Podcast: Dates to know and what to watch for as the spring club season heats up

Boston Bolts players in action during an MLS Next game earlier this season. (Rick Naples)

On the latest episode of New England Soccer Journal’s “The Goal” podcast, hosts Matt Langone and Matt Doherty discuss the upcoming dates and events to know on the New England club soccer calendar.

The spring is heating up and so is the club season, as sides from our region look to solidify postseason spots in various club platforms, such as ECNL, MLS Next and Girls Academy.

On top of that, there are numerous national showcase opportunities on the horizon for uncommitted players to be seen by college coaches and scouts.

Langone and Doherty discussed those key events, why they’re important, and what they’ll be watching for over the next two-plus months.

Here are some highlights from our discussion:

On the spring season for clubs:

Doherty: “We’ve had some big showcases in the winter and things have been heating up the last month, but I feel like May and June are on another level. We’ll touch on everything that’s going to happen in those months, but I feel like that is the apex of the season. … We have the best ahead of us.”

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On a date to circle on the MLS Next calendar:

Doherty: “Flex (May 9-13 in Maryland) is the biggest event on the MLS Next calendar. It’s basically like the playoff qualification, so you have to qualify throughout the season for Flex. You play Flex games in the fall and in the spring, and you have to get enough points to be at the top — I think it’s the top eight, depends on your division. But you qualify and then you play in this, and you play in a group and try to advance from that. If you advance from Flex, then you make the MLS Next Cup playoffs in June.”

On a program that could make some postseason noise:

Langone: “Late-June is playoff time for ECNL on the girls side and we expect to have some representation. FC Stars is one of the best programs in the country and will certainly have a say in getting some teams to the postseason, I would think. We’ve talked a lot about — on this podcast — the success of FC Stars, both their Blue and White programs. They’ve had national rankings pretty high within the ECNL in the last few years.”

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