Stars to open the 2014 NPSL season at home to Electric City Shock on May 3rd.
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania
Junior Lone Star FC, Philadelphia's premier minor league soccer team, will kick off its third season in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) on Saturday, May 3, 2014.
As announced by the league, Junior Lone Star FC will participate in the eight-team Keystone Conference of the Northeast Region which includes Buxmont Torch FC (Perkasie, PA), Clarkstown SC Eagles (W. Nyack, NY), Electric City Shock FC (Scranton, PA), Greater Binghamton FC Thunder (Binghamton, NY), Hershey FC Panthers (Hershey, PA), FC Lehigh Valley United Sonic (Lehigh Valley, PA), and Pocono Snow SC (East Stroudsburg, PA).
Junior Lone Star FC will begin a 12-game regular season schedule at home to newcomers Electric City Shock FC on Saturday, May 3rd at 5:00pm. Key matches for the Stars will be against FC LVU Sonic (2012 NPSL National Champions & Three-time Northeast Region Champions) and GBFC Thunder (2013 Keystone Conference Champions) - two teams the Stars have yet to score on in the league.
The Stars will host GBFC Thunder and FC LVU Sonic on Saturday, May 31st and Wednesday, June 4th, respectively before traveling to FC LVU Sonic and GBFC Thunder on Wednesday, June 18th and Sunday, June 22nd, respectively. The Stars will look to qualify for their first ever playoff appearance when they host Pocono Snow SC on Sunday, June 29th at 5:00pm in their last regular season match.
With the addition of the Mid Atlantic Conference in the Northeast Region which already included the Keystone Conference and the North Atlantic Conference, the league announced a new playoff format to include the first and second place teams from each of those three conferences. The first place teams will be seeded using the NPSL formula for seeding playoff teams. The second place teams will also be seeded using the NPSL seeding formula.
The top two seeded first place teams will receive a bye for the first round of the playoffs. The other four teams will play on July 12, with the two lowest seeded teams playing at the location of the higher seeded teams.
The winners of the first round playoff will play on July 16 at the teams that received a first round bye. The Northeast Region Championship will be played on July 19 at the highest seeded team.
In another development, the Stars have scheduled five preseason matches against two USASA clubs (Debamu FC and Screaming Eagles, both from Maryland)and three NCAA Division II colleges from the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia University, and Wilmington University of Delaware).
The Stars will begin their preseason schedule this weekend when they host Debamu FC on Saturday, March 29th at 6:30pm before traveling to Plymouth Meeting, PA to play Chestnut Hill College on Sunday, March 30th at 11:30am.
For Junior Lone Star FC's full schedule, including preseason, click here.
ABOUT JUNIOR LONE STAR FOOTBALL CLUB
Junior Lone Star FC believes that the pursuit of excellence in the areas of academics and soccer helps develop maturity and self-confidence; therefore, the club provides the youth and young adults of the Philadelphia area with competitive and non-competitive soccer training so as to prepare them for collegiate and professional soccer. Junior Lone Star FC's First Team participates in the National Premier Soccer League - Keystone Conference; the Reserves participate in the US Club Soccer National Adult League - Premier Division; and the Under-19s participate in the USL Super-20 Men's National League - Mid Atlantic Division. Visit www.juniorlonestarfc.org for more information.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PREMIER SOCCER LEAGUE
The NPSL is a national league that operates in the 4th Division of the U.S. Soccer pyramid. NPSL teams are eligible to participate in the U.S. Open Cup through their affiliation with the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). The NPSL is the fastest-growing national soccer league in North America, operating in 80+ markets across the country. Two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs (D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls) and four North American Soccer League (NASL) clubs (Minnesota United, Carolina Railhawks, Atlanta Silverbacks, Oklahoma City FC) operate teams in the NPSL. Mitre USA recently signed a multi-year agreement to become the league’s Official Match Ball Sponsor. Visit www.npsl.info for more information.