ECNL Regional League Central Playoffs 2025 Boys and Girls Recap

The ECNL Regional League Central Playoffs took place over the weekend in Missouri, as boys and girls teams competed across the U13-U18/19 age groups.

Teams in the U13-U17 divisions battled for spots in the 2025 ECNL Regional League Finals, while the U18/19 division crowned its champions. See below for recaps from the U18/19 boys and girls title matches, along with a list of U13-U17 teams who advanced to the ECNL RL Finals.

ECNL RL Boys U18/19 Champions: SLSG MO
Most Outstanding Player: Carter Muehling, Goalkeeper, SLSG MO

This game had everything.

After neither team found the back of the net in the first half, SLSLG MO came out racing in the second half, going up 1-0 within the first minute thanks to a strike from forward James Bowen. With the lead, Blast FC started pushing and pushing, eventually winning a PK in the 63rd minute. Leading scorer Sam Gabrielli stepped up to the spot and shot low to the right side. Goalkeeper Carter Muehling hit the ground, made the save, then immediately saved the ensuing rebound to maintain the lead.

Blast FC remained undeterred and streaking down the right side of the pitch, Jacob Marshall perfectly placed a shot, beating the keeper near post to even the game at 1. The two sides remained deadlocked at 1-1, eventually pushing the game into extra time.

With just one minute remaining in extra time, SLSG went up 2-1 when Ahmed Suljagic found himself alone in the box and buried his shot, seemingly clinching the Central championship.

But Blast FC had other ideas.

Immediately sending everyone forward, Blast FC earned a free kick 35 yards from the box for the last kick of the game. The service went up and goalkeeper Brandyn Bowden jumped up to get a head on the ball and knocked it past every SLSG defender to tie the game 2-2 and force PKs.

In penalty kicks, Muehling was determined to end his club career as a champion, making three consecutive saves to secure the ECNL RL Boys U19/19 championship for SLSG. His four PK saves during the course of the game was a career-high and earned him Most Outstanding Player honors.

“We scored in the 93rd minute in our first group game, we scored on the last kick of the game in our second group game, so we’ve scored a goal very late to win a game in pretty much every game here this weekend,” said SLSG coach Paul Anderson. “You can’t predict what’s going to happen and that’s why everyone loves live sport, especially soccer. You can go from winning the game with the last kick of the game to tying the game with the last kick of the game. Very proud of the boys to end their club careers with a win.”

“I’ve never won anything major before this,” Muehling said. “It’s just amazing. I’ve got a medal that means something, a trophy that means something. It’s great but it’s also sad because this was my last game and this is it for me for true competitive soccer. I’ve been playing since I was five, but to be able to go out on top with a win and a championship, it’s just an incredible feeling.”

ECNL RL Girls U18/19 Champions: Mississippi Rush United
Most Outstanding Player: Emma Reeves, Midfielder, Mississippi Rush United

In the ECNL RL Girls U18/19 Championships, Mississippi Rush United took a lead early in the match against Missouri Rush and then never looked back.

The two sides started the game feeling each other out, but quickly Mississippi Rush started to press forward and get their chances. In the 11th minute, Kayla Jones was battling with a few defenders before putting the ball on net with a backheel chance. The seeing-eye shot missed every defender and leaked into the back of the net to give Rush United a 1-0 lead.

Armed with the lead, Mississippi continued to press forward and was rewarded again in the 36th minute when the team sprung its forwards for a breakaway opportunity. After making the initial stop, the ball bounced to Yazzlyn Alex, who had a wide-open look on net and made it a 2-0 game.

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Mississippi Rush United held firm on its lead through the rest of the first half and into the second, but as the game wore on, Missouri Rush started earning their chances to claw their way back into the game. In the 57th minute, Missouri Rush had the ball in the box, forcing a couple saves by the Mississippi goalkeeper and in the 79th minute, a rocket on net just went over the crossbar.

In the final minutes, Mississippi Rush United shut down the Missouri Rush attack and at the final whistle, closed out their club campaign with a championship.

“Both of these age groups, the 06s and 07s had recently lost in a Regional League championship, so for them to chase it this year, come together and win one together, it was awesome, it was special,” said coach Gentry Johnson. “I’ve coached these girls for a while now, all of our seniors are graduating to play collegiate soccer, which is awesome, and they’ve sacrificed a lot, worked really hard to get here and they really deserved to win this championship.”

“We’ve been really working hard for this so to see all of our hard work pay off, it’s awesome,” said Emma Reeves. “This was our last game, and to win it all, it’s just an amazing feeling.”

Teams Advancing to ECNL Regional League Finals

Boys U13: Columbus Force and Sporting Columbus
Boys U14: Pacesetter SC and Sporting Wichita
Boys U15: Nationals SC and Northern Indiana Express
Boys U16: Chicago Inter Soccer and FC United Iowa
Boys U17: Colorado Rapids and Kansas Rush

Girls U13: GTFC Impact and Tennessee SC
Girls U14: GTFC Impact and Nationals SC
Girls U15: Lobos Rush and Pride SC
Girls U16: Indy Eleven Spirit and Mississippi Rush United
Girls U17: GTFC Impact and Missouri Rush