The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is proud to announce that the 2016 NPSL National Championship Powered by Mitre will be taking place at Stan Skoczen Stadium at Independence High School in Independence, Ohio this weekend. The match between AFC Cleveland and the Sonoma County Sol will kick off at 7 pm ET on Saturday, August 6th.
“We have a lot of great soccer talent in Northeast Ohio and it’s nice to have players from the local area playing in a national championship,” AFC Cleveland Terry Lawriw commented. “On a more personal level, it’s very special for us because it’s our fifth year. We’re extremely excited to be hosting the championship game in Cleveland.”
It has been a great 2016 for Northeast Ohio sports teams as the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters both won championships in their respective sports. AFC Cleveland has an opportunity to make it a third for the Cleveland area.
On the other hand, the Sol have an opportunity to claim their second national title, something that has never been done in the league’s history.
“This is a great opportunity to bring the Cleveland sports community together once more,” NPSL Chairman Joe Barone added. “It has been a great season for our league with large crowds, impressive growth, and most recently a wildly exciting postseason. We could not have asked for more and this last match will be a tremendous way to close out our season.”
The 2016 NPSL National Championship is the culmination of a long and successful season, one that featured 82 teams from across the United States.
AFC Cleveland arrived at this stage of the postseason with wins over AFC Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids FC, and Clarkstown SC Eagles. Sonoma County made it to the national title match thanks to victories against NC Battalion, Albion SC Pros, and Chattanooga FC.
Tickets are $6 online (http://www.afccleveland.com/tickets) and $9 at the gate. Players wearing a youth soccer jersey will get free admission to the match. The match will be live streamed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTA2dleh9vE.
ABOUT THE NPSL
The NPSL is a national league that operates in the 4th Division of the U.S. Soccer pyramid. NPSL teams are eligible to participate in the U.S. Open Cup through their affiliation with the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). The NPSL remains one of the largest national leagues in North America.
