2020-21 Year-End Review
Saturday, July 24, put a ribbon on the first official year for the Ohio Valley Premier League. That ribbon was actually a trophy for the Evansville Legends FC, who was triumphant in the OVPL Championship match for the Sportiff Cup. A match that was 0-0 through 120 minutes against Ohio Premier ended with a 9-8 penalty kick shootout win for Evansville. There were 20 men's teams and 10 women's teams who competed in the summer in the OVPL.
In what was supposed to be the inaugural season for the OVPL, the summer of 2020 saw a shutdown of nearly everything due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, a late-summer opportunity presented itself for some teams to come together for a series of friendlies, some of the first official OVPL events. The fall opened up more permissions, and a fall OVPL season was created. With a successful fall completed, League members decided to keep playing into the spring and had a shortened spring season. All of the matches played in the fall and spring culminated into an expanded summer session.
By the numbers:
- 21,000+ livestream viewers
- 1,149+ players
- 673 total goals scored
- 180 matches played (fall, spring, summer)
- 32 teams (22 men, 10 women)
- 5 states encompassed (IN, KY, OH, PA, WV)
- 3 champions (Kings Hammer, Ohio Galaxies, Evansville Legends)
- 1 League
Now that the 2020-21 season has concluded, #OVPL2022 is now a focal point. The OVPL Executive Board and league members just finished a closing session to discuss how to continue to make the OVPL the strongest U23 adult amateur soccer league. If you want to help #growthegame with the Ohio Valley Premier League, sign your club up to bring high-level amateur soccer to your community.
For more information on the Ohio Valley Premier League, you can follow on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
About the OVPL
The Ohio Valley Premier League (OVPL) was created to operate a competitive soccer circuit offering the only adult amateur competition throughout the Ohio Valley (Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia) region. Player development is a central focus of the League, as the League strives to promote the region at a national level.
The OVPL seeks to grow the game of soccer in the region by providing a highly competitive soccer league for men, women, boys, and girls of all ages. The League is sanctioned through US Club Soccer and provides access to competing in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup, the nation's longest-running tournament.
About US Club Soccer
US Club Soccer will foster the growth and development of soccer clubs throughout the United States to create the best possible development environment for players of all ages in every club.