A funny thing happens when you take a pause on writing about lower league soccer. Stuff changes. And in the case of women’s lower league soccer, stuff changes a lot. The national amateur leagues have started playing some games, so let’s take a looksee into what the heck is going on around here.

WPSL East Region

Starting with the East Region of the WPSL and – what th’ hey? There are a whole truckload of new teams and realigned conferences. Twenty-seven clubs in three conferences, to be exact. The largest women’s league in the world just keeps on getting larger.

The Metropolitan Conference got so big they had to split it In two: the North Division, which is New York-centric with a few friends from New England, and the New Jersey-centric South Division. Eight clubs in each division. The Mid-Atlantic Conference is now stocked with six teams from Pennsylvania. And then there’s the Colonial Conference with…erm…a team from DC (a new branch of Dutch Lions), Old Dominion Cesena from Virginia, CAFC Ospreys from Delaware, a team from PA (Athena SC from Fort Washington) and a team from South Jersey (SJEB FC). A weird mix, for sure, and it means that Athena SC and SJEB FC will not play any of the other clubs in their respective states during the season. And that’s kind of a shame. SJEB FC and Inter AC (a new club based in Atlantic City) won’t see each other unless they somehow matchup in the playoffs.

Other notable newcomers include NY Gotham Reserves, playing their games at Randall’s Island (making them more New York than the big club), as well as Real Central NJ from out of Trenton.

If the first weekend is any indication, we are going to see some fun scores. The Rhode Island Rogues gave Fox Soccer Academy a rude greeting with a 7-0 beatdown, while SJEB filled up the goal with an 8-3 win over Old Dominion Cesena.

UWS East

Not quite as big as the East Region of the WPSL, but the East Conference in UWS is a 14-team single table juggernaut that runs from New England to New Jersey. Notable newcomers here include New Jersey Teamsterz FC and FC Buffalo – both putting together a women’s side for the first time. Returning cubs that you will probably know include Lancaster Inferno, Long Island Rough Riders and Rochester Lancers.

A few games have already been played, and the biggest statement made so far is a 10-0 scoreline as Connecticut Fusion took Albany Rush behind the woodshed. That’s not going to help the goal differential.

UWS League 2

The games have not yet started in in the eastern part of UWS League 2. But what we do know is that there will be two conferences that are in the area of coverage for this column: the Mid-Atlantic North Conference with five teams (Pennsylvania and Delaware), and the Northeast Conference, also with five clubs (New York and New Jersey). A few clubs are using League 2 to field reserve teams, such as Lancaster Inferno and NJ Teamsterz.

The Mid-Atlantic North Conference will get started on June 5th. The schedule for the Northeast Conference has not been announced at this time.

UPSL Women

No schedule as of yet, but it looks like we have a five-team Northeast Conference that is primarily clubs from New York. The five clubs are: Invictus FC, Krajisnik FC, New York Magic, NJ Wizards SC and Queens FC. Maybe they should break out a quidditch match when the Magic play the Wizards. Just a thought.

Garden State Soccer League

The second half of the 2020-21 season is just about wrapped up, and North Jersey Alliance FC has things well in hand atop the Women A Division. The club is currently six points clear of Jackson Lions FC. The same can also be said for Bulldogs SC out of Old Bridge in Women B Division play. A full 12 points separate them from second place. A few games are scheduled for this weekend (May 23rd).

Although the Peninsula Aztecs have been languishing at the bottom of A Division, one bright spot this season has been Taylor Mize, currently the leading goal scorer in the top division with 16 goals.

United Soccer League of Pennsylvania

It was a close one, but congrats to Huntingdon Valley Pride for finishing at the top of the Womens Major division in the USL of PA. They held off the challenge from United German Hungarians and Lancaster City FC and did so with a +47 goal differential over 13 games (with one game left to play this Sunday). The division was sealed when Huntingdon Valley defeated UGH by an impressive score of 5-1 on 5/9. The club is undefeated in 2021, with five straight wins and three clean sheets.

- John Howard-Fusco