June 29-July 1, 2025

Annapolis, MD

Game format

2027-2030

• Monday: 2 games, then seeded by committee
• Tuesday: at least 3 Championship Bracket games, except for teams with first-round byes
• Wednesday: 
  • Semi-Finals – Annapolis High School
    • 2030 division – 9:00 AM – Live Streamed
    • 2029 division – 10:15 AM – Live Streamed
    • 2028 division – 11:30 AM – Live Streamed
    • 2027 division – 12:45 PM – Live Streamed
  • Championship Games – Naval Academy Stadium
    • 2030 division – 12:00 PM – ESPN+
    • 2029 division – 2:00 PM – ESPN+
    • 2028 division – 4:00 PM – ESPNU
    • 2027 division – 6:00 PM – ESPNU

2031-2033

• Monday: 3 Pool games, then seeded by Pool play
• Tuesday: at least 2 Championship Bracket games
• Wednesday: 
  • Championship Games – Naval Academy Stadium
    • 2033 division – 8:00 AM – Live Streamed on YouTube
    • 2032 division – 9:15 AM – Live Streamed on YouTube
    • 2031 division – 10:30 AM – Live Streamed on YouTube

Click HERE for live streamed games

Cost

• 2029-2027- $5,000
• 2030- $4,500
• 2033-2031- $2,400

Payment schedule

• 2026 Payment Schedule – Teams may pay Naptown National Challenge registration fee in three installments, based on the following schedule.  You will be charged an installment fee of $10 per installment.  

Team rosters due from coaches by May 1, 2026

Player Registration, via Parent Sign Up, due by June 7, 2026. Coach can see who has registered on his Director’s Profile

2027

All players in 11th Grade or lower during the 2025-2026 school year

2028

All players in 10th Grade or lower during the 2025-2026 school year

2029

All players in 9th Grade or lower during the 2025-2026 school year

2030

Age Requirement: No player born before June 1, 2011 may participate in 2030

Grade Requirement: Players in 8th grade (during the 2025-2026 school year) MUST participate in the 2030 grade designation or older (2029)

*Players born before June 1, 2011 in 8th grade MUST participate in the 2029 (9th grade) designation.

2031

Age Requirement: No player born before June 1, 2012 may participate in 2031

Grade Requirement: Players in 7th grade (during the 2025-2026 school year) MUST participate in the 2031 grade designation or older (2030, 2029).

*Players born before June 1, 2012 in 7th grade MUST participate in the 2030 (8th grade) or older grade designation.

2032

Age Requirement: No player born before June 1, 2013 may participate in 2032

Grade Requirement: Players in 6th grade (during the 2025-2026 school year) MUST participate in the 2032 grade Division or older (2031, 2030, etc.)

*Players born before June 1, 2013 in 6th grade MUST participate in the 2031 (7th grade) or older grade designation.

2033

Age Requirement: No player born before June 1, 2014 may participate in 2033

Grade Requirement: Players in 5th grade (during the 2025-2026 school year) MUST participate in the 2033 grade designation or older (2032, 2031, etc.)

*Players born before June 1, 2014 in 5th grade must participate in the 2032 (6th grade) or older grade designation.

***A player cannot play in a lower grade than he is in during the 2025-2026 school year regardless of his age.

No 2026 High School Graduates can play in HoganLax events

Maryland Soccerplex

18031 Central Park Circle,
Boyds, MD 20841

Blandair Park/Oakland Mills High School

5750 Oakland Mills Road,
Columbia, MD 21045

Troy Park

6500 Mansion Lane,
Elkridge, MD 21075

Liberty Sports Park

220 Prince George's Boulevard 
Upper Marlboro, MD 20774

Annapolis High School

2700 Riva Road, 
Annapolis, MD 21401

Bell Branch Park

1150 Barbara Swann Way, 
Gambrills, MD 21054

Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

550 Taylor Avenue 
Annapolis, MD 21401

1. All players must compete in the division with the class they were in during the 2025-2026 Academic year.
2. Players can always play up a division but not down. Regardless if a player will repeat in the future or plans to do a Post Graduate year, he must play with in the Division in which his class would graduate.
3. Players can only play for one team during the tournament.
4. Only players who are registered and appear on team submitted roster are permitted to play in tournament.
5. Players enrolling in a Post Graduate year may play in the “oldest” Division the tournament offers, with proof of enrollment.
6. Please see Divisions (above) for age/grade standards.

2026 NCAA Rules and Regulations

Game Rules

• 2027 division will play with an NCAA shot clock
• 2028 – 2033 divisions – Referees discretion to impose a 30 second count (“Timer On”) and require a shot on goal if it is determined a team is stalling
• No Dives

Faceoffs

• Faceoff personnel must have color tape
• SNG: Stand-Up Neutral Grip

Game Time

• Last 2 minutes of game is stop time 
• Penalty time is stop time, always
• Time (penalty, game, half) will be kept at the score table
• 2026 & 2027 divisions will start by central horn. Then time will be kept at the score table. 
• Each team has 2 timeouts per game (Clock stops)

2027-2030:

• Monday: Two 22-minute running halves
• Tuesday & Wednesday: Four 12-minute running quarters

2031-2033:

• Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday: 22-minute running halves

Overtime:

Monday

• 1 – 4 minute sudden victory period. If no one scores, game will end in a tie
• Each team has 1 timeout in overtime. Clock stops

Tuesday & Wednesday

• 1 continuous untimed sudden victory period until there is a winner
• Each team has 1 timeout in overtime

Any player, fan or coach ejected from the game will be prohibited from competing in his/her team’s next game. Decisions on the field will be the final ruling. Any fighting or flagrant disrespect toward an official will result in expulsion for the remainder of the tournament. No Exceptions, No Refunds. goals at the faceoff dot  

Seeding

2027-2030 (High School)

High School teams will play 2 games on Monday. Each Division has a selection committee who will watch the teams play. The committee will then seed their respective divisions. All teams will be seeded in the Championship Bracket that begins play on Tuesday morning. Most teams will play at least 3 games on Tuesday. Teams who receive a first-round bye may only play 2 games on Tuesday if they lose their first or second game. 

Championships will occur on Wednesday starting at 12:00 pm and occurring every 2 hours until last game starts at 6:00 pm. Any team that does not play in all scheduled games will not be invited to attend Naptown the following year.  All teams are expected to participate in all games on Tuesday, regardless of Championship bracket outcome.

2031-2033 (Youth)

Youth teams will be placed in Pools prior to the start of play. On Monday teams will participate in Pool games. All teams will then be seeded at the end of pool play on Monday. All teams will be seeded in the Championship Bracket that starts play on Tuesday morning with the Championship game played on Wednesday morning at Navy Stadium.

Pool Seeding (Youth Teams)

In the case of ties in the final standings for pool play, the following process will be used until all ties are broken and the seeding process is completed (ties will be broken in rank order beginning with the first procedure). If more than two teams are tied for a pool seed, once one team is removed from the tie, the seeding criteria reverts to the beginning of the procedure for the remaining teams tied.

Tie Breaker Procedure:

1. Head to Head.
2. Record vs Team(s) tied with.
3. Total goals against teams tied with, only games involving teams tied with.
4. Goal differential with teams tied with (goal differential will not exceed +/- 7 per game).
5. Total goals against versus common opponents.
6. Goal differential versus common opponents (goal differential will not exceed +/- 7 per game).
7. Goals against overall.
8. Goal differential overall.
9. Coin flip.

Any 2030-2032 team that plays 4 games on Monday, the 4th game will not count toward their pool play record, GA, GD. The game does count for their opponent.

Divisional Seeding (Youth Teams):

Divisional seeding will follow below criteria after pool seeding is determined.

1. Seed in pool
2. Overall Record
3. Goals Against Average
4. Goal Differential (goal differential will not exceed +/- 7 per game).

NLV is the official and exclusive video company for this event. As such, they are the only party permitted to provide commercial and elevated filming services to the high school divisions at this event. Any unauthorized elevated filming is strictly prohibited and will be enforced on-site.

Spectators may film their own matches for personal use, so long as it does not interfere with NLV’s ability to record matches and they do not use elevated filming equipment that extends more than 1 foot above their natural head height.

No Veo cameras, Trace cameras, Hi-Pods, or other devices on similar nature will be permitted to record the high school age divisions. Violators of this policy will be made to remove their equipment and subject to action by NLV to exercise their legal media rights to this event.