July 4, 2012
REGION I CHAMPIONSHIPS
One NY, two NJ boys teams take titles

LANCASTER, Pa--- Manhattan SC Paris Saint-Germain 96 captured the Boys U15 title at the US Youth Soccer Region I Championships on Tuesday. Two New Jersey team, PDA Rooney (U12) and Marlton Lightning Red (U-18) captured titles as well.

Winners in the Under-14 through Under-19 age divisions advance to the US Youth Soccer National Championships July 23-29 at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hills, S.C.

Maryland club Bethesda SC was the only club to claim more than one championship, winning the Under-13 and Under-14 Boys, while the Under-19 Girls were finalists. Of the eight returning champions, only three, Under-18 Girls FC Pennsylvania Strikers (E-PA), Under-14 Boys Bethesda Lions (MD) and Under-17 Boys Beadling SC 94/95 (PA-W), accomplished back-to-back regional championships.

2012 US Youth Soccer Region I Boys Champions

Under-12 8v8 Boys: Arlington Eagles Red (VA)
Under-12 Boys: PDA Rooney (NJ)
Under-13 Boys: Bethesda Blue (MD)
Under-14 Boys: Bethesda Lions (MD)
Under-15 Boys: Manhattan SC Paris Saint-Germain 96 (E-NY)
Under-16 Boys: Lehigh Valley United 95 (E-PA)
Under-17 Boys: Beadling SC 94/95 (PA-W)
Under-18 Boys: Marlton Lightning Red (NJ)
Under-19 Boys: Empire United SA Syracuse (NY-W)

Highlights from Tuesday’s boys games…

U-12 Boys 8v8
Arlington Eagles Red (VA) and NHPSA Predator Navy (NH) met in the preliminary round with Arlington winning 2-1. Today, Arlington confirmed the original outcome and claimed the Region I title 3-1 in a rematch. Arlington took the lead just eight minutes in from Martin Hockey III, but NHPSA drew level in the 29th on an Oliver Thomas goal. Arlington took over in the second half as Edison Giron scored the go-ahead goal five minutes after the break and Carlos Farias topped it off three minutes later for the 3-1 win.

U-12 Boys
The U-12 Boys final was also a rematch from pool play, but this time PDA avenged their loss to take down FSA FC Navy (CT) 3-1. FSA took the first meeting 4-2, but PDA was able to make adjustments to claim the final. Ryan Santos put PDA ahead in the 8th minute and Zachary Riviere made it 2-0 in the 12th. Ivan Ruiz finished off the scoring for PDA six minutes into the second half.

U-13 Boys
West Chester United Predators 98 (E-PA) looked like they would run away with the U-13 Boys final versus Bethesda Blue 98 (MD) after rolling out two goals in the first 12 minutes from Aiden McFadden and Frank DeRosa. But Bethesda responded with four unanswered from Daniel Hart, David Eijbergen, Thomas Hansan and John McCune to take a late 4-2 lead. Quinn Dudek pulled West Chester back into the game with a 69th minute goal to make it 4-3, but that was all the scoring as Bethesda claimed the championship.

U-14 Boys
Bethesda Lions (MD) defeated FSA FC Navy (CT) 2-0 to earn their second straight regional crown and book their trip to South Carolina for a shot at the national championship. Daniel Tshiani put Bethesda ahead just seven minutes into the game and the Lions’ defense stayed firm all day as Phillip Grossman added a second half insurance goal to send Bethesda on their way.

U-15 Boys
Manhattan SC Paris Saint-Germain 96 (E-NY) avenged their loss in last year’s final by defeating Century V (PA-W) 4-1 in overtime. After a scoreless first half, Ousmane Dia put Manhattan PSG up 1-0, but Century battled back with a goal from Doug Hapeman in the 68th. In overtime, Amara Sesay struck a beautiful turning half-volley for the game winner in the 96th to extend his tournament best scoring total. Dia and Jeremy Barovick guaranteed victory as they each struck at the end of overtime to send PSG to the national finals.

U-16 Boys
National League side Lehigh Valley United 95 (E-PA) claimed their second regional championship in three years to move on to the National Championships for another chance at the ultimate crown, defeating DUSC White (E-NY) 2-0. Colby Thomas led the way for LVU with both goals, coming in the 50th and 63rd minutes, as the LVU defense held on for their second straight shutout.

U-17 Boys
A third place finish in this year’s National League meant Beadling SC 94/95 (PA-W) needed to win the Region I Championship for the second year in a row to make it back to Nationals. Beadling showed they were up for the challenge as they struck twice in the first seven minutes from Michael Pcholinsky and Nathan Dearth en route to a 2-1 win over NEFC Eagles (MA). Jozef Jennings pulled a goal back for NEFC in the 17th, but neither team would break through again as Beadling head to South Carolina.

U-18 Boys
Marlton Lightning Red (NJ) will make their first trip to the National Championships after defeating Vista RFC 93 (VA) 2-0. Division scoring leader Michael Ryan racked up an impressive 13 goals through the first four games, but it was Sonimi Halliday and Ryan Schroy who stepped up today to deliver a goal each and the Region I title for Marlton.

U-19 Boys
Empire United SA Syracuse (NY-W) will contend for the storied McGuire Cup as Region I champions, having knocked off Baltimore Bays Chelsea (MD) 1-0. Zachary MacNabb played the hero with his 78th minute goal to move him into a tie for the scoring lead, but the real secret to Empire’s run was the defense, led by keeper Dan Debottis, which shutout all five opponents to book a trip to South Carolina.