ECNL Boys Regional League Playoffs 2026: Central Region Recap

On the final day of the ECNL Regional League Playoffs – Central, Tennessee United came away as the U18/19 Boys Champions with a thrilling 2-1 win over Boreal FC.

Boreal FC entered Thursday’s final as the only team who had won every game so far in the U18/19 age group, clinching Group D with three victories, before booking their spot in the final with a 2-0 win over Pacesetter SC in the semifinals.

On the other side, Tennessee United clinched the top spot in Group C with seven points over their three games, and then defeated Tennessee SC 3-2 in the semifinals to reach Thursday’s final.

In the championship match, Boreal controlled much of the early play, but after their press forced a giveaway in the back it was Tennessee United’s Brayden Mrozek who fired home the opening goal to give Tennessee United a 1-0 advantage that they would take into the halftime break.

(+ECNL Boys Playoffs 2026: Tulsa SC captures U18/19 National Championship)

Boreal responded though in the opening moments of the second half, when Anthony Davis got to the rebound of a shot attempt and put it in to quickly tie things up as the second half got underway.

In an extremely physical and closely contested championship game it wasn’t until late in the second half that Tennessee United restored their one goal advantage when Damien Barnes whipped in an unstoppable shot that found the top corner to make it 2-1 Tennessee United.

With minutes left, Boreal piled on the pressure looking for the equaling goal. Swinging in ball after ball from corners and set pieces, it was goalkeeper Bennett Altepeter who continued to stand tall in goal for Tennessee United. Altepeter had already made a massive save in the game from a point blank scoring opportunity while the game was still locked at 1-1 and he kept his spectacular performance up in the dying minutes to help see out Tennessee United’s 2-1 victory.

Following the game, Altepeter was named the Most Outstanding Player, not only for his strong performance in the championship match, but also for his outstanding play throughout all of Tennessee United’s playoff run.

In addition to the U18/19 Regional League Central Championship, 10 teams on Thursday punched their tickets to Richmond for the ECNL Regional League Boys Finals in July.

See all the teams advancing to Richmond, below.

Teams Advancing to ECNL Regional League Finals

ECNL RL Boys U13: Alabama FC Huntsville
ECNL RL Boys U13: Kansas City Surf
ECNL RL Boys U14: Indiana Elite FC
ECNL RL Boys U14: FC United Iowa
ECNL RL Boys U15: Columbus Force
ECNL RL Boys U15: Steel City FC
ECNL RL Boys U16: Steel City FC
ECNL RL Boys U16: Northern Indiana Express
ECNL RL Boys U17: Cuyahoga Valley SA
ECNL RL Boys U17: Bloomingdale Lightning FC