Today we unveil our latest update to Grande Sports Academy TeamRank, the comprehensive ranking system for elite club soccer teams nationwide, and we release the latest standings for U16, U17 and U18 Girls. Next week, we will update the younger age groups on the Boys side. We will update our National Top 25 of each age group at least once per month.

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A full slate for many teams in the month of May allowed for some big moves in the Grande Sports Academy TeamRank Top 25 as the ECNL regular season comes to a close and post season play begins.

Slammers on a run at U16

Slammers breaks into the top ten this month at No. 7, up eight spots from No. 15, in part due to the dynamic duo of Carly Malatskey and Julia Bingham. Slammers are on a 13-0-1 run since losing to PDA on April 14, with 29 goals scored in the process, Malatskey and Bingham factoring in virtually every single one. With momentum on their side, Slammers will be tough to beat in Seattle.

Another southern California squad on a late season run is Real So Cal, reentering the rankings at No. 21 this month after a tough spell in April temporarily dropped them out. Real So Cal is 7-0 since our last update, with four conference wins followed by a perfect showcase weekend in New Jersey. Real even showed up No. 9 PDA on their home turf, beating them 2-1 on goals by Lillian Courts and Emily Koe.

Unbeatable Sting at U17

A couple of months ago, we asked if anyone could silence the buzz that was Dallas Sting. Now that the regular season has come to a close for Tatu Pecorari’s squad, we found that the answer is a definitive “no”. Heading into playoffs knowing that they have the most productive offense as well as the stingiest defense in this age group, Sting will look to go one better than their finals appearance last year, and take home the national title. With the help of a couple of key additions to this year’s squad (Ainsly Wolfinbarger in the midfield and Whitney Brown on defense), that feat just might be possible.

More: ECNL Scoreboard | IMG Academy 150 Rankings

Connecticut FC finishing strong at U18

Despite a tough loss to No. 1 PDA at the beginning of April, Connecticut FC is looking like a team not suffering from a case of senioritis. The New England Division leader has two college coaches at the helm (Todd Plourde from Yale and Joe Mingachos from Western Connecticut State) who are successfully keeping their squad focused on youth soccer, helping them to an 8-0-1 run in the last two months of the regular season. CFC has two conference matches remaining, but they have already sewn up a postseason berth, and could finish the season much higher than their current No. 17 ranking on the Grande Sports Academy TeamRank Top 25.

Next Thursday: U13, U14, and U15 Boys

Grande Sports Academy TeamRank is the comprehensive team-ranking system devised by TopDrawerSoccer.com to provide an objective and common-sense approach to determining which elite youth soccer teams are the best in the nation.

The rankings, updated monthly, are primarily results-based, with a nod toward the league and championship competitions that emulate how excellence is determined in leading soccer nations around the world.

Tournaments are also included but at a reduced value due to the many mitigating factors involving such events, including attrition and guest players.

A final layer of executive evaluation is provided to account for variables that often impact results, thus ensuring that the monthly lists are not subjective, but are not purely mechanical.

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