ESPN to Showcase Growing Academy

Finals to Be Shown on ESPN as 11 More Teams Sign On

June 28, 2008

CHICAGO -- U.S. Soccer�s inaugural Development Academy season will finish on a high note during Finals Week with all eight placement matches being broadcast on ESPN Networks in a total of 20 hours of coverage over two days.

All eight Conference winners from each of the U-15/16 and U-17/18 age groups will advance to the Finals Week, which will be held from July 12-19 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

The eight Conference winners from each age group will be divided into two groups of four and participate in a round-robin format during the first six days of Finals Week. 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.

The majority of the 16 conference winners (eight from each age group) will be determined this weekend during the Academy Summer Showcase in Greensboro, N.C. 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.

�Having these matches on the world-wide leader in sports broadcasting demonstrates the immediate and positive impact the Development Academy has had on soccer in the United States during the past nine months,� said Development Academy Technical Director John Hackworth. �The high-level competition that we�ll get to see during the entire week at The Home Depot Center will be a fantastic way to close out what has been an incredibly successful inaugural season.�

The Development Academy and its showcase events have provided an environment for U.S. National Team coaches to review the overall play of each team and provide feedback directly to the teams on an ongoing basis, all in the name of development.

�The full-time scouts have been able to provide every team feedback during the season, which has been extremely beneficial,� said the Development Academy Director of Scouting and former New Hampshire DOC Dave Sarachan. �There has been marked improvement during the season which is the whole goal of the Academy.�

Three Major League Soccer teams and a total of eight programs from Texas, which will be represented for the first time in the Academy, will bring the Academy field to 74 clubs. The U.S. Under-17 Men�s National Team will also return for the second year.

FC Dallas, the Los Angeles Galaxy and the New England Revolution were added to the Academy, bringing the number of MLS teams to nine overall. The other nine new clubs come from Texas and California, including FC Dallas (Frisco, Texas), Andromeda SC (Plano, Texas), the Dallas Texans (Dallas, Texas), Solar SC (Dallas, Texas), Texas Soccer Club (Spring, Texas), Texas RUSH � AHFC (Houston, Texas), Santa Cruz County Breakers (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Danville Mustangs (Danville, Calif.).

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