Potomac area teams win three US Youth Soccer national titles

Daily Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Semifinals | Finals

Three Potomac area teams captured national titles at the US Youth Soccer National Championships on Sunday, as McLean 00 Green, Loudoun 99 Red and Pipeline SC Black swept the U-15, U-16 and U-17 Boys age groups.

Three other local squads – BRYC 01 Elite U-14 Girls, Baltimore Darby 01/02 U-14 Boys and Loudoun 98 Red U-17 Boys finished as national finalists.

+Read: US Youth Soccer National Champions crowned in Frisco, Texas

National Champions

• McLean 00 Green (U-15 Boys)
• Loudoun 99 Red (U-16 Boys)
• Pipeline SC Black (U-17 Boys)

National Finalists

• BRYC 01 Elite (U-14 Girls)
• Baltimore Darby 01/02 (U-14 Boys)
• Loudoun 98 Red (U-17 Boys)
• McLean 96 Green (U-19 Girls)

Girls Teams at Nationals

BRYC 01 Elite (U-14 Girls)

Northern Virginia side and Region I champion BRYC 01 Elite finished atop Group A with a 2-1-0 record, allowing only one goal along the way to earn a berth in the semifinals. A hard fought battle against Region IV champion USA Stars 02 in the semis came down to penalty kicks, and BRYC emerged victorious following the 1-1 result.

BRYC continued its remarkable defensive play in the title match on Sunday against PSG Michigan Gators 02 Orange, but ultimately lost 1-0, finishing as national finalists. Elite’s outstanding showing in Texas saw the defense allow just three goals in five games, while Victoria Weber was the second-leading scorer in the age group with three goals on the attacking end.

Maryland United Coyotes (U-18 Girls)

National League rep Maryland United Coyotes rebounded from a pair of losses against Beach FC Academy (CA) and Kings Hammer Academy (OH) to open the event with a resounding 3-0 victory over Tennessee SC 16 on Thursday. Emma Anderson had a first half brace for United in the win, and Paula Germino-Watnick capped the scoring in the 40th minute. The United back line held the Tennessee attack to just two shots on goal.

McLean 96 Green (U-19 Girls)

Region I champion McLean 96 Green overpowered TFCA Alliance 96 (NC) and Chicago Red Stars (IL) in group play, earning 2-0 and 1-0 shutout wins to help them advance to the final. However, a So Cal Blues Dodge team loaded with U.S. Youth Women’s National Team players was in top form in Saturday’s championship match, defeating McLean 5-0.

Boys Teams at Nationals

Baltimore Darby 01/02 (U-14 Boys)

National League rep Baltimore Darby 01/02 emerged through Group A with a 1-1-1 record to face Raiders City (IL) in the semifinals on Saturday. Darby won the closely-contested match by a 2-1 scoreline, with first half goals by Theodore Ndje and Richard Nichols proving to be all they would need to prevail. Ndje was the leading scorer in the age group with four goals, sparking the attack for the eventual finalists. Darby fell 2-0 to Arizona’s Valparaiso United FC 02 JG in the title match.

FCV Ashburn Elite 01 (U-14 Boys)

FCV Ashburn Elite 01 dropped a pair of one-goal decisions to open group play, falling 2-1 to Valparaiso United FC and 1-0 to Raiders City (IL). The team bounced back in the group finale against South Carolina United FC 01 Elite, earning a 2-2 draw.

McLean Hotspur Green (U-15 Boys)

Coming off another great season in the CCL, US Youth Soccer National League, Virginia State Cup and other competitions, McLean Hotspur Green capped off the 2015-2016 campaign by winning it all at the US Youth Soccer National Championships.

+Read More: McLean Hotspur Green U-15 Boys claim US Youth Soccer national title

Following a 2-1-0 run through Group A, McLean edged out Sparta 01 JK (UT) in the semifinals before emerging victorious in penalty kicks against Chicago Fire Academy Raiders in the title match, after the teams played to a 1-1 draw. Jett Bisset and Daniel Diaz-Bonilla tied for fourth in the age group in scoring with two goals each.

Loudoun 99 Red (U-16 Boys)

The Loudoun 99 Red U-16 Boys made club history over the weekend, becoming the first team to win a US Youth Soccer national title.

+Read More: Loudoun Soccer teams show well at Nationals, win first club title

The Region I champions earned a second place finish in Group A with a 1-1-1 record, setting up a match-up with Ohio Premier Green in the semifinals on Saturday. OP Green had posted a perfect 3-0-0 record to finish atop Group B, but Loudoun netted three unanswered goals in the first 41 minutes of play to overwhelm the Region II champs. Loudoun went on to shut down New York powerhouse Dix Hills Hurricanes 1-0 in the final on Sunday, with a first minute goal by Evans Moyo proving to be the difference. Moyo and teammate Bardia Kimiavi were tied with five other players at the top of the scoring leaderboard in the age group with two each.

Pipeline SC Black (U-17 Boys)

Maryland side Pipeline SC Black was still in top form at Nationals after winning the US Youth Soccer Region I title only a couple weeks ago. Pipeline placed first in Group A with a 2-1-0 record, bouncing back from an opening day loss to Solar Chelsea Red 99 (TX) with a pair of wins over Seattle United 98 Copa and Sporting St. Croix (MN) by 1-0 and 2-0 scorelines.

That set up an intriguing match-up with another Maryland team, Baltimore Celtic 98/99, in the semifinals. Pipeline won the tough defensive battle 1-0, as a 77th minute game-winner by Thomas Walker pushed the team into the finals.

Pipeline squared off with another Potomac area team, Loudoun 98 Red, in the championship match, and fell behind 1-0 in the 56th minute before staging an impressive comeback. Benjamin Alexander not only provided Pipeline with a 69th minute equalizer, but went on to add the game-winner in the 85th minute to help his team win the national title. Alexander’s four total goals were tied for the most in the age group.

Loudoun 98 Red (U-17 Boys)

Loudoun advanced all the way to the championship match by finishing first in Group B, going 2-1-0 and posting a 7-3 goal differential to earn the top seed on tiebreaker. Loudoun’s group victories came by 4-0 and 2-0 scorelines over Region II champ Challenger Crew Jrs Gold (OH) and Region II champ CASL 98 Red (NC). In the semifinals, Loudoun defeated Seattle United 98 Copa in penalty kicks following a strenuous 1-1 draw. Loudoun fell 2-1 to Pipeline SC in the title match. Giovanni Vasquez tied for the most goals in the age group with four, highlighted by his hat trick in the tournament opener against Crew Jrs.

Baltimore Celtic 98/99 (U-17 Boys)

One of three local teams to qualify for Nationals in the U-17 Boys age group, Baltimore Celtic 98/99 had a strong showing as well, finishing as semifinalists. Celtic placed second in Group B with a 2-1-0 record and a 5-3 goal differential, before coming up just short in the semifinals in a 1-0 loss to in-state opponent Pipeline SC Black. Along with a strong effort throughout the event by the Celtic defense, Daniel Hart finished tied for fourth in the age group with two goals scored.

Arlington Impact Red (U-18 Boys)

Virginia’s Arlington Impact Red finished as semifinalists at Nationals, earning at least one point in all three of its group matches going 1-0-2. Arlington allowed just one goal over the course of group play, coming in a 1-1 draw against Santa Barbara SC White (CA). Impact also played Dix Hills Elite (NY) to a scoreless draw and earned a 1-0 win over South San Jose PAC Indios (CA) in Group B, before going on to fall 3-0 to FC Golden State Platinum (CA) in the semis.