New Jersey United Athletic Club (National Premier Soccer League) @ Brenner Family Field (Metuchen, NJ)

26 IN 26 STOP 15

*This trip occurred on May 23, 2026.

I talked a little bit about the NPSL when I visited FC Motown, but one thing I didn't mention is the fact that I thought they'd be the only team in their division I'd get to visit. The division in question - the Keystone Division - consists of teams based in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, and most of those teams are fairly far (most being north of an hour) and only have night games. However, when the schedule (finally) released, I found out about this club: New Jersey United Athletic Club.

They don't have a Wikipedia page (prepare to hear that phrase several more times in the coming weeks), and information on their history is kinda hard to find on the internet, but their logo indicates that they were founded in 2024¹. Last season, they finished first in their division (which was known as "Keystone East" at the time), but I don't know how they did in the playoffs (which does mean that they didn't exactly win a national championship).

Last season, the side played their matches in New Brunswick, NJ at the high school's stadium. This year, however, they have moved to Saint Joseph High School in Metuchen, NJ - a school you may know for producing basketball stars such as Andrew Bynum and Karl-Anthony Towns, but I know because I have several friends who went there (one of whom took driver's ed with Andrew Bynum, but doesn't drive himself).

There's not much to say about the stadium itself - it's a high school field that doesn't exactly stray too far from what you'd expect for a Northeastern high school football/soccer/lacrosse/track stadium. If you live in a part of the United States where they don't really do that (or in another country entirely), it's a field with American football goalposts sticking out of the ground pretty much year round, but also features lines for multiple sports (in multiple colors) and a running track around the field. The Stadium at Memorial Field is basically like this as well, but I couldn't figure out if the local high school played any other sports besides football there.

Unlike Mount Vernon, there's two sets of bleachers along the sides of the field/track, and not much else to say; one thing I do find interesting is the fact that the main stand (i.e. the one with the press box typically intended for home fans) is OPPOSITE the parking lot, which seems a bit awkward. However, the BIG thing stadium lacks compared to most high school stadiums (which is partially why this game was at 3 PM): lights. My guess is that it's due to the nearby residential areas making it difficult for the school to do "Friday Night Lights".

As I alluded to earlier, NJ United was initially not on my radar for this year. Originally, I thought the only NPSL team I'd be able to visit was FC Motown, but when I looked at the schedule, I found out about NJ United and the fact that they played at St. Joe's, and so it ended up on my calendar (I originally thought they played much further away than they actually do). I was originally hoping to see the team's home opener, but various factors prevented me from doing so - the big one being the fact that the game got postponed due to weather. Heck, I was almost certain THIS game would have been postponed as it rained fairly hard, but they ended up playing anyway!²

NJ United found themselves down 2-1 but up a player for the better part of the second half; sadly, they were unable to find the equalizer and lost. Due to the rain, I ended up watching most of the second half from my car in the parking lot - something I don't hope to do very often...

Also, Jon Bon Jovi went to St. Joe's for two years before transferring to another high school. Since St. Joe's was SUPPOSED to mark the halfway point of my 26 in 26 challenge before getting postponed, I figured I'd end with this.

MERCH

I found a Google form on the team's website for ordering merchandise, which is definitely an interesting thing to do (as opposed to setting something up with Square or Shopify). At the match itself, there's a small area next to the "main stand" where merchandise is typically sold...emphasis on "typically". This time, the bad weather caused them to decide not to sell merch (as the weather also affected the crowd³), and it ended up being useful as I saw most of the first half from under the canopy where the team keeps its merchandise.

One thing about this lack of merch today is that I'm now interested in a return trip (as the online form does not include jerseys). However, the team only has four home games this year (which includes the now-rescheduled home opener), and this marks the second of those four games, so given that I'm unavailable for the third game, I REALLY hope it doesn't rain again at the end of June...