eCup Power Rankings: Division II

In the somewhat twisted words of a former Dallas Cowboys head coach, “eCup? We’re talking about the eCup?”.

With Thursday night’s tournament opener only days away, we’ve pulled together six longtime players & staff from across the country to put together preseason power rankings for each group in the 2023 tournament. Tonight, we’re starting out by taking a look at the three groups in the second division.

Points are awarded 5-4-3-2-1 basis within each poll, with five points going to the club ranked to the highest ranked player within each poll, four points to the second highest ranked player, etc.

Group A: Led by co-owner Sandy Lester, Motorik FC comes into the 2023 eCup as the favorite in an evenly-matched Group A. While Lester represents Motorik FC for the first time after reaching the knockout stage with Indy Eleven supporters group’ Slaughterhouse-19 in 2022, it’s tough to predict how the likes of League One Review (Brandon Mays), Queen City FC (Patrick Valdez), and the unified force of Maryland Bobcats FC supporters groups Old Bae Brigade & Buzzards Point Social (Alex Winsdor), will stack up against the rest of the field in 2023.

Group B: Already labeled the “group of death” in the second division, first, second, and third place in the Group B preseason poll are separated by just one vote from across six ballots. Led by IE Republic FC’s Tony Huerta, the pre-tournament favorite in Division II and a 2022 Premier Division Quarterfinalist, it’s not hard to imagine that all three clubs in Group B are capable of competing for a Second Division title.

Group C: “Evenly matched” is a theme that seems to permeate throughout all three second-division groups, and Group C is no different. Colorado Springs Switchbacks supporter Dominik Jacobsen sits atop the group’s preseason power rankings as the only representative of a USL Championship club in the second division. Jacobsen and the Switchbacks are joined by three other returners to the eCup in the Soccer Plug (Gustavo Portillo Jr.), Superior Wolfpack FC (Adrian Viveros), and Delaware Rising FC (Sandro Lulgjuraj), who will all undoubtedly push for one of the group’s two berths in the knockout stage.

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ABOUT THE LOWER LEAGUE eCUP

The Lower League eCup is annual FIFA tournament open to all American lower league soccer clubs and supporters groups. Founded in March 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament is the largest of it's kind and has featured representatives from 140+ organizations from 38 states over four editions. 

The 2023 Lower League eCup kicks off on Thursday, February 16, as Minneapolis City SC and Duluth FC take one of pre-professional soccer's most prominent rivalries to the virtual pitch.