Albuquerque, NM – After six grueling games and a week of toiling in the high desert sun, it’s all over. While the winners set their sights on nationals, the runners up make the long trip home and think about what might have been.

But today, as the trophies are engraved, one thing stands out above all else: California, again, was simply dominant at the 2010 Region IV Championships.

The fact that 11 out of 16 total champions (eight age groups from both genders) were from Northern or Southern California means states like Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii have plenty of catching up to do. Other states, notably Oregon and Colorado, were well-represented on the winner’s podium too, but California is clearly the class of the West.

Here’s a region-by-region look at some of the best games the final day of the Far West Regionals had to offer.

Boys compete in their championship game.

Pacific Northwest:

U14 B: Crossfire Premier 2, WSM Galacticos 0

Crossfire Premier-McCormick continued their unlikely run Sunday, charging all the way to the Region IV championship despite missing 3 starters in the final game.

Three starters, including the goalkeeper, were ineligible for Sunday’s finale after receiving red cards during a spate in the semifinal, but backup ‘keeper Tyler Visten was dominant for the second straight game and Matthew Poplawski headed home a set piece to get Crossfire on the board in the 48th minute.

WSM’s hopes were crushed as Rubio Mendez Rubin had a goal disallowed, and Crossfire countered moments later when Adesayi Adekoya’s through ball found Julian White for a goal and a triumphant 2-0 victory.

U18 B: ESUFC 91B Liverpool Red 4, Inter FC 92 Premier 2 (OT)

In one of the day’s most thrilling matches, ESUFC came screaming back from a 2-0 deficit to win the regional championship 4-2 in overtime.

Inter’s Carlos Lara was a playmaker early on, and Ian Ramos cashed in with two goals from long distance in the first half.

But down 2-0, ESUFC would not surrender, and found its way back into the game when midfielder Steven Hughes struck a beauty into the top corner from 25 yards out to make it 2-1.

ESUFC’s confidence rose quickly and Connor Valenter equalized in the 87th minute to send it into overtime, and amazingly, struck twice more in overtime to get ESUFC the decisive points. Valenter couldn’t have picked a better time to score a hat-trick.

Northern California:

U14 G: Foothill MVLA Lightning 3, Mustang Fury 0

Fury was living on the edge after eking out a shootout victory over Neusport in Saturday’s semifinal, but Sunday’s final against the Lightning finally saw them toppled.

Fury’s Alexandra Weltz and Alessandra Dutto were very active and created several scoring chances from the midfield, but the Fury defense was exposed, unable to contain the Lightning attack.

Caitlyn Wong, Gabriella Kaplan and Jaye Boissiere shined, and each scored en route to the Lightning’s 3-0 dismantling of the Fury for the regional title.

U15 B: Mt. Hamilton PAC Tigres 2, Boise Nationals Barcelona 0

The Tigres’ Region IV coming-out party ended with a dominant performance against Barcelona that delivered them the regional crown in spectacular fashion.

All tournament long, they displayed an impressive mix of patience in possession, sound technique and the ability to strike at a moment’s notice, building the attack sensibly from the back.

Barcelona defenders Halston Wood and Jacob Szuch were solid and did all they could to fend off the Tigres’ attack, but it was simply too much.

Israel Escalera continued turning heads with two goals, while Edson Cardona and Lorenzo Vazquez showed great poise and explosiveness on the ball. The Tigres were indisputably the best team in the age group.

U17 Real So Cal White (right) defeated De Anza Force 92 Blue.

Southern California:

U17 G: Real So Cal White 1, De Anza Force 92 Blue 0

As they sought to defend their national championship of a year ago, maybe the Force had plenty to play for in Sunday’s final – but it didn’t show.

They were toothless on offense and though the defense was air-tight most of the game, they inexplicably let So Cal’s Bridget Berman sneak in for the game’s only goal in the first half, and the rest is history.  

The So Cal defense, led by UC Santa Barbara commit Marie MacKenzie and New Mexico commit Natalie Zeenni, put the clamp down on the Force throughout the second half, and now they, not the defending champs, have the chance to compete for a national title this summer.

Rocky Mountains/Southwest:

U16 G: Colorado Rush Nike 2, Legends FC 1

There were plenty of stars on the field in this game and, by the time the final whistle blew, plenty of controversy, too.

In a wide-open and heated match that saw both sides continually pressing forward, Rush used players like Maddison Kiebel and Mary Schwappach to attack constantly along the right wing, putting Legends defender Alina Cheatham’s prodigious talents to the test.

The Legends countered with a potent attack centered around forwards Kodi Lavrusky and Alexa Bustamante, who scored, but it was wasn’t quite enough.

And after Lindsey Horan scored for Rush, they got the benefit of a questionable non-call that won them the decisive goal. On the play, a Legends defender shielded the ball from Mary Schwappach in the penalty area, but before goalkeeper Alicen Wright could scoop it up, Schwappach muscled the defender out of the way and tapped the ball into the net.

The Legends sideline cried foul; the Rush had no complaints, and the championship was theirs.

These were some of the highlights, but there was plenty of glory at the rest of Sunday’s games, too. Without further ado, here are the complete 2010 Region IV Champions:

U12 Boys: Santa Barbara SC 3, Arsenal Colorado Gold 0

U12 Girls: Arsenal FC 1, Real Colorado 1 (Arsenal wins 3-0 in PKs)

U13 Boys: LAFC Chelsea 4, FC Las Vegas 2

U13 Girls: San Diego Surf White 1, Leahi 97 Premier 1 (Surf wins 3-2 in PKs)

U14 Boys: Crossfire Premier-McCormick 2, WSM Galacticos 0

U14 Girls: Foothill MVLA Lightning 3, Mustang Fury 0   

U15 Boys: Mt Hamilton PAC Tigres 2, Boise Nationals Barcelona 0   

U15 Girls: Real Colorado National 3, Mustang Blast 2

U16 Boys: Slammers FC 5, Sereno 94 White 1   

U16 Girls: Colorado Rush Nike 2, Legends FC 1

U17 Boys: West Coast FC 1, Elite FC Gladiators 1 (West Coast wins 5-4 in PKs)       

U17 Girls: Real So Cal White 1, De Anza Force 92 Blue 0

U18 Boys: ESUFC 91B Liverpool Red 4, Inter FC 92 Premier 2 (OT)    

U18 Girls: Laguna Hill Eclipse 2, Colorado Storm Academy Copa 1

U19 Boys: Westside Metro Internationals 2, NM Rush Red Star 1    

U19 Girls: So. Alameda County CA Northstars 3, Slammers FC 2 (OT)