Champions decided at US Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup

Schedule, Scores and Standings

AUBURNDALE, FLA. (Via US Youth Soccer) – After four days of play, champion teams were decided Sunday at the 2017 US Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup finals in Auburndale, Florida.

The winning teams were among 40 participating US Youth Soccer Boys and Girls teams in the 13U through 17/18U 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 and Colorado. Region III had one champion from South Texas, Region II was represented by one champion team from Illinois and Region I was represented by one from Virginia.

Final Match Highlights:

13U Boys
TFA SFV 04 (CA-S) claimed the 13U Boys National Presidents Cup title after defeating McAllen Rayados 04 (TX-S), 4-0. TFA’s first goal came off of a restart where the ball was passed through the defenders for Aldahir Rua to run onto and place in the bottom right corner of the goal. David Rodriguez increased the lead to two after Luis Lima dribbled the ball down the left flank, drew the keeper out and passed the ball for Rodriguez to finish. In the 31st minute, Jaiden Segura added a third goal, and in the 44th minute, Maximiliano Solis topped the win off with a fourth.

13U Girls
Beach FC LB 04 Nunes (CA-S) earned a late, 2-1, win against Impact GFC (OH-S) to take home the 13U Girls title. Impact GFC got on the board first thanks to a goal from Eva Dudeck in the 30th minute, but Beach FC tied up the game early in the second half as Paradyse Wong put the ball in the back of the net. Just as the game was heading to overtime, Liberty-Faith Ortiz scored the game winner in the final minute of the match.

14U Boys
Downtown LA Soccer Blue 03 (CA-S) defeated Sporting Wichita Rojos (KS), 3-0, to earn the 13U Boys National Presidents Cup title. Downtown opened the scoring right before halftime with Oliver Alfonso finding the back of the net. Carlos Lopez increased the advantage to 2-0 in the 61st minute and Alfonso added his second of the match just a minute later to bring the final score to 3-0. Downtown’s defense held tight until the final whistle earning them a clean sheet and the victory.

14U Girls
FC United 2003 Predator (IL) and Eagles SC 2003 (CA-S) played to a 3-3 draw during regulation and needed kicks from the mark to separate the two sides. FC United and Eagles traded a flurry of goals early in the game. Vivian Ventura opened the scoring in the opening minute of play with Eagles’ Caighley Espardinez equalizing just four minutes later. United regained the lead after three more minutes on a Roxana Zieba goal but the score was again brought level, this time by Eagles’ Jaydin Marucut. FC United’s Zieba scored the second of the game just before halftime to give the Illinois side the lead going into the second half. Eagles scored the lone second half goal thanks to Sawyer Dumond, and both teams’ defenses held strong to send the game into overtime. After a scoreless overtime, the game went to kicks from the mark, and in the final rounds, FC United’s Taylor Brocato made a huge stop and then Molly Sipe stepped up, making the final kick to earn the win.

15U Boys
RGV FC Dallas 02 (TX-S) got the jump on VK Cobras (UT) during the 15U Boys final in just the ninth minute. Antonio Torres scored early, and then scored again just ten minutes later to gives FC Dallas a 2-0 lead into halftime. Sergio Escareno hit a beautiful free kick into the top right corner in the second half to push the lead to 3-0. Christian Flores added a late insurance goal as FC Dallas earned the 4-0 victory and the 15U Boys National Presidents Cup title.

15U Girls
Colorado Storm North 02 Select (CO) came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Arkansas Rush 02/03 Black (AR), 5-4, and take the 15U Girls title. Kiley Dulaney scored two goals within the first five minutes of the match to put Arkansas Rush ahead. However, Colorado Storm pushed to get on the board and the team finally did when Jayla Anaya followed up a shot blocked by the goalkeeper in the 26th minute. Colorado Storm continued to work for another, remaining in its offensive half, and Paige Vogel was able to equalize the game in the 40th minute. Arkansas Rush stole the lead early in the second half with a third Dulaney goal, but Colorado Storm responded two minutes later with a second Vogel goal. Makayla Merlo and Bridget Feely allowed Colorado Storm to fully take the lead, and although Sophie Nash added another goal for Arkansas Rush, Colorado Storm came out on top.

16U Boys
Santos Laguna White (CA-S) earned a 2-0 victory over Lou Fusz Soccer Club-Carotenuto (MO) to claim the 16U Boys National Presidents Cup title. After a couple blocked shots, Ulises Suarez got Santos Laguna on the board as the ball rolled to him at the top of the 18-yard box for him to drive into the bottom left corner of the goal.

16U Girls
In a tight 16U Girls final between BAC Blitz (VA) and Westside Breakers 01 Blue (CA-S), a lone penalty kick goal separated the two sides at the final whistle. Neither team could score a goal in the first half, but both teams worked hard at creating viable opportunities to take the lead. Blitz took the lead midway through the second half when it drew a penalty kick. Virginia Delacruz stepped up and finished her opportunity, giving the Virginia side the lead. Westside tried to tie the game late, but saw its long shot attempt sail over the top of the bar. The Blitz offense kept on the pressure late, thwarting any dangerous chances from Breakers. The final whistle blew and the 1-0 advantage earned BAC Blitz the 16U Girls National Presidents Cup title.

17/18U Boys
The 17/18U Boys final match between Inter America Halcones FC (CA-S) and Ocean Township United S.A. Spartans (NJ) proved to be a close, intense battle, similar to their 1-1 draw in group play. The game involved end-to-end action with big keeper saves from Inter America’s Horacio Aguirre and Ocean Township’s Shane McBride. After a full 90 minutes, the match went into overtime and Inter America showed significant determination to earn a goal. After a few consecutive close chances on goal, the Cal South side went up 1-0 when Ramiro Martinez beat the goalkeeper in a 1-v-1 situation. The 110th-minute goal secured the National Presidents Cup crown for Inter America.

17/18U Girls
The 17/18U Girls final between IE Surf 00 Kooiman (CA-S) and Illinois Fusion 00 Premier (IL) was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation and the teams needed kicks from the mark to decide the National Presidents Cup champion. Both Surf and Fusion scored their goals early in the first half with Surf notching the first goal. Surf’s Fiona Woodside found the back of the net in the 4th minute to give her team the lead. Just three minutes later, Lauren Shanks equalized, bringing the score to 1-1. The goal made Shanks the leading goal scorer in the 17/18U Girls age group. Neither team could score during the rest of regulation or during either overtime period, and the game headed to kicks from the mark. Surf’s first two kickers missed, but Surf’s Lauren Bennett made two saves to get her team back in it. It took over the original five rounds to decide the match, and Bennett made yet another clutch save to earn her team the victory.