Champions crowned at US Youth Soccer Region II Championships

DES MOINES, Iowa – Champions were crowned at the 2013 US Youth Soccer Region II (Midwest) Championships – presented by the National Guard in Des Moines, Iowa. Winners in the Under-13 through Under-19 Boys and Girls matches earned a Regional title and a berth to the 2013 US Youth Soccer National Championships July 22-28, at Overland Park Soccer Complex in Overland Park, Kan.

Three defending champions attained another Regional title – U-15G Ambassadors FC (OH-N), U-18G Team Chicago Academy Botafogo (IL) and U-15B Vardar.

Local Iowa team U-17G Iowa City Alliance Heatwave makes history, as no Iowa team has ever won a Regional Championship.

After five years, a Nebraska Youth Soccer team also won a Regional Championship with the win of the U-19 Girls LSC EGA Bravo team.

Representing teams from Missouri Youth Soccer took home four titles, and Illinois Youth Soccer was the most represented US Youth Soccer State Association with five championship teams.

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-15 through Under-18 Boys and Girls age groups to complete the field of 88 teams.

Regional Championship Teams:

Highlights from Finals Matches:

Under-13 Girls: The Michigan Hawks took home the crown after defeating Carmel United SC Elite in the U-13 Girls final. Michigan got two goals in the first half by Madison Wolfbauer and Alexa Spaanstra, and one more in the second by Samantha Sklarski. With the addition of the U-13 division this year, Michigan now gets the chance to move on to Nationals.

Under-14 Girls: The NSA Rockets of Illinois got a shutout against Kings Hammer Academy Red to move them forward to nationals. The match saw a scoreless first half, and then NSA came back stronger in the second, getting a goal in the 45th minute by Lauren Long. Simone Gardner stepped up as well, and became unstoppable, accomplishing a hat trick with three goals within ten minutes.

Under-15 Girls: Ambassadors FC from OH-N are now regional champions, two years in a row, after defeating KCU Rangers 7–0 in the U-15 Girls final. Although they were already up 3-0 before the half, they refused to take the foot of the gas in order to send a strong message at Nationals.

Under-16 Girls: NSA Jaguars from Illinois took the U-16 Girls crown, defeating Futura FC 1-0. Abbie Boswell’s early 12 minute goal, and NSA’s sound defense, helped keep the shutout and gave them the championship.

Under-17 Girls: Local team, Iowa City Alliance Heatwave made history as they became the first Iowa team ever to move on to nationals. Iowa City Alliance won the U-17 Girls championship after defeating Academy United 3-1 in a match that went into overtime. Kaela Dickerman’s 19th minute goal held on for almost the entire match, until Alliance scored just minutes before the whistle. In overtime, Rose Ripslinger did it again, and got two goals to give them the win.

Under-18 Girls: Returning champs Team Chicago Acad. Botafogo did it again, becoming regional champions after their 2-1 win against FC United Select. Although FC United got the first lead of the game, Team Chicago quickly recovered and scored twice before entering halftime. Their strong backline helped maintain the win, forbidding FC United from getting any more goals in in the second half.

Under-19 Girls: It was a close one at the U-19 Girls championship match, but ultimately LSC EGA Bravo from Nebraska came out victorious. Kolping Kicks SC got the first advantage, scoring in the 18th minute, but LSC was  able to get the equalizer and the lead before halftime. The second half saw a lot of back and forth, as both teams scored twice, but in the end, LSC took home the championship.

Under-13 Boys: Raiders FC from Illinois took home the Under-13 Boys Championship by defeating OP Eagles 4-1 in the finals. Raiders got a dominant lead early on, scoring all four of their goals in the first half.

Under-14 Boys: Michigan Wolves got a 4-0 shutout, to win the U-14 Boys Championship. Daniel Wright produced a hat trick in the match with goals in the 15th, 35th and 38th minute, and his teammate Larry Chen also got a goal in the 23rd minute. Michigan’s defense held strong for the remainder of the second half to give them the win.

Under-15 Boys: Vardar 98 did it once again, winning the Region II Championships for the second year in a row. Vardar and Chicago Magic battled it out, and then Nash Popovic broke the stalemate in the 63rd minute. The goal sufficed for the win, and sent U-15 Boys team Vardar on to nationals.

Under-16 Boys: The Under-16 Boys title went to Michigan’s Alliance Black, after they defeated PFC 3-1. Alliance took a swift lead, getting a goal in the first minute of play, and scored two more times in the second half to get the 3-1 result and the championship.

Under-17 Boys: Cup Crew Jrs Gold took over the U-17 Boys Championship match, and defeated SC Waukesha 6-0. The match saw first half goals by Trevor Thompson and Thomas Moore, and second half goals by Josh Grant, Jack Clark, and Jacob Scheper. Thompson scored a second goal in the 54thminute. Cup Crew now goes on to Nationals resiliently.

Under-18 Boys: In an exciting U-18 Boys final match, Springfield SC defeated Grand Rapids Crew Juniors in penalty kicks. Both teams put up a great fight, resulting in a 0-0 score after regulation time. The match was still tied in overtime and ultimately Springfield’s precise kickers and skillful keeper gave them the championship.

Under-19 Boys: Chicago Fire Academy kicked off the match with a goal, and ended it with another. They beat NFC Blue 2-0 with a goal in the 7th minute and another in the 90th minute, to win the U-19 Boys Region II Championship.

Complete scores from final matches: