Trophies, Glory, and the US Open Cup: The NPSL playoffs heat up tonight

With summer fully in swing, the national amateur leagues of the United States are firmly in playoff mode. Last weekend, the National Premier Soccer League held conference finals across the country and crowned 13 champions. Those teams now enter the regional stage of the postseason where the travel distances increase and the stakes are higher.

Locally, the East Region of the NPSL has four conference champions meeting on Wednesday in two semifinal matches. One game will be within eyeshot of New York City while another will feature an Empire State side. Whichever teams advance will move on to Saturday’s East Region Final.

Besides the obvious desire to win NPSL national glory, the games from here on out matter for another reason: The 2025 US Open Cup. The NPSL receives a certain number of automatic USOC qualification spots and will award these berths to teams based on playoff results. Teams that reach the Regional Finals, aka the National Quarterfinals, will secure one of the at least eight spots that the NPSL are expected to have. That means a win this week likely locks in a place in America’s national soccer championship.

(While the NPSL are expected to be given at least eight spots, the final number could be more or less. In the past, the NPSL was given as many as 18 spots, and placed as many as 22 teams in the tournament after a play-in round. However, the league’s declining team numbers have lessened the number of spots awarded in recent years. For the 2025 US Open Cup, the NPSL will hand in a complete ranking of teams based on the regular season, and the tournament will later determine how many spots will be allocated to the league.)

Wednesday’s games will include a former national champion, a former USMNT player, a defending NPSL national semifinalist, and a wildcard from New York’s state capital.

In the first game – and the closest to New York City – FC Motown and Virginia Dream FC play the classic roles of veterans vs the new guys. On one side are FC Motown, a former NPSL champion with a roster full of professional experience looking to go on another deep run. On the other are Virginia Dream, a youth-heavy squad (with one exception) who are the only East Region team to win their conference while not being the top-seeded team.

FC Motown need little introduction. The Morristown side is a regular fixture deep in the NPSL playoffs and in the US Open Cup. The team is a balance of experienced talent and local college talent. The squad includes both professionals with ties to the local area and college players looking to increase their own stock before possibly jumping to the next level. In other words, Motown are a team built to win the NPSL. They also hope they have enough to qualify for a seventh US Open Cup tournament.

Since their start back in 2012, Motown outgrew their place in the local leagues of New Jersey and immediately made an impression when they joined the NPSL in 2018. That first season saw the club reach the national finals where they fell to the essentially fully professional Miami FC 2. Since then, the club have continued to find success as Motown have won their conference championship in all six seasons they have played in the league.

The last three years have seen Morristown reach the East Region Final, securing an Open Cup spot, while also going on to win the NPSL National Championship in 2022.

After a crushing loss to New York City FC II in the US Open Cup this past March, Motown and head coach Dilly Duka set out to build a team prepared for the regular season. In the end, they went undefeated with eight wins and two draws. The Keystone Conference East Final was a competitive New Jersey classico against rivals Jackson Lions FC, but Motown’s depth prevailed in the 4-1 win.

The roster includes former professionals such as midfielder MLS SuperDraft pick Joe Holland, forward Joseph Fala, and midfielder Christopher Bermudez — who returned to the field this season after hip surgery to remove a bone-eating cyst not long before Motown’s Open Cup loss to NYCFC II.

Motown’s backline only allowed five goals all year thanks to an incredibly efficient four-man unit. Some of the mainplayers have included Maudwindo Germain, who fans might remember from Violette AC’s upset over Austin FC in the 2023 CONCACAF Champions League. Former Marist University standout Hermanus Achterkamp has been critical at center back with an imposing 6’ 4” stature and enough speed to make him tough to beat. Throw in goalkeeper Joshua Schaffer, who took the starting reins this year for the team, and you have one of the league’s toughest defenses.

Motown are ranked #2 nationally in the NPSL this season, which is one of the highest rankings the team have ever achieved since joining the league in 2018. Nearby, the organization’s USL League Two team is also making history as it plays in their first-ever postseason this week as well.

Now in their second season, Virginia Dream FC are anything but a standard NPSL club. The team was founded by the 2016 Gatorade National Boys Soccer Player of the Year and former professional player Lucas Mendes (New York Cosmos B, Richmond Kickers). Based in Arlington, VA, the team are a blend of the multiple cultures of Mendes’shometown. That includes hand-dyed soccer jerseys with reference to the Portuguese heritage of the club’s front office members.

But on the field, it's been a mixed bag for the Dream. The club’s inaugural 2023 ended when they missed the NPSL playoffs, and by a group-stage exit in the inaugural edition of The Soccer Tournament. This year, the team finished third in the Mid-Atlantic Conference thanks in no small part to forward Angel Chavez. The co-recipient of the NPSL Golden Boot slotted 14 goals during the regular season to help lead the Dream to a record of 6W-2D-2L.

Chavez is going into his sophomore year at Community College of Baltimore County Essex this fall. However, the man between the goalposts has a little more experience. Former DC United and US men’s national team goalkeeper Bill Hamid joined the Dream as a player/coach earlier this year following a guest appearance in the First Round of the US Open Cup.

Hamid started at least four regular season games for the Dream, plus both Mid-Atlantic playoff matches. The former USMNT star only earned two clean sheets in his six starts and averaged close to two goals a game. However, his biggestperformance came last weekend in the conference final where he and his defensive line earned a clean sheet against top-seed Annapolis Blues FC at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in front of over 8,000 fans.

The Dream go into Wednesday as the lowest-ranked team in the East Region based on their 2.00 points per game. Nationally, the team is ranked #22 in the NPSL.

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The second semifinal pits Eastern Pennsylvania against Upstate New York: It’s the ultimate battle between Wawa Hoagies and Steamed Hams. It’s also a match between two teams with access to youth talent. One focuses on Keystone State locals while the other takes its players from Empire State institutions like Siena College.

West Chester United SC are back in the regionals after going all the way to the national semifinals in 2023. The back-to-back Keystone Conference West champions went undefeated this year with eight wins and two draws, looking near unstoppable in the process. That was demonstrated in earnest when the nearly 50-year-old organization cruised past Electric City SC, 4-0, in the conference final last weekend.

The non-profit youth organization is a year-round juggernaut of Pennsylvania soccer with teams in multiple leagues and thousands of players ranging from youth to college level. That allowed head coach Blaise Santangelo to have ample roster flexibility between NPSL, USL League Two, and the local state league.

That means that while West Chester scored 27 goals, none of their players ended the regular season in the Top 10 of the Golden Boot race. Still, when players like Ridge Robinson (Coastal Carolina), Ayoub Mouhou (Montgomery County Community College), and Vincent Petrera (Villanova University) are all able to score multiple goals in a game, you don’t have much reason to complain.

Goalkeeper Valentin Kneis (La Salle University) and Brady Hochman (Rosemont College) combined for eight clean sheets this year between the regular season and playoffs.

West Chester is ranked #3 nationally in the NPSL this season. 

Entering their fourth season, the New York Shockers dominated the North Atlantic Conference en route to their second-ever conference championship. Unlike when they were last here in 2022 when they darkhorsed their way to the regional round, they fully earned their place this time. Their record of 8W-1D-1L saw them qualify directly into the championship match, where penalty kicks separated them from Hartford City FC, 1–1 (5–4 on pks).

This year has been a busy one for the Shockers. The team made their debut in the National Amateur Cup, earning a win against New Jersey side SC Vistula Garfield before falling in the Quarterfinals to Providence City FC of Rhode Island. That and a third season in the Women’s Premier Soccer League, one of the top amateur leagues for women's soccer in the US, means Albany has been well represented across the board.

Players to watch for include center-backs Henrik Winkelmann and Antonio Linge, who have both played in the youth Bundesliga back in their native Germany. On offense, Filippo Bellu finished the regular season with ten goals to finish tied for seventh in the Golden Boot race.

The Shockers are ranked #7 nationally in the NPSL this season.

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