Northern Lights Soccer Club (NLSC) is in good standing with the Minnesota Youth Soccer Association (MYSA), a member of the United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). All NLSC tournaments are fully sanctioned through the MYSA.
Tournament Brackets
Our desire is to fill all brackets as shown below. However, NLSC reserves the right to combine age groups or playing levels as appropriate. All brackets will contain a minimum of four and a maximum of six team.
In brackets with 4 teams will consist of a round robin format with the 2 teams with the most points playing for the championship.
In brackets with odd numbers such as 5 teams, championship teams will be seeded by top points.
In brackets with 6 teams, the brackets will be created with three teams each with cross-over matches. The winner of each bracket will play for the championship game, and the two teams with the next highest tournament points will play for consolation.
Teams that play the extra match, due to an odd number of teams in a bracket, will have their scores averaged.
No third-place games will be played for brackets with fewer than six teams.
Each team will play a minimum of three games.
Championship and third Place games will be 35 minutes halves for all 11 v 11 matches.
Teams may apply to play in older age groups than their USSF Sanctioning by indicating this desire on the application form.
All player passes will be presented before each game using the Affinity System
Any player may play for only ONE team in any given MYSA Sanctioned tournament.
U9 and U10 brackets will be non-competitive, as in MYSA league play. Scores will be posted on the website, however.
Teams may not change affiliation once they have registered and been accepted for the tournament.
Anticipated Brackets:
Age Group
Type
Players Per Side
Game Duration
U9
Maroon Gold
6 v 6
2 x 25 min
U10
Maroon Gold
6 v 6
2 x 25 min
U11
Classic 3
8 v 8
2 x 30 min
U12
Classic 3
8 v 8
2 x 30 min
U13
Classic 3
11 v 11
2 x 30 min
U14
Classic 3
11 v 11
2 x 30 min
Results
All scores must be reported on the form provided by referee coordinator, and turned in to tournament headquarters.
Game results, including notification of teams advancing to playoff rounds, will be posted at the Tournament Headquarters and club website www.northernlightssoccer.org, and will be updated daily throughout the tournament.
Tournament Headquarters/Directors
Tournament Headquarters are located at Elmcrest Park
The Tournament Director is: Andy Severance
Tournament Director email: tournaments@northernlightssoccer.org
Each playing site will have a Site Coordinator with phone access to the Tournament Director, should questions arise.
Check-In Requirements
Check-in staff will be available beginning at 4:00 PM on the Friday of the Tournament through Saturday at 12:00 PM at the Tournament Headquarters.
Coaches and Team Managers, please register no later than one hour before your first scheduled game at Elmcrest Park. Your roster will be frozen at that time.
Required Items at Check-In:
Player passes on Affinity, including any guest players.
Coach passes on Affinity.
Medical release forms (you may use your own club’s medical forms or the MYSA liability/medical release form)
Tournament Headquarters will be staffed through Sunday until all games are complete.
Game Fields
Games will be played on quality soccer fields either at Elmcrest Park or an offsite field if necessary.
Teams will be notified of any offsite locations. All venues are within 10 minutes travel time of each other.
All directions are available at www.northernlightssoccer.org, and at tournament check in.
All areas being used are smoke -free, alcohol free, and drug free zones. Smoking or use of alcohol/drugs is strictly prohibited at any of the tournament sites.
No animals are allowed at any tournament site.
Registration and Fees
Registration will be accepted in the order received, provided room exists in the bracket being registered for.
Fees are non-refundable if games are cancelled for any reason.
Fees:
U9-U10: $325
U11-U12: $350
U13-U14: $395
Tournament schedules, rules, and field maps along, with general information will be emailed one week prior to the start of the games.
Players and Roster
U13-U14 teams will be allowed to roster a maximum of 18 players.
U11-U12 team will be allowed to roster a maximum of 14 players.
U9-U10 team will be allowed to roster a maximum of 12 roster players.
A player will only be allowed to play on one team.
Guest Players
A maximum of five guest players are permitted per team.
Guest players must be a registered USSF registered player with their state association who is age eligible.
Each guest player will need a signed MYSA guest player form.
Awards
Awards will be given to 1st and 2nd place teams in brackets where just a championship game is played.
Awards will be given to 3rd place teams in brackets where a consolation game is played.
Please head to the tournament headquarters after your last game to receive your awards.
Participation awards will be given to all U9/U10 players.
All awards will be presented immediately following each team’s last game.
Severe Weather & Field Conditions Policy
Tournament officials reserve the right to shorten and/or cancel games as deemed necessary while following MYSA weather policies. Lightning in the area or weather that could cause risk to participants may result in play being suspended.
If a game is suspended, the following procedures will be implemented:
Players and Spectators should move to vehicles or shelter upon a weather stoppage, but should not leave the area until games are declared complete, as indicated below.
If the Weather delay is shorter than 20 minutes, games will resume from the point of stoppage.
If the weather delay is longer than 30 minutes:
All games in progress will be declared complete, with the score at the stoppage as the final score.
Any games that were scheduled to begin during the weather delay will be delayed. New game times will be communicated as soon as possible.
Health & Safety
Players with plaster casts must be in compliance with MYSA safety guidelines.
In the case of an emergency, the tournament will have emergency resources available.
Tournaments will follow heat index guidelines.
It is each team’s responsibility to provide water, ice, and basic first aid.
Each team must provide medical release forms for each player upon check- in.
Rules of Play
FIFA rules as modified by MYSA, and as further modified in this document.
Red Cards: Red cards will follow MYSA/USYSA Rules.
Referees
A three-person referee system will be used for U11 and above. A one- person referee system will be used for U9 and U10.
Only USSF certified and currently registered referees will be used for center referees; club lines may be used in some cases.
All referee decisions are final. Interested referees should contact our Referee Assignor, Charles Speckman at assignors@refassignors.com.
NO PROTEST WILL BE ENTERTAINED.
Games
Each team will be scheduled to play a minimum of three games.
The Tournament Committee will not be held liable for any “no show” team. Teams not showing for game will automatically lose the game and be deducted 3 points. 6 points will be awarded to the opposing team.
Teams listed first on the schedule are the home team, and are responsible to provide a game ball and resolve any jersey color conflicts. Uniforms must be identical for all players. Sliders/under shorts must be the same color as the shorts and above the knee.
Both teams will occupy the same side of the field and the spectators of both teams will occupy the opposite side of the field. Tournament officials will determine which sides the teams will occupy as well as spectators.
Each game will be played under FIFA rules as modified by MYSA, and as further modified within this document.
Games may start as early as Friday at 5:00 pm, and as early as 8:00 AM on Saturday and Sunday.
MYSA teams must reschedule any league games that are in conflict with the tournament schedule.
If games are behind schedule, tournament officials may reduce each half by five minutes to keep the tournament on schedule.
Points and Tiebreakers
Games ending in ties will remain ties in preliminary rounds.
Playoff or championship games in a tie at the end of regulation play will proceed to two 5 minute overtime periods. If the match is still tied at the end of the two 5 minute over-time periods, it will then be decided by kicks from the penalty mark following FIFA Laws of the Game.
Listed below are the following tie-breakers in determining tournament points
Highest number of points
Win = 6
Tie = 3
Goals scored (maximum of 3 per match)
Shutout = 1
0-0 tie equals 4 points
3-0 win equals 10 points
Winner of head to head
Winner of most games
Goal spread (maximum 4 per game)
Most goals scored
Least goals allowed
Kicks from the mark per FIFA Laws of the Game.
Forfeits
Teams that forfeit a game may not advance to any award round.
A grace period of 20 minutes beyond the schedule kickoff time, or the completion of the preceding game will be allowed before a forfeit is declared.
Failure to complete a match, or teams leaving the field during play will result in forfeiture.
