Cal South dominant at Region IV Champions

by J.R. Eskilson
January 10, 2017

The Region IV ODP Championships concluded last week in Phoenix, Arizona. The Reach 11 complex was the home for the event which featured teams from the 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 age groups. 

Cal South walked away with a clean sweep on the girls side with the title in every age group. The dominance of Cal South allowed a number of the top prospects from that region to shine in front of the college coaches and scouts in attendance. 

On the boys side, Cal South won three of the five age groups. Utah and Oregon claimed the crown in the age groups that Cal South came up short. Arizona, the host state, was in the final of four of the five age groups on the boys side. The recap of each age group is below. 

Boys 

2000

Oregon defeated Cal South 1-0 in the final on Sunday. Zachary Velasco (Westview High School/Westside Timbers B00 Copa) scored the game-winning goal in the championship game. Velasco also had the game-winner in the semifinal, a 2-1 win over Nevada. Juan Estrada, Teagan Jarvis, Corrigan ‘CJ’ Neville all finished as joint leading scorers at the event with four goals a piece. The trio all hail from Nevada. 

2001

Cal South won the 2001 Region IV ODP Championship with a 3-0 result over Arizona 01 Red on Sunday in the title game. Diego Aragon, Brandon Garcia, and Daniel Martinez scored the goals for Cal South in the championship. Cal South had a scare in the semifinal round as Utah held them to a 1-1 draw, but Cal South advanced via a 5-3 win in kicks from the spot. Blake Malone (Nevada), George Preciado (Nevada), and Fabian Trejo Mendoza (Arizona 01 Red) finished as the joint leading scorers with four goals each. 

2002 

Utah defeated Arizona 1-0 in the title game on Sunday. Dyson Clapier (La Roca) scored the lone goal of the game. He finished with three goals from the event. Daniel Powell (Sparta) was the leading scorer for Utah at the event with five goals. He scored twice in the 3-1 win over Cal South in the semifinal. Arizona relied on a dominant defense to reach the final. The local team only let in two goals through five games. Kevin Soltys (Washington) was the leading scorer for the age group.  

2003 

Cal South won the 2003 age group with a 2-1 victory over Arizona in the championship game. Eduardo Villeda (CDA Slammers FC) scored the game-winning goal in overtime for Cal South. Joshan Darji netted the opener for Cal South before Alexander Kessler answered for Arizona in the second half. Nevada’s Daniel Leyva finished as the leading scorer at the event with six goals. 

2004

Cal South cruised to the title with a 3-0 win over Arizona in the championship game on Sunday. Stefano Brunetto (DMCV Sharks) scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the game to lead Cal South to the win. Brunetto finished as the leading scorer at the event with seven goals from five games. 

Girls

2000 

Cal South defeated Washington 3-1 in the championship game on Sunday. Helen Burke (Eagles SC/La Reina), Amber McCorkle (San Diego Surf/Torrey Pines), and Jenna Nighswonger (Slammers FC/Huntington Beach) scored for Cal South in the title game. Makenna Carr (Eastside FC/Liberty High School) scored for Washington in the title game, and finished as the leading scorer with eight goals. 

2001 

Cal South beat Utah 1-0 in overtime in the 2001 girls age group final at the 2017 ODP Region IV Championship. Samantha Williams (So Cal Blues/JSerra) scored the lone goal in the title game. Cal South finished the event without conceding a goal over the course of the five games in Arizona. Cal South’s Sarai Zedingil (Beach FC) finished as the leading scorer with eight goals. 

2002 

Cal South and Washington battled in the final of the ODP Region IV Championship for the 2002 age group on Sunday. The two teams went to overtime after an early strike from Zoe Burns (Crossfire Premier SC) was cancelled out by a late tally from Cordelia Cross (Eagles SC). In overtime, Nya Harrison (San Diego Surf) scored twice in overtime to lead Cal South to a 3-1 win. McKenna Martinez (Eastern Washington ODP) finished as the leading scorer at the event with eight goals. 

2003 

Cal South claimed the championship in the 2003 age group with an impressive performance throughout the tournament. Cal South finished the tournament with a 2-0 win over Washington in the title game. The Cal South team did not give up a goal while in Arizona. Velize King (Legends FC) and Kayla Colbert (Arsenal FC) scored for Cal South in the championship game. Olivia Garcia (Las Vegas Premier SC) was the leading scorer at the event with seven goals. 

2004 

Cal South’s most dominant performance at the ODP Region IV Championship came in the 2004 age group. Cal South finished the event with 39 goals scored and 0 conceded over the course of the five games. Cal South defeated Nevada 4-0 in the championship game. Cailey Jackson (Arsenal FC) scored twice in the final while Alyssa Thompson (Real So Cal) and Ally Lemos (CDA Slammers) each added one in the big win. Lindsey Chau (Pateadores IER) was the top scorer with nine goals. 

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