With the Region III Championships beginning Friday in the greater Dallas area, a host of teams from across the South will gather to contend for berths in the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship Series, to be played in late July in Massachusetts.

At Region III, hot temperatures are guaranteed as squads are required to play six matches in six days in order to win, so fitness will be as important as the quality of soccer.

Following is a look at the fields for older boys’ age groups.

U16

Two Rushes and one Crush mark Group A. Florida Rush and Tennessee Rush are drawn with Tennessee champions Knoxville Crush and North Carolina winners Triangle FC. South Texas champions Eclipse are in with fellow South Texans Lonestar SC in Group B along with Georgia’s GSA Phoenix and AlpharettaAmbush. In Group C, Dallas Texans Red will face CESA Premier (South Carolina), Tulsa SC and Norman Celtic (Premier League West). Group D features four TopDrawerSoccer.com South region teams: Mississippi Fire, Little Rock FC, Huntsville SC (Alabama) and Lakeview Thunder (Louisiana).

U17

The effect of the USSF Academy on these brackets is interesting to note. Group A includes Edmond SC (Oklahoma), Huntsville SC (Alabama), Lonestar SC (South Texas) and Wellington Wave (Florida). In Group B, Tennessee champions FCA Black meet Birmingham United, Columbia United (South Carolina) and Arkansas winners NWA Lightning. In Group C, Oklahomans Norman Celtic meet Florida’s Brevard FC, Dallas Texans and Georgia powerhouse GSA Phoenix. Bracket D participants include Houstonians, Jackson FC, Lafreniere SC (Louisiana) and Triangle United (NC)

U18

CASL Elite leads Group A and will face Norman Celtic, Houston-area club Eclipse and Little Rock FC. In Group B, Dallas team Andromeda Neveleff will face Georgia State Cup winners Norcross Fury, Premier League West winners Dallas Texans and RSL Florida. In Group C, Alabama champs Vestavia Steamers will face Discoveries SC of South Carolina, Lafreniere Gamblers of Louisiana and an as yet unnamed South Texas representative. Group D includes Gulf Coast United (Mississippi), Knoxville FC, NOKC Padova (Oklahoma) and Tulsa SC.

The event begins Friday, June 19th, (See TopDrawerSoccer.com’s special LIVE event for that day) with group matches through the weekend. Quarterfinals are Monday the 22nd with semifinals and finals to follow the 23rd and 24th.

Also on TopDrawerSoccer.com:

Region III Older Girls preview
Region III Younger Girls preview
Region III Younger Boys preview