Playing in their fifth State Championship final in five years, the defending US Youth Soccer National Champion Eagles SC of Camarillo, California defeated Laguna Hills Eclipse White 6-5 on penalty kicks to win its third State crown and second in succession.  The match was tied 1-1 at the conclusion of 90 minutes of regulation and 2-2 at the end of 30 additional minutes of overtime.

The Eagles' goals were scored by center mid Lindsay Armenta and marking back Amelia Mathis, who will compete for UCLA in the fall.  Eagles' penalty kicks were converted by Megan Blankenburg, Gracie Gartrell, Haley Wilson, Kelsey Owen, and Kelsea Smith, with the 6th coming off the foot of University of Texas bound Amanda Lisberger.  Eagles' keeper Shaine Millheiser, also headed to Austin to play for the Longhorns, made two diving stops of Laguna Hills' penalty shots to set the stage for Lisberger's deciding kick.

Following the match, 2007 Nike Coach of the Year Vince Thomas praised a talented Laguna Hills side that is one of the top teams in the nation.  "These girls have been facing off in big games since they were little, and it is fitting that today's match – perhaps the last one ever between these two teams - was decided by a single pk.  Eclipse battled for 120 minutes under challenging (high winds) conditions, but it is tough to beat a team that has as much championship game experience as ours, and today that was the difference."

The Eagles are the first team in history to advance to the state final five consecutive years without losing a match.  In 2004, they defeated San Diego Surf on penalty kicks, in '05 and '06 Surf returned the favor - prevailing in the same manner.  In 2007, the Eagles won the State title 1-0 over OJSC X-treme en route to winning both the Far West Regional crown and the United States Youth Soccer National Championship.  This year, the Eagles reached the State final by defeating Slammers FC (Newport Beach) in the quarter-final and Rancho Santa Fe Attack (San Diego) in the semi-final.  As a result, the Eagles advance to next month's Far West Regionals in Honolulu.

A year ago, at the National Championships in Dallas, the Eagles prevailed in preliminary round action over the Michigan Hawks and Richmond (Virginia) Strikers Elite to advance to the national title match, where they defeated the Dallas Texans (now Dallas Sting) 3-1 in front of over 3,500 highly vocal spectators and a Fox Soccer Channel national television audience.  The 2008 National Championships are scheduled for July 23-27 in Little Rock, Arkansas.