The U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program sent four 1995 Boys Regional teams to Costa Rica to compete in a round-robin style tournament that took place Feb. 7-11.

The weeklong competition included a team from each region facing off against local youth club sides Brujas, Heredia, Alajuela, and Saprissa.

None of the ODP squads was able to top the standings at the end of the tournament, but the boys from Region I had the best over all result, finishing second behind Alajuela.

Region I Head Coach Pat Laughlin was very pleased with the overall scope of the tournament and his team’s performance.

“We had a strong group, and I thought they did very well,” he said. “The setup was nice as we got two training sessions on Sunday before the Monday game.”

The team’s first game against Saprissa saw Peter Pearson score his first of three goals throughout the week, giving the Americans the 1-0 win.

“Peter is a great holding midfielder. He’s able to transition well to carry the team forward and slalom past defenders to pick out a pass or take a shot,” Laughlin said. “He is a very good leader of the group, and was one of only two high school freshmen on the team.”

The following day the team felt its only defeat falling to Alajuela, 3-1. The team was without the services of Pearson, who picked up an injury, however Ryan Vilella prevented the shutout by blasting a 25-yard shot past the hands of Alajuela’s goalkeeper.

Laughlin’s boys bounced back from the loss with a 3-1 win over Heredia. The team picked up the three points, scoring three goals in the last 10 minutes of the game after being down 1-0.

Joel Treston scored a pair of goals with assists by Pearson, who later added the third.

“Joel is very good in the box and a strong target type forward,” Laughlin said. “He looks to link up with other guys and when he’s in the box, he’s a dangerous finisher.”

The final match wasn’t much of a challenge for Region I. It capitalized on Brujas’ wide field to trounce the local side, 4-1, with goals by Pearson, Teston, Kelvin Centero, and Michael Pcholinsky.

Pearson was the machine that ran the offensive side for Region I, but Laughlin also credited defenders Sheldon Sullivan, Mark Romanowski, and Andrew Tinaru for limiting opponents offensively.

“They have been excellent and a testament to why we didn’t give up a lot of goals,” he said. “They handled the opposition well and were able to start attacks with both outside backs.”

The Region IV squad held its own but wasn’t as fortunate, finishing in fifth place with one win, two draws, and a loss.

The team started on a good note, with draws against Alajuela, 0-0, and Saprissa, 1-1. But fell to Brujas, 1-0, in its third match.

Nick Stanley had the goal against Saprissa, off a corner by Dominic Chavez.

Josh Kalkstein, Region IV’s head coach, gave an explanation for the stagnant start.

“We had five new kids in this group, so the progression we made was a little slow,” he said. “But we finished on a strong note, that’s for sure.”

That strong note was the team’s victory over Heredia, 2-1, on the last day of competition.

Noah Jackson and Trevor Hyman each scored for Region IV. Clayton Powell’s through ball left Jackson 1v1 against Brujas’ goalkeeper, who was able to slot it past the keeper.

Hyman later added the game-winner as Chavez’s corner kick was redirected to him to bury it in the back of the net.

Kalkstein was satisfied with his players, including his backline of Jon Stadler, Robby Sagel, Nick Stanley, and Trase Stapley.

“I would say that our back four was certainly one of the best,” he said. “Two of three goals we gave up were off set pieces, and the one given up on the run of play occurred when we were down a player.”

Teams from Region II and III struggled through the competition, both posting 1-3 records and finishing last in the standings.

Rosters of ODP Regional Teams Rosters (Courtesy of U.S. Youth Soccer):

Region I
Benjamin Vruwink, Ryan Vilella, Andrew Tinari, Joel Teston, Sheldon Sullivan, Michael Sauers, Mark Romanowski, Peter Pearson, Michael Pcholinsky, Erik Martel, Terence Hughes, Braden Horton, Grant Goldberg, Jordan Fox, Tristan Fappiano, Kelvin Centeno, Greg Boehme

Region II
Quentin Low, John Wendt, Ryan Herold, Daniel Szczepanek, Brent Winkler, Gabriel Christianson, Jonathan Blake, Elma Nfor, Justin Pratt, Lalo Gamboa, Ben Lemay, Walker Andriot, Steve Eneme, Jack Griffith, Darby Cronin, Tui Hunkin, Noah Johnson, Tyler Anderson

Region III
Alexander Bayard, Luis Betancur, Jeremy Booth, Robert Carson, Ricardo Castro, Ryan Creel, Geoffrey Dee, Forrest Denio, Marcus Epps, Reyes Espino, Jacob Garza, Tyler Germany, Jonathan Jarrett, Sina Mofidi, Hunter Pritchard, Justin Savinon, Jacob Smith, Victor Zhang

Region IV
Lucas Cawley, Dominic Chavez, William Cline, Francisco Duenas, Michael Gray, Trevor Hyman, Spencer Kleweno, Dylan Roberts, Robby Sagel, Jon Stadler, Sam Werner, Joshua King, Clayton Powell, Edgardo Cuellar Franco, Noah Jackson, Nicholas Stanley, Trase Stapley