Jefferson Cup 2026 Boys Showcase Recap: 480 teams compete in Richmond

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By Sean Maslin

Richmond, VA – The 2026 Jefferson Cup Boys College Showcase, one of the top tournaments in the country, was held March 27-29, featuring 480 high-level teams in the U15-U19 age groups. (FULL RESULTS)

Heading into the final weeks of the playoff stretch run, the Jefferson Cup Boys Showcase comes at the perfect time for teams that are looking to make small adjustments to their styles of play and to prepare themselves for different types of opponents in the playoff rounds.

“It is great to play teams from out of our state and out of our conference,” said Charlotte SA Academy ECNL 2010 Head Coach Stephen Gummer. “There are different styles of play across the East Coast. The style that we see in Charlotte and in North Carolina is very different from teams in D.C., Boston, and across the East Coast. So it gives a real good experience in playing different kind of environments and prepares us for the playoffs.”

U15 Showcase Championship

Richmond United ECNL 11: Finishing atop the U15 Showcase Championship is Richmond United’s 2011 ECNL team, who ended the weekend with an undefeated record (3-0-0, 30 points). Richmond dominated both sides of the pitch, scoring the second most goals in their division (ten) while also not conceding a single goal. They shutout NEFC Central 2011 MLS Next AD and Oakwood SC 11 MLS Next 1, each by a score of 4-0 while knocking off New York Elite Alleycats FC 11 MLS Next AD 3-0 on Saturday.

VDA 2011 ECNL: Placing a close second in the U15 Showcase Championship, Virginia Development Academy (3-0-0, 28 points) also earned a decisive victory on Sunday blanking Baltimore Celtic 11 ECNL 4-0. They started the weekend in equally impressive fashion, defeating Oakwood SC 11 MLS Next 1 5-1 on Friday. Although A.C. Connecticut 2011 ECNL proved to be a bit more of a challenge on matchday two, VDA proved that they were up for the moment holding on for a critical victory.

Charlotte SA Academy ECNL 2011: CSA clinched their spot in the top three with a 3-1 victory over NEFC Central 2011 MLS Next AD on Sunday, completing their undefeated run (2-0-1, 23 points). They started the weekend strong, defeating Baltimore Celtic 11 ECNL 3-2 on Friday. Their attack was once again on point on Saturday, matching a potent Pipeline SC ECNL 11 goal-for-goal in a 2-2 draw.

U16 Championship

Ottawa TFC 2010 OPDL Boys: Ottawa earned their first-ever Jefferson Cup title (3-0-0, 29 points) on Sunday with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Boston Bolts 2010 MLS Next AD. They kickstarted their weekend with a pair of 4-0 victories over Oakwood SC 10 MLS Next 1 and Coppermine SC 2010 Boys MLS Next to put them in prime position for Sunday’s match. Their 13 goals scored over the weekend was the highest in the U16 Championship while their one goal conceded was the lowest.

Charlotte SA Academy ECNL 2010: For Charlotte Soccer Academy’s ECNL B10s patience and persistence were imperative on Sunday. Despite facing a tough defensive opponent in Potomac Soccer ECNL B10, CSA showed what they were made of continuing to press their backline for goals. That effort paid off handsomely with a 3-0 victory to cap off a strong second place showing in the U16 Championship (3-0-0, 29 points).

Before Sunday’s game CSA had placed themselves in a strong position in the table having defeated Boston Bolts 2010 MLS Next AD (3-1) and SAC Boys 2010 – MLS NEXT AD (4-0) in consecutive matches.

From the start of the first whistle, CSA pressed the Potomac defense looking to take the early lead and set the tone. Led by midfielders Ryan Harris and Joseph Dorsey, CSA used their speed advantage on the outside to open up Potomac’s defense. The two worked together on a crisp 1-2 passing combination in the seventh minute that just went over the bar. Dorsey had another strong chance at goal minutes later that was on target and looked promising. However, Potomac goalkeeper William Noon correctly timed his dive to parry the shot wide of the post.

But the pressure applied by CSA would pay off in the 23rd minute when Harris would force the Potomac defense to make a high clearance that would go into their own net. CSA would add a second just before halftime with midfielder Franklin Flores finishing off a corner kick from Harris to extend their lead.

“In the first half we pressed extremely high,” said Gummer. “We tried to win the battles in their defensive third and we were obviously successful in doing that. We got two really good goals to take the lead and set up us well for the second half.”

With a two goal lead, CSA changed their approach in the second half to ensure that they preserved their result. Using defensive-midfielder and captain Addison Ling as their chief organizer CSA focused on withstanding any counter-attacking efforts while building out of the back. Though they faced some pressure they managed to withstand Potomac’s attacking advances.

“In the second half, we changed our formation to a three-box-three in order to get more numbers around the ball and play up wide,” Gummer added. “We knew that we were going to have to soak up some pressure which forced us into being more of a counter-attacking team. But I thought we did a good job making that adjustment.”

Though they played more of a counter-attacking style in the second half, they still managed to create attacking chances. In the 60th minute they would find their third, with Dorsey hammering a right-footed effort right inside of the eighteen yard box.

Tecumseh United FC 2010 Boys: Joining their fellow Canadian side at the top of the table in the U16 Championship Division is Tecumseh United (3-0-0, 26 points) who sealed their undefeated weekend on with a 1-0 victory over Oakwood SC 10 MLS Next 1 on Sunday. The group from Ontario showed off their attacking muscle earlier in the weekend with multi-goal victories over Benfica RA U16 Boys Red (4-2) and Fairfax Union ECNL 10 Boys (6-2).

U17 Championship

SUSA FC B09 ECNL Academy: Going undefeated in any Showcase event is never easy. Playing three games in three days against three very different opponents is a challenge for all teams and to win all three matches requires a high level of skill, excellent leadership, and the ability to grind out results. While the season still has many matches ahead SUSA Academy FC B09 ECNL Academy proved that they are up for the challenge, holding on for a 2-1 victory over Boston Bolts B2009 MLS NEXT AD to win the U-17 Championship Division.

“With them being 2-0 down early we knew that we would face some pressure in the second half,” said Hackett. “We were a little complacent but overall after three games I think we showed that we can play well under pressure.”

SUSA opened the weekend with back-to-back shutout victories over VDA 2009 ECNL (3-0) and Maryland United FC 2009 ECNL (1-0). Their one goal allowed was tied with Maryland United for the lowest among all teams in the U17 Championship Division.

While their defense was on point all weekend, their attack was also equally on point scoring early and setting the tone against the Bolts. Up top the attacking duo of Ryan Curcio (2027) and Tony Garcia (2027) led the charge, each scoring a goal and adding an assist for each other to give SUSA the early 2-0 advantage.

Boston wasn’t going to go down without a fight. Using a series of quick two-touch passes midfielder Kai Veson (2027), midfielder-forward Nolan Golding  (2027), and winger Owen Spinney (2028) began to find space in the SUSA defense early in the first half.  Their persistence paid off when Veson ripped a low curling shot off of the post and into the back of the net to narrow the lead to one.

Faced with containing a surging Bolts attack, SUSA’s defense got back to the fundamentals providing tight, consistent coverage and limiting Boston’s chances directly in front of goal. Led by center-back and co-captain Evan Masters (2027), SUSA maintained their composure and retained through the center of the pitch. Defenders Nicholas McConaghy (2027) and Shane Rossiter (2027) cleared away multiple dangerous balls down the right side of the pitch and worked well with Masters in forcing Boston to chase late.

Charlotte SA Academy ECNL 2009: In soccer, it is not how you start a Showcase event weekend that matters the most but how you finish it. After suffering a tough 3-2 loss to Boston Bolts 2009 MLS NEXT AD, Charlotte rallied over the next two games to finish second in the U17 Championship (2-1-0, 21 points). It wasn’t easy with CSA having to hold on against a tough team in FC Pride 2009 ECNL Boys 3-2 on Saturday to earn their first points. That hard work paid off on Sunday with the group working together to knock off Next Level Soccer Southeast 2009 Boys 3-0. Their attack led the rally throughout the weekend, scoring a Championship Division-best eight goals across all three games.

Richmond United ECNL 2009: It was a tough three matches for Richmond United’s ECNL 09s but in the end, their hard work and determination paid off. Thanks to some strong defensive work Richmond earned their spot in the top three of the U17 Championship on Sunday with a 0-0 draw against Maryland United FC 2009 ECNL. It was their second shutout of the weekend, having previously knocked off Next Level Soccer Southeast 2009 Boys 5-0 on Friday. Saturday was a different test with Richmond battling to a 2-2 draw with Oakwood SC 2009 MLS NEXT 1.

U19 Championship

NC Fusion ECNL 2007/2008: In the oldest age group, NC Fusion came out on top (3-0-0, 28 points) cementing their spot on Sunday with a 5-2 victory over Coppermine SC 2007/2008 Boys MLS Next AD. Fusion’s attack dominated defenses throughout the weekend and proved instrumental in the tiebreaker over second place Columbus United 07/08 NAL (14 to 13). Their biggest result came on Saturday when they dispatched Boston Bolts 2007/2008 MLS Next AD 9-0. Fusion started the weekend with another strong attacking effort, defeating Benfica RA U18 Boys 3-1.

Columbus United 07/08 NAL: Columbus’ high press attack paid dividends all throughout the weekend, scoring a Championship-best 13 goals in three games to finish second (3-0-0, 28 points). The National Academy League team bookended their weekend with a pair of five goal victories over Maryland United FC 2008/07 ECNL (5-1) and Baltimore Celtic 08/07 ECNL (5-3). On Saturday, their defense showed their strengths as a unit, blanking Charlotte SA Academy ECNL 08/07, 3-0.