The Metropolitan Oval , also known as Met Oval , is a soccer complex located in Maspeth , Queens in New York City . Village Voice named the complex, which takes up 4.2 acres (17,000 m), the "Best full soccer field in the middle of a residential neighborhood" in 2004, for its "pristine" playing surface and the view of the Manhattan skyline.
16-649: In addition, the Metropolitan Oval is a MLS Next member. The Metropolitan Oval Academy and facility is led by an all-volunteer Board of Directors. Jon Burklo serves as the Technical Director of the Academy. The Metropolitan Oval was originally built in 1925 by Germans and ethnic German-Hungarian immigrants to be a European style soccer field with facilities. From 1925 onwards, the Oval served as
32-481: A player gets for getting a red card or two yellow cards in the same game will be served by the player when next playing against the same opponent. The league runs from spring to fall with the season kicking off in March. Each team plays 28 regular-season games, followed by an 14-team playoff tournament. The league is divided into Eastern and Western Conferences. Unlike Major League Soccer, MLS Next Pro does not feature
48-432: A precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy suspended its operations. On April 15, 2020, the league ended operations, citing financial difficulty. The next day, Major League Soccer announced the formation of a “new elite youth competition platform intended to provide year-round high-level matches for MLS club academy teams and non-MLS academy teams that previously participated in
64-519: A soccer field for men and boys of all ages and ethnicities. Many U.S. national team players from the New York region played games at the Oval while youths. In 1976 the three-time worlds champions Club Nacional de Football played an exhibition match against Inter Giuliana, the score were favorable for the Uruguayans 4-0. By the 1990s, however, the Oval was in a state of disarray. Any grass
80-557: Is a youth soccer league in the United States and Canada that is managed, organized, and controlled by Major League Soccer . It was introduced by the league in 2020. It is a successor to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy . The system covers the under-13, under-14, under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-19 age groups. The league currently includes 677 teams across 143 clubs. Organized youth soccer affiliated with Major League Soccer began with various MLS academy teams playing in
96-491: Is run by Jeffery Saunders. The Foundation is a § 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit, charitable foundation incorporated in 1998 with the mission to: provide youth soccer programs for the New York area as well as to save, restore, and improve the soccer facility, and develop soccer players in the New York area. 40°42′52.68″N 73°54′23.31″W / 40.7146333°N 73.9064750°W / 40.7146333; -73.9064750 MLS Next MLS Next (stylized as MLS NEXT )
112-618: The Super Y-League at its foundation in 1999. In 2007, the United States Soccer Federation created an elite academy league called the U.S. Soccer Development Academy , which featured academy teams of MLS teams, along with several non-MLS academies across the United States and Canada. The intention of the USSDA was to create a top division of youth soccer in the United States and Canada. On March 12, 2020, as
128-517: The USL Championship or USL League One initially planned to move those sides to MLS Next Pro by 2023. D.C. United 's formerly owned-and-operated reserve team was sold to independent buyers. The inaugural match of MLS Next Pro was played on March 25, 2022, at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis. St. Louis City SC 2 defeated Rochester New York FC 2–0. Wan Kuzain scored the first ever goal in
144-657: The United States Soccer Federation for the league to be sanctioned as a Division III professional league, the same level currently occupied by USL League One and the National Independent Soccer Association and one level below the USL Championship . MLS announced that Next Pro would start with at least 20 teams, many of them owned by Major League Soccer and development teams between their first-teams and their youth academies. All MLS clubs with reserve teams in
160-414: The 2021–2022 season on June 11, 2021. In December 2021, Major League Soccer announced MLS Next Pro , a new professional league that will complete an integrated player pathway from MLS Next through to MLS first teams. The league includes 21 teams and will play its initial season in 2022. As of August 25, 2023 MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro ( MLSNP ) is a men's professional soccer league in
176-404: The 20th minute. The league makes use of unique rules such as all regular season draws being decided by penalty shootouts and the addition of concussion substitutions. On July 6, 2022, new rules for the league were introduced in the middle of the season. This included an off-field treatment rule meant to curb gamesmanship and timewasting and a new rule for red card suspensions: The suspension
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#1732782769822192-671: The Oval hosts 3-5 games a week from March to November on the field. The Met Oval Academy plays at this field against other academy teams in the MLS Next , National Academy League , and Elite Development Program leagues. In addition to being the name of the field, the Metropolitan Oval also helps develop soccer talent in New York City while offering youth of all backgrounds the opportunity to play soccer and receive specialized training, team play, camps and clinics. The academy has teams in age groups ranging from U-6 to U-19. The Academy
208-599: The U.S. Soccer Development Academy.” Major League Soccer officially announced MLS Next on September 8, 2020, encompassing 489 teams across 113 clubs and six age groups. On September 11, 2020, the inaugural MLS Next matches were held at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado, between the Colorado Rapids and Real Colorado's respective U-17 and U-19 age groups. The league added 24 new clubs and expanded additional age groups for 16 existing clubs for
224-488: The United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer . It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clubs and 2 independent clubs. MLS Next Pro is classified as part of the third tier of the United States soccer league system . On June 21, 2021, Major League Soccer announced the creation of a new professional league which would begin play in 2022. MLS has applied to
240-402: The city, raised enough money to save the field from foreclosure. In addition, Nike and U.S. Soccer Foundation each contributed $ 250,000 towards the construction of a FieldTurf field and new lights for the complex. The Metropolitan Oval has since been resurfaced in 2024 with Tencate's Pivot Noninfill turf and the lights have been retrofitted with GeoSport Lighting's CLIR fixtures. Currently,
256-530: The field once had was gone from overuse. It owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes and was scheduled for foreclosure by the city. In response to this state of affairs, the Metropolitan Oval Foundation was formed to save this historic site. The non-profit organization led by Jim Vogt, a longtime Queens native, and Chuck Jacob and Valerie Jacob, two New York lawyers dedicated to the restoration of historic soccer fields across
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