Written By:  Charlie Corr
             East Region Contributor

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Four teams in the Women’s Premier Soccer League finished the 2021 season with perfect records. Two members of the crème de la crème were in the Metropolitan Conference, and a repeat performance would be an even tougher feat in 2022 with the new conference alignment.

 

Downtown United Soccer Club (8-0-0) and SUSA FC (7-0-0) were atop the Metro-South and Metro-North, respectively, a season ago, but only one can potentially achieve a spotless campaign in this season’s seven-team and one-division conference field.
 

 

 

 

A number of factors need to align, and achieving such strong results ultimately boils down to the foundation within a program’s pyramid. SUSA and DUSC certainly have flourished in regard to their player development.

 

SUSA head coach JR Balzarini said that this season’s WPSL player pool will feature approximately 18 players who have graduated from the club’s academy program.

 

Goalkeeper Catriona Shepperd and midfielder Sarah Wilkinson have been with SUSA since the club started its WPSL team, and Jess Garziano out of St. John’s also has deep ties with the program.

 

“Most of our team is our alumnae from our youth academy,” Balzarini said. “That’s a special accomplishment for the club. It provides a true pyramid for our players to participate in our organization. So it’s pretty cool to be a part of their progression.”

 

DUSC made a significant hire by bringing in Paul O’Donnell as its director of coaching in September of last year. O’Donnell spent the previous 20 years overseeing the New York Red Bulls Academy and developing a number of players who played big roles for the MLS side and in international play.

 

“The big focus will be on individual player development because the success will then follow within the team,” O’Donnell said. “The ultimate success for me, coming from a player development background, is how many of these players – when we give that extra push – will get them to the next level.”

 

The most notable WPSL difference for DUSC this season is on the kits the players will be donning. Formerly the Gotham Reserves in 2021, DUSC has extended its partnership with the NWSL’s NJ/NY Gotham FC – a working relationship that DUSC technical director Leanne Campbell continues to maximize.

 

Whether it is the highly valuable competitive opportunities or the recent Gotham FC selection of former DUSC defender Kelly Ann Livingstone in the 2022 NWSL Draft, the pyramid structure is paying dividends on all levels.

 

“We’ve worked very closely together, and the partnership will continue providing the same exposure for the players,” Campbell said. “Nothing changes, apart from the uniform and coaching staff. We have a really good relationship with Gotham.”

 

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A look ahead:

SUSA and DUSC face each other just once this regular season, on Saturday, June 4 (6 p.m. ET) at the SUSA Complex. This event is SUSA’s second match of 2022, while for DUSC it is the club’s WPSL season opener.