GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (September 29, 2021) — The busiest weekend yet of the Fall 2021 season of the US Youth Soccer Midwest Conference has come and gone, with 230 games played across 46 divisions.

Some Midwest Conference divisions have already had a winner decided, while other division standings have painted a clearer picture of each team’s prospects entering the second half of the fall season. With berths to the 2022 USYS Midwest Regional Championships on the line — as well as automatic qualifying slots for the 2022-23 season of National League P.R.O. or promotion to the top tiers of the Conference — the remainder of the season promises to bring plenty of drama.

Over 50 teams made the trip to Westfield, Ind., to play their games at the conference-hosted weekend at Grand Park, the state-of-the art venue that will be hosting the USYS Midwest Regional Championships in June 2022.

Some notes from the Grand Park Conference-Hosted Weekend:

• Chicago Empire FC 2004 Gold Girls (IL) and Crystal Lake FORCE 2004 Elite (IL) each won both of their games in the 18U Girls Premier II White Division to start their seasons with perfect records. With Evolution SC 04 Girls Vapor (IL) also having a perfect record in the division, the second half of the season will be interesting with all three teams vying for a promotion to Premier I next season.
• Four teams played at Grand Park as part of 17U Girls Premier I, with each team getting at least a point from the weekend in what is shaping up to a hugely competitive division. Kingdom SC 05 Red (MI) won one game and tied another — putting the Michigan side in third place, one point behind joint-leaders LFA Tottleben 2005G (MO) and JB Marine Thunder (MO).
• MO Rush 2009B United (MO) continued its unbeaten season, defeating previously unbeaten Galaxy SC 2009 Blue (IL), who in turn handed SLSG MO B 2009 Elite (MO) its first defeat — meaning the three teams are within three points of each other at the top of the 13U Premier Black standings with SLSG having played one more game.
• KC Athletics Academy Premier 06G (KS) continued its undefeated start to the 16U Girls Premier I season, earning a win and draw over the weekend to extend its lead at the top of the standings to six points with two games remaining in its season.
• The 15U Girls Premier I Division was the busiest division in the conference this weekend, with nine games played at Grand Park. The results showed that it’s amongst the most competitive divisions in the Fall 2021 season. All but one of the games ended in draws or were decided by one goal, which left seven teams within five points at the top of the table.
• Tonka Fusion Elite 08 (MN), Sporting St. Louis 2008B Academy Navy (MO), and Indiana Elite FC 2008 Premier Boys (IN) all split results in the 14U Boys Premier I Division. Tonka Fusion tied both teams, and Sporting St. Louis and Indiana Elite FC each beat LFA Blue Star Premier 2008B (MO), as each of the teams tried to gain ground on Chicago Magic 2008 MCL (IL) at the top of the standings.
• LTSC 2005G Showcase (IL) and NSA Girls 2005 Academy (IL) took care of business as they each got two wins from two games, with LTSC leapfrogging MFJ 05G Elite (MI) into first place in 17U Girls Premier II Yellow.
• MI Burn 06 Black (MI) was the lone team to win a game in Westfield, Ind., in the 16U Girls Premier II Yellow Division, with the other two games ending in draws. Those results meant First XI 06 Girls (IL) extended their lead at the top of the standings to three points with five games played.
• Games played as part of the 14U Boys Premier II Yellow Division saw Galaxy 2008 Boys Blue (IL) win two and pad its goal different to plus-10, which means Galaxy has a three-point advantage over Ponys FC 2008 (IL), having played a game more.

Some notes from the weekend’s Team vs. Team action:

• The first Midwest Conference division champion of the fall season was decided, as Campton 2005 USYS Red (IL) won both its games, including a 5-1 win over second-place Polonia '05 Red Eagles (WI). That allowed Campton to clinch the 17U Girls Premier II White Division and put it in line for promotion to Premier I in the Fall 2022 season.
• North Shore United 2009 Boys Blue (WI) won all three of its games to continue its perfect start in the 13U Boys Premier White Division, having scored 10 goals while keeping four clean sheets halfway through its season.
• A draw in WIUFC 2006 Girls Premier (WI)’s game, paired with a victory for EBU Elite (WI), leaves both teams tied atop the 16U Girls Premier II White Division with two games remining for each team, including a pivotal matchup between the two on Oct. 23.
• The 13U Boys Premier Yellow Division is already shaping to be among the most competitive divisions of the Fall 2021 season. Both Chicago Magic PSG 2009 MCL (IL) and Indiana Elite FC 2009 Premier Boys (IN) won their games over the weekend, joining Campton United 2009 Boys Red (IL) at the top of the table with all teams starting the season with three wins from three games.
• A wild weekend in the 13U Girls Premier White Division left three teams with identical 3-0-2 records atop the standings. Tonka Fusion Elite 09 (MN), MKSC Academy U13 Girls (WI), and St. Croix 2009 Girls Academy (MN) all share the record after each won one game and tied two over the weekend.
• Madison 56ers 2008 Boys Red (WI) made up ground on 14U Boys Premier II White Division leader WIUFC 2008 Boys Premier (WI), as Madison won both of its games over the weekend. Paired with WIUFC’s loss Friday night, both teams now sit on 12 points, with WIUFC having played one more game.
• Kopion 2003 Academy (IL) extended its perfect season to 3-0-0 with a 5-1 victory on Saturday morning, giving it a 3-point lead over REAL WC Elite 2003/2004G (MO) in the 19U Premier II White Division, having played a game more.
• Michigan Rush Northville 09G (MI) is one game away from winning the 13U Girls Premier Black Division following its 3-1 win over Cap City 09 Girls Grey (MI) on Saturday morning, leaving Rush atop the standings with a perfect 6-0-0 record.

Some notes from the weekend’s Girls Club vs. Club action:

• Chicago Inter (IL) ended with a perfect 2-0-0 record for each of its Club vs. Club teams over the weekend on its road trip to Missouri. Inter won in the 15U, 16U, 17U, and 19U age groups against Lou Fusz Athletic (MO) on Saturday and repeated the feat against Sporting St. Louis (MO) on Sunday.
• Rockford Raptors FC (IL) made the same road trip as Chicago Inter, with Sporting St. Louis (MO) winning three of the four games against Rockford on Saturday, while the Raptors recovered to win the 16U and 19U games against Lou Fusz Athletic (MO) the following day.
• Legends FC (MI) enjoyed a successful trip to Illinois, where it took on Galaxy SC (IL) on Saturday — winning the matchups in the 15U, 17U and 19U age groups — before playing Evolution SC and getting wins in the 16U, 17U and 19U age groups.
• Greater Libertyville FC (IL) played as the host club for a big weekend, as Madison 56ers (WI), Nationals (MI) and Michigan Jaguars (MI) made the trip south to Illinois. Madison 56ers edged Nationals three games to two on Saturday, with Michigan Jaguars and Greater Libertyville FC splitting the games in their matchup. The following day saw Madison 56ers win three of four games against Michigan Jaguars, while Greater Libertyville FC won the 15U and 16U games against Nationals along with ties in the 17U, 18U and 19U matchups.

What they’re saying:

After being the first team to win its division this season, Campton 2005 USYS Red (IL) is excited at the prospect of playing in the top tier next fall.

“The girls are extremely happy about winning their division,” said Trey Bradberry, coach of Campton 2005 USYS Red (IL). “They put in a lot of hard work and stayed focused on the process of getting better every day. The girls have a done a great job of taking on the mentality, and we look forward to playing the Premier I Division next year.”

In Club vs. Club, Chicago Inter (IL) prepared knowing the challenges of playing in Missouri during this time of year.

“All of the Club vs. Club teams that made the trip to Missouri were in St. Louis for the 2021 Midwest Regional Championships this summer, so the players knew how hot it gets on those fields and the difficulty of playing Missouri clubs in the heat,” said Neno Dautovic, Director of Coaching at Chicago Inter, following the club’s perfect road trip to Missouri. “Our focus was to prepare them physically and mentally to get through the length of those games without dropping the level of play.”

Following an action-packed weekend at Grand Park, Dean Muckle, coach of MFJ 07G Elite (MI), was happy with results and mentality of his team to get a win and two draws.

“Playing at Grand Park and its facilities is always special and seeing other teams compete in our division, as well as other age groups, sets a very competitive environment,” Muckle said. “The team worked hard and were relentless and gritty having to come from behind in every game.”

The Midwest Conference is one of 13 Conferences under the USYS National League, and it consists of teams primarily from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.

To follow the Midwest Conference results and standings, click here.

Click here for more information on the Midwest Conference. For more information on all 13 of the National League Conferences, the National League Showcase Series, and National League P.R.O., click here.