Champions crowned at 2014 US Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup

GREENVILLE, S.C. (Via US Youth Soccer) – After four days of play, champion teams were decided Sunday at the 2014 US Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup finals in Greenville, S.C.

The winning teams were among 40 participating US Youth Soccer Boys and Girls teams in the Under-13 through Under-17 age groups that came from all over the country to compete for a national title.

Region IV teams took home seven titles with winners from Cal South, Utah, Washington, Nevada and Alaska. Region II was represented by two champion teams from Illinois and Ohio South, and Region III had one champion team from South Texas.

The US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup is designed for teams seeking additional challenges to play for a national title against teams of similar abilities. The cup provides a progressive, competitive experience to teams that might not otherwise get the opportunity to participate in a series of unique experiences highlighting competition, camaraderie and community from the state to regional to national levels of US Youth Soccer.

Highlights from Championship Matches:

Under-13 Boys: HG Eagles (CA-S) 2-4 Barcelona Texas Carrasco 00/01 (TX-S) Under-13 Boys team Barcelona Texas Carrasco from South Texas took home the U-13 Boys championship after defeating HG Eagles from Cal South. Though HG Eagles got the first lead with a Nicholas Prata goal in the 11^th minute, Barcelona recovered strongly with four straight goals. Jose Dominguez tied the match two minutes later for a 1-1 draw at halftime. Alberto Galindo then got a stellar hat trick with goals in the 56^th, 65^th and 70^th minutes. Nicholas Prata got an additional goal for HG Eagles in the final minute of play, but Barcelona ultimately won the match, 4-2.
Under-14 Boys: Montgomery Arsenal (PA-E) 0-1 (PK) Team Evanston Premier (IL) Team Evanston Premier from Illinois took home the U-14 Boys title after defeating Montgomery Arsenal from Eastern Pennsylvania in a match that went all the way to kicks from the mark. Both teams battled it out trying to find the back of the net in regulation time, but their sturdy backlines maintained the scoreless draw. Neither could get the much desired goal in overtime resulting in penalty kicks to determine a winner. In PK’s, Team Evanston won with a 3-1 score to become the champion.
Under-15 Boys: Tacoma United B98 Chelsea (WA) 3-1 Huskies Soccer Academy (TX-S) Tacoma United Chelsea from Washington  is now the U-15 Boys Presidents Cup champion after defeating Huskies Soccer Academy from South Texas. Tacoma came back from a 1-0 deficit at halftime, after going down from a Brandon Jones goal in the 40^th minute. Brayan Torres scored immediately at the start of the second half for Tacoma, and Vicente Aquino Contreras and Bryan Flores added two more tallies for the 3-1 win.
Under-16 Boys: CISC Velocity 98B (AK) 3–2 (PK) FC Europa Samba (PA-E) CISC Velocity from Alaska defeated FC Europa Samba from Eastern PA in a match that went all the way to penalty kicks. CISC got a 2-0 lead after first half goals by Colby Collins and Brady Graff, but FC Europa recovered in the second half with two goals by Harry Agnew and Zachary Canfield. Neither team could break the tie in overtime resulting in penalty kicks. CISC ultimately outscored FC Europa in penalty kicks to win the U-16 Boys championship.

Under-17 Boys: LV Neon 97 Boys (NV) 2-0 SASA Spirits U17 Blue (IL) Nevada team LV Neon won the U-17 Boys title, after defeating SASA Spirits Blue from Illinois 2-0. Genaro Corona opened the scoring in the 27^th minute, and Bryan Panameno secured the match with a goal in the 83^rd minute.
Under-13 Girls: Eagles GU13 White (CA-S) 2-0 Sting East 01G Gray (TX-N) Eagles White from Cal South went undefeated in the entire tournament, earning them the U-13 Girls National Presidents Cup crown. Eagles White defeated Sting East Gray from North Texas 2-0 in the final. Isabella Pariente scored in the 20^th minute of play, and Sara Beaver also got a shot in the 65^th minute.

Under-14 Girls: West Coast FC United White (CA-S) 4-2 Chattanooga FC Academy (TN) Under-14 Girls team, West Coast FC United White from Cal South, won the National Presidents Cup title after beating Chattanooga Football Club Academy from Tennessee 4-2. West Coast was down 1-0 after an Avery Engles goal in the 15^th minute, but they found their energy and quickly shifted the game in their favor. Natalie Crapo followed immediately with a pair of goals and Reid Morrison added a third for West Coast before closing the half. Kaylin Martin gave West Coast a fourth goal in the 41^st minute which was followed instantaneously by a Chattanooga FC Hope Sanders tally. West Coast maintained the 4-2 score in the second half to win.

Under-15 Girls: KFC Crush 99 Azzurri (TN) 1-2 (OT) Crush Blue (UT) Crush Blue from Utah defeated KFC Crush 99 Azzurri from Tennessee in a game that went into overtime. After a scoreless first half, KFC got the lead in the 48^th minute after a goal by Kathryn Anderson. Kinsley Napoli leveled the match in the 68^th minute resulting in a 1-1 draw after regulation time. Jaden Auger found the much sought after goal with just six minutes remaining in overtime to give Crush Blue the U-15 Girls championship.

Under-16 Girls: Classics Eagles Girls Black 97/98 (OH-S) 2-0 Lady Nomad (NV) Classics Eagles Black from Ohio South didn’t lose a single match in the tournament, and their hard work paid off earning them the U-16 Girls crown. Classics Eagles defeated Lady Nomad from Nevada 2-0 with a first half goal by Nicole Wilcox, and a second half goal by Emily Kirchner.
Under-17 Girls: Cook Inlet SC Velocity (AK) 5-1 GSA Force FC 97 White (TX-S) Cook Inlet SC Velocity from Alaska defeated GSA Force FC 97 White from South Texas to earn the U-17 Girls title. Although Cook Inlet went down 1-0 after an Alexis Barrientez GSA goal in the 31^st minute, they came back resilient for the rest of the match. Kayla Sims leveled the match before halftime and Alexa Starr scored for the lead upon the start of the second half. Kayle Blackmore added a third tally in the 67^th minute, and Malia Lyken closed the match with a pair of back to back goals.

Complete Scores:

Note:  The US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup is a separate series of events from the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series.