Champions Crowned at the 2014 US Youth Soccer Region II Championships

BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (Via US Youth Soccer) – Champions were crowned at the 2014 US Youth Soccer Region II (Midwest) Championships in Beavercreek, Ohio. Winners in the Under-13 through Under-19 Boys and Girls matches earned a Regional title and a berth to the 2014 US Youth Soccer National Championships July 22-27, at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md.

[ +READ: Championship matches set at the 2014 US Youth Soccer Region II Championships]

Three defending champions attained another consecutive Regional title – U-17 Girls NSA Jaguars (IL), U-19 Girls Team Chicago Academy Botafogo (IL), and U-15 Boys Michigan Wolves (MI). Defending National Champion, Under-19 Girls Team Chicago Academy Botafogo, will get another shot at the 2014 National Championship after earning their third straight Regional title.

Illinois Youth Soccer and Michigan Youth Soccer each had five championship teams. Ohio North was represented by two champion teams, and Kansas and Missouri each had one champion team.

The 2014 US Youth Soccer National Championships, presented by the National Guard, will take place July 22-27, at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md. The US Youth Soccer National Championships will consist of US Youth Soccer Regional Champions in the Under-13 through Under-19 Boys and Girls age groups, as well as the US Youth Soccer National League qualifiers in the Under-14 through Under-18 Boys and Girls age groups to complete the field of 96 teams.

Regional Championship Teams:

Highlights from Finals Matches:

Under-13 Girls: The U-13 Girls Michigan Hawks took home the crown and move on to Nationals after defeating CUP Gold from Ohio South 4-0. Hailey Hartwig gave Michigan a 1-0 lead at halftime after scoring in the 35^th minute. In the second half, Kaya Frazier got a pair of back to back goals in the 37th and 65th minutes. Grace Kelley scored the final goal of the match in the 69th minute, and the Hawks’ strong backline kept the shutout for the 4-0 victory. The Hawks were undefeated after all tournament matches.

Under-14 Girls: Never once was Cleveland FC from Ohio North defeated, and their hard work earned them the U-14 Girls championship, and a spot at Nationals. They defeated Campton United Navy from Illinois 3-1 in their final match. Victoria Baker gave Cleveland the lead at the half after scoring in the 23rd minute. Hannah Zaluski put Cleveland up by two in the second half, in the 58th minute. Hayley Popiel put Campton United on the board with a goal in the last minute of the match, but Allyson Sidloski scored as well, giving Cleveland a 3-1 win.

Under-15 Girls: Michigan’s Alliance Academy Black team defeated U-15 Girls team SC Waukesha from Wisconsin 2-1 to take home the championship. SC Waukesha had the first lead of the match after a quick Kylie Sprecher goal in the 13th minute. Bailey Korhorn was able to recuperate for Alliance, right before halftime, with a goal in the 32nd minute. Both teams remained tied for most of the match, but right as it appeared that that they would go to overtime, Korhorn found the back of the net again, giving Alliance the win in the final minute of play.

Under-16 Girls: In a very competitive final match, FC United Select from Illinois defeated reigning champs U-16 Girls Ambassadors FC from Ohio North 4-2 in overtime. Devin Burns scored the lone goal of the first half in the 26th minute, putting FC United up by one at halftime. In the second half, Caitlin Glascott got a pair of goals in the 49th and 58th minutes to give Ambassadors a 2-1 lead. Devin Burns then found her second goal as well, and leveled the match scoring for FC United in the 65th minute. Play continued but neither team found the back of the net, resulting in overtime. In overtime, Olivia Peters notched a pair of goals in the 92nd and 99th minutes to solidify the FC United victory and the berth to Nationals.

Under-17 Girls: Under-17 Girls NSA Jaguars from Illinois did it again, getting their second straight Regional title after defeating KC Metro Dynamos from Kansas in the final. Morgan Kemerling’s early goal in the 9th minute gave NSA the first lead. Jamie Kutey leveled the match, scoring for KC Metro in the 37th minute, but NSA took back the advantage after Paige Filipek and Alexis Pelafas scored two more before closing the half. Brooke Prondzinski helped KC Metro catch up, scoring in the 57th minute to make it 3-2, but NSA’s Jessica Kovach got the defining goal in the 64th minute for the 4-2 victory.

Under-18 Girls: Cleveland United White from Ohio North earned the U-18 Girls championship after defeating Gretna Prima 95/96 Green from Nebraska. The 3-2 win started with a Kelly Novak goal in the 24^th minute to put Cleveland up by one. Emily Stauffer leveled the match before halftime with a Gretna goal in the 44^th minute. Sydney Elinsky gave Cleveland a beneficial 3-1 lead after scoring a pair of back to back goals in the 54^th and 59^th minutes. Emily Stauffer got an additional Gretna goal in the 74^th minute, but Cleveland’s backline maintained the 3-2 score for the win.

Under-19 Girls: Team Chicago Academy-Botafogo from Illinois proved they were a tough contender and that they truly wanted another ticket to Nationals to defend their 2013 National Championship. They return to Nationals again after defeating U-19 Girls team OP Eclipse from Ohio South 2-0 in the final, giving them three straight Regional titles and an undefeated streak in the tournament. The match saw no goals in the first half. Zoe Swift gave Team Chicago the lead in the 56^th minute and Elizabeth Bartels secured the match with a goal in the 71^st minute.

Under-13 Boys: WAZA FC Juniors from Michigan got a second straight 7-0 result in elimination rounds, this time against Cicero Mayas from Illinois in the U-13 Boys final. WAZA got four first half goals and three second half goals to obtain the championship and a ticket to Nationals. Issa Rayyan got a pair of goals in the match in the 8^th and 33^rd minutes, and David Preciado notched a hat trick with goals in the 29^th, 44^th and 68^th minutes. Gianni Ferri also contributed to the scoring with a first half goal in the 27^th minute, as did Alfredo Vivar with a second half goal in the 39^th minute.

Under-14 Boys: The U-14 Boys final saw lots of action and ultimately Sporting KC Academy from Kansas defeated Alliance ASC from Michigan 6-3 to earn the championship. Sporting KC went into halftime with a 3-0 lead after Abdu Kikhia scored two quick goals within the first five minutes, and Mike Keon scored a third in the 15^th minute. Alliance’s Trenton Saylor scored back to back goals upon the start of the first half and made it 3-2 after goals in the 39^th and 41^st minutes. Max Rugova made sure Sporting kept the advantage and increased the lead in the 45^th minute. Kikhia did the same getting a hat trick with his 46^th minute Sporting goal. Trenton Saylor also got a hat trick, making his third goal for Alliance in the 54^th minute, but Kikhia followed with his fourth goal in the 61^st minute to give Sporting the victory and a ticket to Nationals.

Under-15 Boys: Michigan Wolves 99 got their second straight Regional title after defeating U-15 Boys team Challenger Crew from Ohio North. Michigan got a 3-1 score for the championship and a spot at the 2014 National Championships. Louis Meeks stepped on the field and got a quick goal in just the 3^rd minute of play. Stephen Milhoan found the equalizer for Challenger Crew before halftime in the 25^th minute. In the final minutes of play, Michigan came back and concluded the match with two late goals by Nickolas Massey in the 79^th minute, and Samuel DeLoy in the final 80^th minute for the victory.

Under-16 Boys: Chicago Magic from Illinois earns the U-16 Boys championship after defeating OP Eagles Green from Ohio South 3-2. The close match started with two OP Eagles goals in the first half by Emmanuel Dapaa in the 15^th minute and Cole Heilman in the 33^rd minute. Chicago Magic recovered in the second half after a Jason Zobott goal in the 61^st minute and an Austin Hansen goal in the 77^th minute. With just seconds left in the tied match, Josia Veloz found the back of the net in the 80^th minute and gave Chicago Magic the win and a spot at Nationals.

Under-17 Boys: A Cobi Illian goal and a strong backline helped Chicago Fire Youth Soccer Club from Illinois get the U-17 Boys championship and a spot at this year’s Nationals. Chicago Fire defeated Lexington FC 97 White from Kentucky 1-0. Cobi Illian got the game winning goal in the 44^th minute of the first half, and Chicago Fire’s defense remained sturdy for the remainder of the match for the win.

Under-18 Boys: Waza FC East Jrs. from Michigan defeated St. Croix from Minnesota 3-1 to become the U-18 Boys champion. Waza got two goals in the first half. Robert Longo scored rapidly in the 3^rd minute, and Neil Martorana scored in the 25^th minute. St. Croix got on the board in the 55^th minute with a goal by Justin Oliver, but Hunter Mejaly secured the match with a third Waza goal in the 71^st minute.

Under-19 Boys: In the U-19 Boys final, Raytown SC BGFC from Missouri defeated Chicago Fire Academy from Illinois 2-1. Raytown set themselves up with a good 2-0 lead after first half goals by Paul Dean in the 10^th minute and Raymond Saari in the 31^st minute. Marcus Epps put Chicago Fire on the board late in the 83^rd minute, but Chicago couldn’t level the match in time and Raytown took home the championship.
Complete scores from final matches: