This June, it’s once again time for power soccer teams in the United States to head to Indiana and determine a national champion! 39 teams from across the country will compete in the MK Battery Conference Cup Series, taking place in Fort Wayne from June 15-18 with four conference titles up for grabs. The winners of the Premier conference are the national champions, and finishing highly in a lower conference can move a team up one level for next season, so there’s a lot to play for! The venue is the Turnstone Center, home to many adaptive sports teams and programs, including three power soccer teams. To watch the games, you can go to powersoccer.tv or twitch.tv/powersoccerusa, which will have live streams of two courts throughout the event.

The San Jose Flash took home the Founders Conference title last year in their first trip to nationals.

Now let’s get into the tournaments themselves. First up is the Founder’s Conference, the lowest level of conference play. A whopping five out of the eleven teams are making their conference cup debuts in this tournament! While the more experienced teams like Arizona’s Ability 360 FC and Georgia’s Shepherd Strikers are likely to finish near the top, this will be a tournament of firsts for the newcomers: The Baystate Falcons, DASA Firecrackers, Houston Fireballs, Sacramento Valley Flames, and STRAPS Scorpions.

Founders Conference (June 15-17)

Pool A Pool B RHI Inferno Ability360 FC Shepherd Strikers Sac Valley Flames Vermont Chargers Baystate Falcons Houston Fireballs – Central STRAPS Scorpions Glendale Rough Riders Hot Shots DASA SLSG Firecrackers

Both top scorers on their squads, Lola Moorhead (left) and the San Jose Rockets worked their way out of Founders last year while Glendale Rough Riders’ Zebreda Dunham (right) will look to do the same this year

The next step up is the President’s Conference. Here the competition starts to heat up, as most players have post-season tournament experience under their seat belts. Last year, the Wisconsin Warriors’ high-powered offense propelled them to third place in the Founder’s Cup, and they look like the team to beat in Pool A. On the other side, Ohio’s ASPO Force have been near the top of the conference for two years, and will hope that the third time’s the charm. The San Jose Flash may have something to say about that though, as they are well coached and are coming off a 2018 Founder’s Cup win in their first trip to nationals (see, being a newcomer isn’t all bad! )

Grant Shipley and Julie Endres of the Chippewa Valley Hooligans line up to defend a kick-in. The Hooligans will move up to Champions after a runner-up finish behind Arizona Heat

Presidents Conference (June 15-17)

Pool A Pool B Wisconsin Warriors Central Valley Ghostriderz San Jose Rockets San Jose Flash BORP Shockers Tidewater Piranhas St. Louis Arrows ASPO Force Turnstone Furious Flyers St. Louis Spin

On to the Champion’s Cup! These teams know they’re getting close to the top, since reaching the final gives them a ticket to the Premier Conference and a chance to play for a national championship. The PRHC Chariots from Massachusetts finished third in last year’s edition of the tournament, and since no teams moved down from the Premier Conference last year, they will be confident in their ability to be the top dogs this time. They’ll face some stiff competition to get there, with two rivals from New England in the lineup who know them well. The Chippewa Valley Hooligans and Arizona Heat can both score a lot of goals (with two Hooligans scoring 30+ goals this season), the Lakeshore Power are known for their tough defending, and the Minnesota Northern Lights have tested themselves against plenty of tough Midwestern competition this season. This cup is certain to be a battle for promotion!

Will Johnson of the PRHC Chariots and Lexi Heer of the Ball State Cardinals battling in last year’s Champions Conference Cup.

Champions Conference (June 16-18)

Pool A Pool B PRHC Chariots Atlanta Sting MN Northern Lights Chippewa Valley Hooligans Arizona Heat Lakeshore Power NEP Wildcats Boston Brakers

Minnesota Magic’s Riley Johnson lining up for a free kick

That brings us to the Premier Conference. With 15 athletes who have US National Team experience and many more great players who don’t, the competition is fierce! The team to beat looks to be the Minnesota Shockwave. After combining with another Premier team, the Minnesota Magic, they have reeled off a 19-0-0 record on the season, and will look to add to that number on the way to the top. Perennial favorites Circle City Rollers are back with pretty much the same roster, so you can’t count them out. Defending champions RHI Sudden Impact are without star siblings Zach and Katie Dickey, but they added last year’s Champions Conference winner, Lexi Heer, so they’re definitely still in the running.

Premier Conference (June 16-18)

Pool A Pool B Minnesota Shockwave Circle City Rollers Turnstone Flyers RHI Sudden Impact CNY United Tampa Thunder GLASA Chicago Fire San Jose Steamrollers SoCal Vaqueros DASA SLSG Cyclones

Two of the top Premier Conference competitors, CNY United’s Drew Cunningham (left) and Turnstone Flyers’ David Dowling (right)

We’re looking forward to four full days of exciting competition! If you’re nearby, head to the Turnstone Center to take it all in from June 15th to the 18th. Head to the MK Battery Conference Cup Series Website for the full schedule, most up-to-date results, and links to livestream and check back here each day for updates!

Event Highlights:

Preview

Day 1 – Scorpions, Warriors, and Piranhas Come Out Swinging

Day 2 – Flames and Ghostriderz Inch Closer To Titles

Day 3 – Flash Win Again, Playoffs Remain For Champions And Premier

Day 4 + Recap – Shockwave Power Through Premier Conference To Win National Title