US Youth National Championships Recap
Players featured in this article:
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Kate Hopma |
2024
GK |
Eclipse Select (IL)
|
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Theodore Mueller |
2024
MF |
Keystone SC (PAW)
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Anna Sikorski |
2024
MF |
SC Wave
|
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Colton Swan |
2025
F |
Colorado Rapids
|
|
Ren Sylvester |
2025
F |
FC Dallas
|
The 2022 US Youth Soccer National Championships came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla.
Twelve teams came away victorious and added themselves to the history books as USYS National Champions, joining the 13-and-Under title-winners that were decided on Friday night.
Sunday’s finals provided plenty of drama and tightly-contested championship finals, as five games went to extra time and three needed penalty kick shootouts to decide the winners. Additionally, the 19U Boys McGuire Cup final featured a 90th-minute game-winning goal, and the 19U Girls final was decided on an 87th-minute tally.
2022 US Youth Soccer National Champions
Boys 13U - Boca Orange County B09 (CA-S) | Girls 13U - KC Legends Academy Red 2009 (KS) |
Boys 14U - Toca FC 2008 MLS (KS) | Girls 14U - Galaxy SC 2008 Girls Blue (IL) |
Boys 15U - Michigan Tigers 2007 Boys Gold (MI) | Girls 15U - Wasatch SC 07G ZB (UT) |
Boys 16U - CUP 06 Gold (OH) | Girls 16U - Libertyville FC 1974 Elite-06 Girls (IL) |
Boys 17U - Libertyville FC 1974 Elite-05 Boys (IL) | Girls 17U - Philadelphia SC Coppa 05 Rage (PA-E) |
Boys 18U - Cedar Stars Academy North Newark (NJ) | Girls 18U - Galaxy SC 2004 Blue (IL) |
Boys 19U - Sporting Blue Valley Academy 03 (KS) | Girls 19U - SC Wave Juniors 03 Girls (WI) |
Both midfields created enough chances to find the opener, with Sporting Blue Valley’s Cooper Forcellini making multiple promising runs, but the defenses proved to be stout and difficult to break down. Even though both sides entered the final as two of the most prolific offenses in the 19U group, it was a struggle for either to add to their tally, and the match went into the break scoreless.
Sporting Blue Valley’s defense was busy to start the second half, with the Maryland side finding a jolt of energy at the intermission. Miles Lam came on for Celtic and created multiple opportunities on the left side of the field but saw two of his shots saved by an inspired Thompson.
The Kansas side used Celtic’s tired legs as an advantage and threw bodies forward to put them under pressure, but this physical match that had six yellow cards looked as if it was heading to extra time until the 90th minute.
Nate Esterline was the hero for Sporting Blue Valley, slotting one past the keeper and into the back of the net in stoppage time. Celtic made a few last-chance attempts, with Lawrence Aydlett coming extremely close, but Sporting Blue Valley hunkered down enough to see this one out and become National Champions.
Neither side generated a winner in extra time. In the shootout, Michigan goalkeeper Max Adox came up with a key stop, and Fabrizzio Gonzalez-Flores netted the clinching attempt to give the Tigers the National Championship.
It would only get better for Rounds from there, as she made two critical stops on Copa’s last two kicks and led her team to victory and the 16U Girls National Championship.
18U Boys: Cedar Stars Academy North Newark (NJ) 5-4 United PDX 04B Premier Black (OR)15U Girls: Wasatch SC 07G ZB (UT) 2-0 Eclipse Select Central Illinois 2007G (IL)
18U Girls: Galaxy SC 2004 Blue (IL) 3-0 Penn FC Youth 2004 F Lightning (PA-E)
The Ohio side was able to survive the pressure that Nationals Union applied while trying to get themselves back into the game and were National Champions when the final whistle blew.
Toca's goalkeeper Kael Taylor played a terrific game and led his side from the back, making sure that they continued to provide defensive pressure to stifle the Maryland side's attacks. He succeeded in doing so, with the early opener proving enough in this competitive match to let the Kansas side lift the trophy.
Galaxy pulled a goal back in the 117th minute as Caden Hill's glancing header tucked just inside the right post. However, a few late chances for Galaxy were defended by Libertyville, which held on for the 4-3 victory to claim the National title.
13U Girls: KC Legends KCL Academy Red 2009 NL (KS) 3 – Solar Soccer Club Solar 10G Grado (NTX) 2
Solar 10G Grado had most of the possession in the opening minutes and came extremely close to opening the scoring. Quinn Mack had the game’s first chance in the eighth minute, but Mia Terrazas, a defender who filled in for the injured Emily Izatt as the Kansas side’s goalkeeper, was able to keep it level.
KC Legends settled in after the early scare, though, and even jumped out to the lead after Jacy Hackler converted a chance in the 11th minute to break the deadlock.
It was a back-and-forth affair for most of the opening half's duration, but Taylor Bealmear added the team’s second in the 32nd minute, a clinical shot from 25 yards out that beat the keeper, and it looked like they might run away with it.
Solar 10G Grado came out of the break ready to fight, though, and brought one back four minutes into the second half – a Brynlie Ward finish after a scramble from a free-kick, and the game was ripped open.
Both teams had chances throughout the second half, but the score remained level until the 68th minute, when Hackler added her second of the game, and ninth of the tournament, as a much-needed insurance goal. It proved vital instantly, as Mattilyn Gibson did her best to bring the North Texas side back into the game in stoppage time when she added a goal of her own. The Kansas side saw this one out, though, and was crowned National Champions.
Matt Iverson, head coach of the KC Legends, talked about the heart and character of his side.
“I know that they’re excited about it,” Iverson said. “They’ve been great role models to our younger teams in the club and I think everybody in the club, in Kansas City, is looking at us as a model for what we can achieve. They’ve done this with respect, they’ve done this with a great attitude the whole time, and they deserve all the credit.”
13U Boys: Imperial Soccer Club 09B (STX) 1 – Boca Orange County Boca OC B09 RW USL Academy (CA-S) 2
Imperial SC 09B and Boca Orange County B09 came into the National Championship having drawn against each other in the group’s first match.
The Cal-South side started the match with its usual 3-5-2 formation, while Imperial ran its 4-3-3. Joaquin Chavez almost had the game’s opener in the seventh minute, coming close after a shot from 35 yards out almost found the back of the net.
This match was contested in the midfield for much of the first half, with both teams trying to find the right passes, and often coming close. Chavez got his goal, and the game's first, in the 24th minute, a stunning free kick that the South Texas keeper had no chance at saving. Imperial SC 09B didn’t let the deficit last long, though, and leveled the game seven minutes later. Sebastian Guerra, their main man up front, leveled the game after pouncing on a ball in the box, and this final went into the break tied.
Imperial SC 09B and Boca Orange County B09 gave viewers one of the most entertaining halves possible, with near goals happening every minute, but neither team could break the deadlock. Chavez almost won it for the South Texas side in regulation’s dying seconds, a shot from distance that bounced right in front of Ayden Patel, but the Boca County goalkeeper made the stop and pushed this one to extra time.
Boca County B09 came out of the gates swinging in the extra period and had multiple chances to find the winner. Isaac Ortiz Soto hit the post in the 74th minute, and some nice link-up play after a set piece almost proved clinical, but it looked like this match might head into penalty kicks until the 86th minute, when Westin Aryana scored and send his team into a frenzy.
Imperial SC 09B pushed forward for the remaining four minutes but ultimately couldn’t break down the tough Cal-South side’s defense.
David Arvizu, head coach of Boca Orange County B09, described what his team winning the National Championship meant to him.
“It’s indescribable,” Arvizu said. “I can’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling right now, and I’m blessed and honored to be where I’m at. I’m honored to be working with such a great group of boys and I’m at a loss for words. It’s been quite a journey, an amazing year for these boys, and it’s been unbelievable.”
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