WOONSOCKET, R.I. — I’d been excited to watch the Next Step preseason event at Mount Saint Charles since I heard about it during the summer. The games don’t count, of course, and many of the teams will have evolved quite a bit by the time the ones that do arrive.
But with the defending NEPSAC Class B boys champion Mount Saint Charles competing alongside Northwood (N.Y.), the defending Prep Premier League champion, the New England Revolution Academy and the brand new Master’s Academy International (which will also compete in the PPL), the showcase offered a look into something we don’t see often.
The NEPSAC, PPL and MLS Next facing off on the same field.
The Revs’ U-18s took down Northwood’s U-18s, 1-0, to start the first day of the event on Saturday. The Revs’ U-16s followed with a dominant, 5-0 win over Mount in a 90-minute match that was divided into three 30-minute periods. Then MAI, playing with a mixed squad, beat Northwood’s U-17s, 3-0.
RELATED: Why James Proctor is excited to lead MAI
I only caught the first half of MAI’s game and didn’t go to the second day on Sunday, when Mount played a lot better in a 3-2 loss to Northwood's U-18s. But I had a ton of thoughts from the action I watched.
Without further ado:
