To paraphrase Northeastern head coach Ashley Phillips, club environment matters more than the league you play in.
She points to two of her team’s top players – forward Chelsea Domond (Stamford, Conn.) and defender Julianne Ross (Cumberland, R.I.) – to drill the point home, too. Domond played for Yankee United FC, a National Premier League club, and Ross won a pair of national championships with NEFC during their NPL days.
Phillips’ perspective arrives in light of college recruiting, days after rumors about U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy being terminated amid the COVID-19 pandemic turned into reality.