Ohio North/Ohio South merger

OhioBobcatFan06

OhioBobcatFan06

Well-known member
This is old news, but with it being State Cup season I’m curious if anyone has heard about plans moving forward. This year, Ohio North and Ohio South are having separate tournaments. Moving forward, there would presumably be a combined format? Columbus-based or rotating around the state?
 
 
I wonder if the preliminary rounds would still be North / South based and then Semis / Finals are in one location? I would guess that the site would rotate throughout the state each year, but I don't know if anyone has said anything yet.

I suppose you could have prelim rounds somewhere North and Semi/Finals somewhere South (or vice versa). The problem is, the HS age group often does weeknight self scheduled games to cut down on how many games need to be played over a weekend and that would be impossible if you have a Cleveland team playing a Cincy team.
 
I was at Ohio North this weekend for a couple games Saturday. This is the last year for Ohio North's tournament. There will be one combined tournament next year. I have heard nothing about where it will be held.

At least for Ohio North, the preliminary weekend is at a self contained site (this past weekend) with the semifinal and final games being held at a self contained site (this coming weekend). You are correct that there are self-scheduled games in the present structure prior to state cup weekends.

I would imagine that there is some regionalization done in the preliminary stages so teams can do the self scheduled games and then converge on to one (or two sites).
 
Copley Road fields were an interesting choice for the North semi/finals, but I suppose it's always better than having to pay an entry fee at Sports Force :)
 
soccerdad72 said:
Copley Road fields were an interesting choice for the North semi/finals, but I suppose it's always better than having to pay an entry fee at Sports Force :)
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I was at Copley Road about a month ago and the game was cancelled for standing water, but overall the fields looked to be in very good shape.

If there was one plus to corona, it’s that our fields got a nice break last spring.

My favorite part of Copley Road is fans confusing crop cannons for gunshots (not that there couldn’t be gunshots a mile East)
 
There are far more teams in Ohio South than North for State Cup / League. Some teams have migrated to ECNL or MLS Next across the state, which I’m sure plays into the decision to combine. For example, in the top U15B bracket, Ohio South had 12 teams and Ohio North had 3. So for 21-22 they will have a combined State League with two divisions of 8 teams. They will also have a combined State Cup. It would not surprise me if North and South teams are grouped together and meet in Columbus to play their self schedule game prior to group weekend and then final four weekend. One less State Cup champion likely opens up an additional wild card spot for Regionals where teams can qualify through GLC club vs club or premier 1 results.
 
Wingback Willie said:
There are far more teams in Ohio South than North for State Cup / League. Some teams have migrated to ECNL or MLS Next across the state, which I’m sure plays into the decision to combine. For example, in the top U15B bracket, Ohio South had 12 teams and Ohio North had 3. So for 21-22 they will have a combined State League with two divisions of 8 teams. They will also have a combined State Cup. It would not surprise me if North and South teams are grouped together and meet in Columbus to play their self schedule game prior to group weekend and then final four weekend. One less State Cup champion likely opens up an additional wild card spot for Regionals where teams can qualify through GLC club vs club or premier 1 results.
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Spot on. What people don’t want to admit is Ohio North had to merge with Ohio South to stay in business. This change will not change much except for state league and a few more quality teams in State Cup. Now those who win state cup can truly say they are the best team in the state. Overall it’s a necessary and good move for everyone.
 
Wingback Willie said:
There are far more teams in Ohio South than North for State Cup / League. Some teams have migrated to ECNL or MLS Next across the state, which I’m sure plays into the decision to combine. For example, in the top U15B bracket, Ohio South had 12 teams and Ohio North had 3. So for 21-22 they will have a combined State League with two divisions of 8 teams. They will also have a combined State Cup. It would not surprise me if North and South teams are grouped together and meet in Columbus to play their self schedule game prior to group weekend and then final four weekend. One less State Cup champion likely opens up an additional wild card spot for Regionals where teams can qualify through GLC club vs club or premier 1 results.
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Honestly, I didn't even know State League was even still a thing? I thought most clubs were either playing GLC (US Soccer carded teams) or NPL (US Club carded teams) regionally.

For what it's worth, while the Ohio North State Cup fields were pretty limited, the US Club State Cup field (including some Ohio South and PA West teams) was pretty loaded. I think the majority of ON State Cup champs were pretty much foregone conclusions this year so few teams felt the need to participate unless they needed to in order to maintain their eligibility for the regional tournament and nationals.

I do agree that merging was likely necessary, however, for Ohio North to survive - seems like more clubs in recent years have pulled away from Ohio North and have gone the way of US Club carding instead.
 
Virtually all the significant soccer in OH North (especially in NE OH) is through US Club at this point in time.
 
soccerdad72 said:
Honestly, I didn't even know State League was even still a thing? I thought most clubs were either playing GLC (US Soccer carded teams) or NPL (US Club carded teams) regionally.

For what it's worth, while the Ohio North State Cup fields were pretty limited, the US Club State Cup field (including some Ohio South and PA West teams) was pretty loaded. I think the majority of ON State Cup champs were pretty much foregone conclusions this year so few teams felt the need to participate unless they needed to in order to maintain their eligibility for the regional tournament and nationals.

I do agree that merging was likely necessary, however, for Ohio North to survive - seems like more clubs in recent years have pulled away from Ohio North and have gone the way of US Club carding instead.
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If you want to participate in State Cup you must also participate in state league (at least for Ohio South) unless you qualify for Premier 1 GLC or Club v Club GLC.

Many clubs will play / card their teams for both USYS and US Club. For example, a few clubs come to mind like CUP, Peninne and Cincy Elite. It’s easier for clubs that have multiple teams in an age group to do this in case there’s an overlap and it creates more playing opportunities for kids.

I will say it’s difficult to qualify for both post seasons as regionals and nationals often overlap a bit. However clubs that don’t have an age group qualify for USYS Refionals can enter the US Club regionals and still get quality competition and meaningful games in June and July vs having their season end around Memorial Day.

There will be quite a bit of change in 21-22. USYS is introducing National League Pro. Teams will qualify based on their GLC results. There will be 6 divisions of 8 teams (2 from each region) and they will play 7 games (each team once). Teams will basically attend 2 showcases and play 2 games at each showcase and then play the other team from their own region for their 7th game. I believe the top 2 teams from each of the 6 divisions will qualify for nationals. These 12 qualifiers along with the 4 regional winners will represent the 16 teams at nationals.

Additionally, Ohio South and Ohio North will merge to form Ohio Soccer. There will be a state league and one state tournament. I would assume similar rules will apply … teams participating in State Cup must participate in State League or GLC.
 
Thanks for the info, one minor nitpick is that you don't have to play in the state league to play in State Cup, but obviously you do have to be carded under US Youth. BPL teams often make up a lot of the lower seeded teams in State Cup. You do have to play in State League in addition to playing GLC if you wish to play in GLC and are accepted, unless you are in Premier 1 (top division) or perhaps in the club vs club divisions.
 
My apologies. I should have been more clear. In order to play in State Cup, you must play in an OSYSA sanctioned league. Most teams play in State League premier 1 or 2 division or GLC. The rule is below:

10.3.1 Only a registered US Youth Soccer team that is in good standing, the majority of whose players are registered within the boundaries of OSYSA and plays in an OSYSA sanctioned league in the current seasonal year may enter one of the state tournaments, but not multiple. All teams that submit an application will be accepted if they are in good standing with OSYSA.
Teams must compete in a four team OSYSA League or Association and must be scheduled for and play at least a three game league schedule against teams registered inside the OSYSA boundaries. These games must be played by the conclusion of the league determined season. Teams that don’t compete as outlined in 10.3.1 cannot enter into the State Cup or Presidents Cup.

10.3.1.1 OSYSA teams that comply with these rules and play in the US Youth Soccer National League or the Region II Midwest Regional League may enter and play in the State Cup or Presidents Cup. The State / Presidents Cup Chairperson may grant an exception to the 3 game requirement for OSYSA teams participating in the US Youth Soccer National League or the Midwest Regional League in the event of extenuating circumstances. At no time may the exception go below the US Youth Soccer National Championships requirement.
 
bucksman said:
Virtually all the significant soccer in OH North (especially in NE OH) is through US Club at this point in time.
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Bump...

This fall, I’ve noticed a number of high-profile Columbus clubs AND a few remaining NEO clubs in the US Club leagues up in NEO... obviously with it being fall this is just middle school age groups but if this holds for the spring US Club will end up superior to US Soccer in Ohio this year
 
Ohio North and Ohio South did this to themselves. Terrible leadership. Just have no clue what is going on there. It isn't rebounding anytime soon with this OSA merger.
 
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