus International teams created a unique best vs best atmosphere. Clubs included: PDA, Baltimore Armour, Cedar Stars North, Cedar Stars Monmouth, New York SC, Philadelphia Union, Boston Bolts, STA, Penn Fusion, Manhattan SC, FC Bucks Dominion, Lehigh Valley United, BVB IA Pittsburgh, AC Connecticut, FC Europa, BRAUSA, PDA Hibernian, Penn Alliance, Potomac SA, PSA Monmouth, SJEB, STA-MOSC, Columbia SC, Dix Hills, Westchester Flames, AIFC, CS St Hubert, FC Durham, Woodbridge Strikers, and FC Florida.
A look at some of the event’s top matchups:
In the first time slot of the weekend, as college coaches began lining the sidelines, Lehigh Valley United 2004/5 ECNL defeated CS St-Hubert 2-1 from Quebec in a hard-fought match, while Penn Alliance Select Elite ’04 and PSA Monmouth ‘05 NL showed the quality of USYS National League on both sides throughout the match, and Penn Alliance came away a 3-2 winner.
In the second time slot of Day 1, Cedar Stars Academy Monmouth 17U MLS NEXT and Manhattan SC Wolves 2006 ECNL put on a tremendous show in front of a sideline packed with college coaches on Field 5. St John’s, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Monmouth, Rider, NJIT, Lehigh, Fordham, Columbia, Marist, TCNJ, Rutgers Newark, and more watched as the two teams lit up the back of the net. With tons of future college stars on the field, Manhattan SC edged Cedar Stars Monmouth 4-3. Over on Field 1, AC Connecticut B06 EDP National showed their quality as they defeated STA 2006B ECNL 3-0.
Throughout the rest of Day 1, college coaches continued to be treated to exciting attacking soccer. Two of the top 07 teams in the nation battled each other to a 3-3 draw as NYSC 07 MLS NEXT took on FC Bucks Dominion 07 ECNL. That game was followed up by PDA MLS NEXT 19U defeating BVB IA Pittsburgh 05B Premier 6-5, as both teams put their tremendous attacking talent on display. The day concluded with BRAUSA 04/05 and AIFC Toronto drawing 3-3.
Day 2 continued to see top college coaches line the sidelines, with numerous exciting matchups. In the early time slots, Juventus Academy Boston IFA 17U had a very impressive performance, defeating Baltimore Armour 17U MLS NEXT.
During the mid-day time slot, there were several games that featured a tremendous brand of soccer, including Philadelphia Union UDS vs Manhattan Freedom 2004 ECNL and Cedar Stars Academy North Elite 64/MLS 19U vs Lehigh Valley United 2004/5 ECNL.
In the final time slots of the event, Penn Fusion SA ECNL 2006 defeated Dix Hills EST Ultimatum 4-2 in a back-and-forth match, while Potomac Blue 05B defeated Penn Fusion SA ENCL 2004 2-1.
All results for the weekend can be found here.