July 26, 2012
U.S. YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ten teams have secured a spot in the finals

ROCK HILL, S.C. – After two days of preliminary matches at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships, ten teams have already earned a spot in the finals.

Under-16 Girls – BRYC 95 Elite (VA), MVLA Lighting (CA-N)
Under-18 Girls – Brentwood 94 Premier (TN), FC Penn Strikers (E-PA)
Under-14 Boys – Sunrise Elite 97/98 (FL), Santa Barbara SC White (CA-S)
Under-15 Boys – Fullerton Rangers 96 White (CA-S)
Under-18 Boys – Grand Rapids Crew Jrs. (MI), Florida Rush Nike (FL)
Under-19 Boys – Crew Juniors (OH-S)


Under-15 Girls
Under-15 Girls National League division champs Legends FC (CA-S) and Kings Soccer Academy (OH-S) battled to a 0-0 draw in their hunt for a spot in the final. The draw creates a logjam atop the U-15 table with three teams, including both Legends and Kings, tied with four points meaning each of tomorrow’s games will impact who advances to play for the championships.

Internationals 96 Red (OH-N) joined Legends and Kings in a tie atop the group after taking down CRUSA/FC Bucks Fury (E-PA) 4-1. Internationals took a 1-0 lead through Alyssa Baumbick in the 28th minute and extended it in the 32nd on a Hannah Ludwig strike. Fury pulled a goal back just before the break from Paige Berman, but Internationals responded out of halftime on goals from Zoe McCormick and Emily Ogle to close out the game.

MVLA Mercury Black (CA-N) stayed in contention for a championship spot, defeating Sting 97 (N-TX) 1-0. After a scoreless first half, Michelle Maemone struck for the game winner in the 76th to lead MVLA and keep their hopes alive for a National title.

Under-16 Girls
Under-16 Girls MVLA Lightning (CA-N) are back in the National Championship game after claiming the 2010 U-14 title thanks to a 5-0 victory over Cleveland United White (OH-N) and friendly results in the other games. Fatmata Kamara grabbed the lead for MVLA in the 12th minute and Jaye Boissiere followed up six minutes later for an early 2-0 lead. Sarah Robinson made it a three goal advantage before halftime and Gabriella Kaplan and Caroline Olivero capped off the scoring in the second half National League side BRYC 95 Elite (VA) will be playing for a National title even with a game to go in preliminary play after a come from behind 3-1 victory over CESA 95 Premier (SC). Chandler Arrowood put CESA in front 10 minutes in before Kahla Seymour struck for a brace with goals in the 23rd and 53rd for BRYC.

Taylor Woods sealed the game and a spot in the finals for BRYC in stoppage time as the team went from a last place finish in their National League division to playing for a National Championship.

Legends FC 95 (CA-S) and KCFC/Futura Academy (MO) battled to a 1-1 draw to give each their first point of the week, but both were eliminated from contention for the championship game. Hadyn Hutchison struck first for KCFC/Futura in the 55th minute, but McKenna Pigoni leveled for Legends with five minutes remaining to earn the draw.

Under-19 Girls
Under-19 Girls Scorpions Elite (MA) pulled off a dramatic win over So Cal Blues Dodge (CA-S) with an 87th minute goal to win 1-0. Jessica Clinton (Georgetown) scored the winning goal with time running out as she slid by a defender at the top of the box and rifled a low shot into the side net. Scorpions now sit atop the group, just above the Blues, however both still need positive results tomorrow to assure a place in the final. Both teams have made previous trips to the National Championships as Scorpions came up short of the title game in 2008 and So Cal Blues fell in the final. Blues also qualified in 2009, and claimed a National crown in 2010.

St. Louis Scott Gallagher Green (MO) overcame a loss yesterday to get back in contention for the final with a 2-1 victory over CCSC Sol (FL). Sol assumed the lead in the 31st minute through Theresa Diederich (Alabama), but Gallagher found the equalizer in the 67th thanks to Lauren Flynn (Missouri). With just eight minutes remaining Gallagher found the winner from Kelsey Dinges (Miami Ohio) to steal a 2-1 win. All four teams in the U-19 Girls group are still alive for the final on Sunday.

Under-15 Boys
Familiar foes met as U-15 National League divisional champs CUP Crew Jrs (OH-S) and Chicago Magic (IL) met on Thursday. The two teams last played less than a month ago as CUP Crew Jrs beat Chicago Magic, 3-0, in the Region II championship. Magic reversed the score, taking a 3-0 halftime lead over CUP. Luke Treadway answered for CUP in the 47th minute, then had a chance again 10 minutes later, but his penalty kick was saved. Charlie Byers brought CUP within one goal with a strike in the 64th minute, but Magic triumphed 3-2.

Challenger Crew Jrs (OH-N) bounced back from a difficult loss on day one to claim a decisive 4-1 victory over Manhattan SC PSG (E-NY). Just after the opening whistle, Challenger won possession, marched down possession and Julian Castro netted his first goal. Castro would complete his brace before half. Corey Smigel extended the Challenger lead in the 48th. Amara Sesay pulled one back for Manhattan in the 60th, but Ben Locke restored the three goal lead for Challenger in the 77th.

Defending national champs Fullerton Rangers (CA-S) duplicated its day one performance with a 4-0 victory over SAA Real Madrid (FL) Thursday. Gabriel Covarrubias gave Fullerton a 1-0 lead at half. Dylan Smith netted a second-half double and George Castro added a goal in the 77th minute for Fullerton. With the two victories, the defending champions secured a return to the national final Saturday.

Under-16 Boys
In U-16 Boys play, GSA Phoenix Red 96 (GA) earned a hard fought victory over fellow National League champ Scottsdale 96 Blackhawks (AZ). After 75 minutes of scoreless soccer, Christopher Morgan broke the stalemate and punched in a loose ball in the box to net the game winner. With the result today, GSA remains in contention the final Sunday.
The next field over, two more National League teams met in South Carolina after Lehigh Valley United (E-PA) and Michigan Jaguars Green (MI) won their respective regional championships to advance to this stage. LVU tallied 15 shots on goal to Jaguars’ five, but quality and not quantity counted on the day. Jason Carmack scored the lone goal in the 43rd to lift the Jaguars to a 1-0 victory.
After a scoreless first half, Arsenal FC (CA-S) and CESA 95 Premier (SC) came out firing in the second frame. Just three minutes after the restart, Christopher Heijjer scored for CESA. Eduardo Martinez leveled for Arsenal just two minutes later as he buried a half-volley. With 15 minutes to play in the game, Ryan Bertling ran onto a slotted ball by Heijjer to net the game winner. With the result, CESA controls its own destiny and possible path to the finals.

Under-19 Boys
After a tough loss on day one, Empire United SA (NY-W) capitalized on an early chance against Crew Jrs (OH-S) for a goal in the 5th minute by Emmanual Chanelo. Crew Jrs kept its composure and scored a goal of its own five minutes into the second half off the head of Matthew Walker (Xavier). In the 85th minute, Cole Denormandie (Cincinnati) netted the game winner for Crew Jrs and secured his team a place in the nationally televised McGuire Cup final game Saturday.

Seeking its first title game appearance, GSA 93 Phoenix Red (GA) took the early lead over West Coast FC (CA-S) when Tyler Peoples (Furman) nodded home a corner kick. Despite trailing 1-0, West Coast FC dictated much of the play and finally capitalized on a set piece in the 53rd minute to level the game. Phil Muscarella (Santa Clara) served in the free kick that Juan Gutierrez (California Irvine) flicked in for the goal. Muscarella and Gutierrez teamed up again just 10 minutes later as West Coast played the ball wide and Muscarella served in a curling, dipping ball and Gutierrez headed it home with authority. Just 10 minutes from time, GSA’s Tyler Happ (Clemson) equalized against the run of play and secure the 2-2 draw.