In its first year playing the fall season in the Region III Premier League, Florida-based West Pines United U15 Boys have already climbed to the top of the heap, claiming the East title while running undefeated with a 10-0-1 record.

“This is our second season; we finished fourth in the spring,” West Pines Head Coach Richard Jobson said. “We emphasized defense a little more this time, as it’s not a priority in Florida. We worked this year on not giving up stupid goals.”

All the hard worked paid off as West Pines ended the season with a goals-against average of under .5 per game. The team also posted eight shutouts, including finishing the season with a streak of 400 minutes without conceding a goal.

West Pines' offensive presence was strong too, notching 30 goals for the season.

“One of the big things is that we’ve never had problems scoring. We worked on a lot of set plays and also concentrated on working more as a team, which helped,” Jobson said. “The team’s been together since they were eight years old, and five or six are in the national team pool.”

A player that recently has been selected to the national team is Arturo Paz. Kevin was called into the U.S. U15 BNT Training Camp a couple of weeks ago and performed admirably, including scoring a goal in the first scrimmage of the week.

Coach Jobson praised the play of goalkeeper Joseph Ghitis, as he was instrumental in West Pine’s stingy defense. He also mentioned forward Deandre Robinson and Bryan Gonzalez, as well as midfielder Walker Dawkins, who led the team with seven assists.

Another midfielder, Jamaican born Romeria Bernard, whom the team nicknamed “Bebeto”, was the key offensive threat for the ream. He finished the season with 24 points.

“Bebeto is unbelievable with the ball,” Jobson said. “He is also the team and vocal leader on and off the field.”

With the season said and done, the next step for West Pines is to concentrate on the national league in North Carolina on November 17.

In the meantime Coach Jobson will preach his ways and concentrate on the defensive side of his team. Making sure that no holes are left open while still powering the strong offense into hopefully another title.

“I keep stressing the defense because it’s easy for kids with good technical ability to play offensively. We play an open style but that has hurt us. We try to concentrate on defense and the boys have bought into the system because they don’t want to lose.”