Titles claimed at U.S. Youth National League

 

“The opportunity for us through National League is that we’re playing higher caliber teams, teams that look to play soccer and put the ball on the ground, and you’re playing the best. I think the environment our players were put in each day in the National League is only going to make them better. We talk about putting them in meaningful games and every single game here for us was meaningful in the National League, and we had to perform in every single match, so it’s been great,” said FC Dallas Premier U-15 Boys coach Scott Dymond. 

 

“There’s been college coaches all around, college coaches calling. Even though these guys are still pretty young, it’s never too early.  And with the talent that we have on the field, I’ve already had a couple college coaches tell me, ‘I want him and him, now!’ which is exciting.”

 

Teams advancing to the 2011 National Championships are below:
Under-15 Girls Champion: SAC United Premier (MD)
Under-15 Girls Runner-Up: Match Fit Chelsea Beat (NJ)
Under-16 Girls Blue: Dallas Texans 95 Red (N-TX)

Under-16 Girls Red: Hurricane FC 95 Shubert (OK)
Under-17 Girls Blue: St. Louis Scott Gallagher (MO)
Under-17 Girls Red: NSA Premier Fury (IL)

Under-15 Boys Blue: FC Dallas Premier (N-TX)
Under-15 Boys Red: Michigan Jaguars (MI)
Under-16 Boys Blue: Albion White (CA-S)
Under-16 Boys Red: Concorde Fire Elite (GA)
Under-17 Boys Blue: TSC 94 Black (OK)
Under-17 Boys Red: Dallas Texans Red (N-TX)

Under-15 Girls
Match Fit Chelsea Beat (NJ) had a chance to overtake SAC United Premier (MD) for the championship of the Under-15 Girls if they could defeat Internationals (OH-N) by six goals, but a draw would give Match Fit second place and a berth into the National Championships. After taking a one goal lead in the 33^rd minute from Jessica Vigna, Match Fit held on for a 1-1 tie and a ticket to Nationals this summer. Emily Ogle scored for Internationals in the 74^th, but Match Fit got the result they needed to get to Phoenix this July.

Under-16 Girls Blue
So Cal Blues Draluck (CA-S) ran through the full spectrum of emotions in their game versus Albion (CA-S), but ultimately ended with heartbreak as they gave up a goal two minutes into stoppage time to miss out on the Under-16 Girls Blue championship and a trip to the National Championships. Dallas Texans 95 Red (N-TX) waited at home to learn they had won the championship as the Blues’ needed a victory to overtake them. As furious winds blew into Las Vegas, Albion put the Blues under pressure with a 15^th minute goal from Geneva Decker, but Sydney Fuentes leveled eight minutes after the break to give the Blues hope. With five minutes to play, Kelly Fitzgerald slammed a diving header from a driven cross into the back of the net to seemingly give the Blues the title.  But two minutes into injury time, Veronica Perez dropped a long shot over the keeper’s head and off the post in devastating fashion to earn the 2-2 draw and end So Cal’s hope of a league championship.

Under-16 Girls Red
Legends Breakaway (CA-S) could afford only one slip up this weekend and that happened on the opening day with a draw to Penn Fusion 94 (E-PA). Needing to win their final two games to force a make-up game with Hurricane FC 95 (OK), Legends dropped their final game to GSA 95 Phoenix Red (GA) 1-0, giving Hurricane the Under-16 Girls Red championship. Anna McClung moved into a tie for the scoring lead with Hurricane’s Elizabeth Keester when she scored the winner in the 37^th minute to put an end to Legends' hopes for the title.

Under-15 Boys Blue
FC Dallas Premier (N-TX) finally overtook Olney Rangers (MD) on the final day of the season for the Under-15 Boys Blue championship as they defeated Scottsdale 96 Blackhawks (AZ) 2-0. After FC Dallas’ draw yesterday, Blackhawks could only end Dallas’ title hopes and deliver for Rangers, but Paulo Sanchez scored just before the break and Nicolas Lozada-Smith tapped in the insurance goal from a nice counter attack to send FCD to National Championships.

Under-15 Boys Red
Michigan Jaguars held the edge on points going into their match with Classics Eagles FC Red (OH-S), meaning a draw would be good for the group title. Jaguars ensured their championship with a convincing 4-0 win on the final day to take the Under-15 Boys Red. Jason Carmack and Zachary Boch each scored two goals to give their club its first trip to Nationals.

Under-16 Boys
Albion White (CA-S) repeated as National League champions and clearly have their sights set on avenging last year’s National Championship overtime loss to Baltimore Bays Chelsea (MD), as they clinched this year’s title over US Youth Soccer Far West Regional League champion, Eastside FC 94 Red (WA), 1-0. Ariel Lassiter scored his league-best ninth goal in the 13^th minute to deliver the win, the next highest scorer in the Under-16 Boys Blue has three. Eastside had a chance to win the league with a victory, but will now have to scale the US Youth Soccer Region IV Championships to make it to Nationals.

“Every game is meaningful in the National League and there are no games where you’re just playing. It’s not just a tournament or a showcase, you’re playing for a berth to the National Championships, so the pressure is great. Two years now we’ve won this league and I think it’s put the players in a situation where they understand pressure and they understand how to win under these circumstances. In addition, now they’re playing in front of college coaches, so the stakes are even higher for the individuals. They’re a team that has shown that day in, day out they can handle the pressure and handle the big games, and to win it two years in a row says a lot about the boys,” said Albion coach Noah Gins.

Day 2 Results | Day 1 Results