Champions named at the 2013 Region I Championships

Kingston, R.I. – Champions were named on Tuesday at the 2013 US Youth Soccer Region I Championships at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I.

Winners in the Under-13 through Under-19 age divisions advance to the US Youth Soccer National Championships played July 23-28, at Overland Park Soccer Complex in Overland Park, Kan.

Of the ten returning champions, only two, Under-19 Girls FC Pennsylvania Strikers (E-PA) and Under-14 Girls YMS Xplosion 98 (E-PA) accomplished back-to-back regional championships with FC Pennsylvania Strikers getting their third consecutive.

2013 US Youth Soccer Region I Champions

Under-12 8v8 Girls: Delaware Rush Nike 00 (DE)
Under-12 Girls: PDA Splash (NJ)
Under-13 Girls: NEFC Elite (MA)
Under-14 Girls: YMS Xplosion 98 (E-PA)
Under-15 Girls: Empire Revolution Syracuse Blue 97/98 (NY-W)
Under-16 Girls: Toms Rivers FC Elite United 96/97 (NJ)
Under-17 Girls: Beadling SC Thunder (PA-W)
Under-18 Girls: Connecticut FC (CT)
Under-19 Girls: FC Pennsylvania Strikers (E-PA)

Under-12 8v8 Boys: NHPSA Classics Elite (NH)
Under-12 Boys: PDA Donovan (NJ)
Under-13 Boys: FSA FC Navy (CT)
Under-14 Boys: Penn Fusion SA 98 (E-PA)
Under-15 Boys: Lehigh Valley United (E-PA)
Under-16 Boys: Smithtown Kickers SC Arsenal (E-NY)
Under-17 Boys: OBGC Rangers (MD)
Under-18 Boys: PDA Harkes (NJ)
Under-19 Boys: Lehigh Valley United 93 (E-PA)

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.

Highlights from Tuesday’s games…

U-12 Girls 8v8

DE Rush Nike 00 accomplished something today that no former Delaware girls team had done before. With their win over Alley Cats Ocicats of Eastern New York they become the first girls team from Delaware to win a Regional Championship. A second half goal from Sheyenne Allen gave Rush a 1-0 lead. Following the goal, some stellar defense by Rush and goaltending by Sydney Keld helped seal the shutout and the win.

U-12 Girls

PDA Splash (NJ) faced CFC Arsenal (CT) in the Under-12 girls final. Tough defending from both teams kept the game close. Juliana Radaniello broke through for PDA in the first half to make it 1-0. Splash kept the pressure on and sealed the win with two second half goals from Ava Dziadzio. Splash defended hard until the end to keep the shutout and get a 3-0 victory.

U-13 Girls

FC Stars of Mass 99/00 (MA) took the lead over their opponents NEFC Elite (MA) in just the 11th minute off a goal from Samantha Neyman. However, NEFC would score three unanswered goals from MaryKate McGuire, Taylor Kofton and Jenna Tivnan to take a 3-1 lead. FC Stars tried to rally with a goal in the 64th minute from Alexandra Keohan but couldn’t find a tying goal, giving NEFC the 3-2 victory.

U-14 Girls

The Under-14 girls final match was a tight game between PWSI Courage 98 Red of Virginia and YMS Xplosion 98 of Eastern Pennsylvania. Stellar defensive play by both sides kept the game scoreless at the end of regulation. With no goals found in overtime the game would head to penalty kicks to decide who would advance to the 2013 US Youth Soccer National Championships. YMS outshot PWSI 3-1 to defend their regional title and send them to the National Championships.

U-15 Girls

It was a back and forth battle between PWSI Courage 97 Red (VA) and Empire Revolution Syracuse Blue 97/98 (NY-W). Kimberly Dieroff got Empire off to a great start with a goal in the 12th minute of play. PWSI would answer when Ayan Adu found the back of the net in the 66th minute. Great defense made it look like the game might end up in overtime but Empire’s Taylor Lynne Bennett found a winning goal in the 75th minute to give Empire a 2-1 win.

U-16 Girls

Toms River FC Elite United 96/97 of New Jersey looked poised to stroll to another win but came up against a resilient PSC Baltimore (MD) team. Toms River players Carly Wilhelm and Amanda Carolan scored almost immediately after each other to take a 2-0 lead going into half. Toms River came out of the game fast in the second half with Carolan finding the net yet again to give the New Jersey side a 3-0 advantage. PSC Baltimore showed some heart and fought back to get within reach of tying. Goals from Marley Christian and Jennifer Nonn would pull PSC within one but they just couldn’t find the tying goal and Toms River will advance to the US Youth Soccer National Championships with their 3-2 victory.

U-17 Girls

Beadling SC Thunder (PA-W) defeated Aztec Soccer Premier (MA) to win the Under-17 girls Region I Championship title. Beadling player Malea Fabean scored the only goal of the first half in the 15th minute. Fabean would score again in the 50th minute to give Beadling a 2-0 advantage. Maggie Scott would score the third Beadling goal to put the game out of reach for Aztec Soccer Premier (MA). Aztec’s Caitlin Harty scored in the 65th minute but the Aztec’s could rally any more goals and the game would finish 3-1.

U-18 Girls

Connecticut FC (CT) and Scorpions (MA) had both gone through group play undefeated. Meeting in the championship match, a very equal game was on display. Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first half leaving the first half scoreless. CFC’s Salma Anastasio scored in the 75th minute of play to notch the first goal Scorpions had allowed all tournament and the defense of CFC would hold fast until the final whistle, giving them the 1-0 victory.

U-19 Girls

FC Pennsylvania Strikers (E-PA) defeated Buffalo Soccer Academy Invaders (NY-W) in the Under-19 Girls final to win their third consecutive Region I Championship. The lone goal of the game came in the 45th minute as Cristina Estremera found the back of the net. The win sends Strikers back to the US Youth Soccer National Championships where they’ll have a chance to defend last year’s title.

U-12 Boys 8v8

NHPSA Classics Elite defeated LVU United 00 (E-PA) 5-2 to become the Under-12 8v8 boys champions and first New Hampshire team in over 20 years to win a Region I title. Connor Aitken and Nick Blacklock managed to get two goals for LVU but it wasn’t enough as NHPSA tallied 5 goals from three different goal scorers. Ryan Combe scored in just the 4th minute and his teammate Maxwell Elsasser added one in the 19th minute. Mark Keiffer would start the scoring in the second half and Combe would finish his hat-trick with two late goals to give NHPSA a 5-2 win.

U-12 Boys

PDA Donovan (NJ) got three goals and shut out their opponents to become the Under-12 champions. First half goals from Andreas Nanavati, Chris Noriega and Daniel Rodreguez proved to be too much for their New Jersey counterparts, TSF Academy, to overcome. Tough defending kept the shutout and sealed PDA the 3-0 win.

U-13 Boys

FSA FC Navy of Connecticut came up against a Patriot FC Red (E-PA) side that had only let in one goal all tournament. FSA played a great team game and found goals from four different goal scores while keeping the shut out over their opponents. Chavez Mbkei opened the scoring in just the 4th minute and teammate Keith Dixon would add another right before the half. Maxwell Drazen opened the second half scoring in the 25th minute and Zachary Lopes tallied two more to bring the final score to 5-0. FSA becomes the first Under-13 team from Region I to advance to the National Championships.

U-14 Boys

Penn Fusion SA 98 of Eastern Pennsylvania never took their foot off the gas in their game against Loudoun SC 98 Red. Loudoun, who had previously defeated last year’s champions Bethesda SC Blue in group play, couldn’t find an answer for the Penn Fusion attack. Dontrim Namani would score two goals for Penn Fusion with teammates Leon Maric, Evan Anderson and Jamison Dove all adding goals. Penn Fusion advances to Overland Park with a final score of 5-0.

U-15 Boys

Lehigh Valley United (E-PA) faced off against Arlington SA Impact Red of Virginia in today’s Under-15 boys final. Defense was the story of the first half as each team seemed to be trying to figure out their competition. Arlington’s Patrick Jean-Gilles would open the scoring in the 46th minute of play to give the Virginia team a 1-0 lead. Lehigh Valley would strike back three times late, with two goals from Evan Vare in the 68th and 80th minute and a Travis Keil goal in-between, to come back and win the Under-15 boys final.

U-16 Boys

In a game with good chances from two great Under-16 boys teams only one goal would come. Smithtown Kickers SC Arsenal (E-NY) player Beau Hornberger would score the eventual game winner in the 17th minute of play. Each team had opportunities to score in both halves but neither Smithtown nor their opponents, Arlington SA Strikers Red of Virginia, could score another goal. Smithtown wins their second Region I championship to advance to their second US Youth Soccer National Championships in three years.

U-17 Boys

PDA McGeough of New Jersey and OBGC Rangers of Maryland faced off in the Under-17 boys final. Jorge Quintanilla started the scoring in the 22nd minute. Teammate Samuel Schmidt would add Rangers’ second goal of the match just 3 minutes later to make the score 2-0. PDA rallied back starting with a Mike Moshier goal in the 30th minute. Scott Sclar added PDA’s second goal to level the score. Sclar cut across the top of the box and bent a beautiful shot into the upper right corner to tie the game. Samuel Schmidt would add his second goal in the game during the second half to give Rangers the win and the victory. With Rangers already qualifying for the US Youth Soccer National Championships via the National League, PDA will advance as Region I Representatives.

U-18 Boys

New Jersey side, PDA Harkes, had come just short of the National Championships the past two years, losing in either the final or the semifinal match. This year PDA went all the way cruising to a 3-0 victory over Lake Grove SC United (E-NY), who had not allowed a goal all tournament. Colin Stripling would get two goals early on as PDA looked dominant. David Nigro would add another insurance goal in the first half. Tight defense by both sides held the final score at 3-0.

U-19 Boys

Great play and drama was found throughout the entire Region I Championships but none quite like the Under-19 boys final game between Lehigh Valley United 93 E-PA) and SAC United Premier (MD). SAC’s Heston Priestly found the back of the net in just the 14th minute giving the Maryland side an early advantage. Back and forth play and phenomenal defensive efforts from both sides kept the game at 1-0 until the 80th minute. Lehigh Valley’s Darius Madison scored to keep his team’s hopes alive of advancing. The game went into overtime where both teams battled to two scoreless halves so penalty kicks would have to decide the winner. Lehigh Valley’s goalkeeper made two saves on SAC shooters but the referee ordered them both to be retaken. After getting upset, the Lehigh keeper was shown a second yellow for dissent and was sent off. With the Lehigh’s goalkeeper being removed from the game, center back Joseph Farrell stepped into goalkeeping duties for his team. Farrell would make two saves while his teammates made enough shots to give Lehigh Valley the win with a 4-2 advantage in penalties. Lehigh Valley United now advances to the US Youth Soccer National Championships where they’ll have a chance to play for the oldest trophy in youth sports, the McGuire Cup.

Tuesday’s scores…