First Four champions crowned at US Youth Soccer National Championships

13U and 19U champions crowned
14U through 18U champions to be determined Sunday

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FRISCO, Texas (Via US Youth Soccer) — Four of the 14 champions were crowned Saturday night at the 2018 US Youth Soccer National Championships at the Toyota Soccer Center in Frisco, Texas.

2018 US Youth Soccer National Champions
13U Girls | San Diego Surf 05 Academy Select (CA-S)
13U Boys | CDA Slammers FC HB05 Elite (CA-S)
19U Girls | NSA Shock (IL)
19U Boys | Baltimore Celtic SC Christos (MD)

On Sunday, the 14U through 18U Boys and Girls Championship matches will take place at the Toyota Soccer Center, with games scheduled to kick off from 7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

All National Championship finals can be seen live online at http://championships.usyouthsoccer.org/live/.

Highlights from Saturday’s final matches…

13U Girls: San Diego Surf 05 Academy Select (CA-S) 1-0 KHA 05 Red (KY)
San Diego Surf 05 Academy Select (CA-S) defeated KHA 05 Red (KY) 1-0 to claim the 13U Girls National Championship title in a rematch of the first group play of the event.

Surf dominated the opening half, controlling most of the game but could not create any real scoring chances out of its possession. That finally changed in the 23rd minute as Maiya Soleil Dimry broke down the right side of the field, split two defenders and then hit a hard shot at goal. Dimry’s shot deflected off a KHA defender lunging for the ball and the ball re-directed from close range and flew by the keeper.

With KHA down at half, the team started pushing for an equalizer. Amanda Schlueter almost leveled the teams as she dribbled left to right across the top of the Surf box and then rocketed a low shot toward the back post but the shot flashed just wide. KHA had another great chance a few minutes later but Surf’s Sage Webb made a big save to keep her team ahead.

Surf had a couple of great counter attacking opportunities but the best came when a long through ball put an attacker through on goal. The ball got tapped around the keeper, but the wide angle caused by the onrushing keeper made for a difficult shot and the ball went hit the side of the goal.

As the final whistle blew, Surf had held its 1-0 lead and become the 2018 13U Girls US Youth Soccer National Champions.

“Lots of emotions right now as this is my last game with these girls,” said Surf head coach Craig Barclay. “I’m really proud of them and a little bit speechless to be honest. I’m really proud that they get to feel the physical rewards of all the hard work they’ve put in.”

13U Boys: Soccer Nation Academy (KS) 1-2 CDA Slammers FC (CA-S)
CDA Slammers FC (CA-S) earned the National Championship title with a 2-1 win over Soccer Nation Academy (KS), as the 13U Boys championship match started off with physical play and never slowed down from there. Previously in group play, CDA defeated Soccer Nation, 2-0, on Thursday. Off an early breakaway, CDA was able to get off a shot that missed right to keep the game knotted at zeros. Soccer Nation took the early lead when Frank Fuentes found the back of the net off a free kick. Early in the first half, Soccer Nation earned a corner kick that led to a header which got saved by the keeper to hold the game at 1-0. Just six minutes after Soccer Nation scored, CDA’s Devin LaClair headed in the equalizer off a corner kick. In the 26th minute, LaClair scored his second goal of the game and 13U Boys leading sixth goal of the tournament to give CDA the lead. After 35 minutes of play, CDA had a 2-1 lead.

The physical play continued in the second half as Soccer Nation stayed hungry for a goal. Three minutes in to the second half, Soccer Nation earned a free kick that it was unable to convert to keep the deficit at one. A free kick by Soccer Nation in the 41st minute missed left to keep CDA’s lead. CDA was unable to extend its lead in the 48th and 49th minute when they got two corner kick chances. As Soccer Nation continued to battle to the final whistle, CDA held them off to win 2-1 and claim the 13U Boys National Championship.

“It was the game plan that worked and I have the players,” said CDA head coach Carlos Godinez. “At the end of the day, the best team won, not the best coach.”

19U Girls: NSA Shock (IL) 2-0 Utah FC 99 Black (UT)
NSA Shock (IL) took a 2-0 victory over Utah FC 99 Black (UT) to claim the 19U Girls National Championship. With the two teams playing to a 1-1 draw on Thursday in group play, there had to be a clear winner on Saturday night. The Illinois side went up 1-0 in the 23rd minute as Erin Flynn took a corner kick, and although the ball was headed out, Flynn picked up the rebound and launched the ball at the goal for a far post finish. In the 37th minute, NSA earned some breathing room when an initial shot was blocked by the Utah FC goalkeeper, but in a crowded 18-yard box, Abby Swanson sent the ball into the goal. Utah FC came out of halftime with the determination to get back into the game, keeping the ball in NSA’s defensive end for the majority of the half. Utah FC nearly cut into NSA’s lead when the ball was laid off for an open shot at the goal, but NSA goalkeeper Isabella Alessio came off her line to block the ball and gain control of it. Alessio came up big in a few other instances, ultimately playing a huge role in NSA’s shutout victory.

“The last 20 minutes, we were just trying to hold together,” Alessio said. “The center backs and I were trying to hold everything together. Everything was just going so fast. We just needed to slow it down.”

NSA ended up holding Utah FC off, and with the two goals, the Illinois side walked away with the National Championship.

“Right now, I’m overwhelmed. I don’t even know how to put it into words,” Alessio said. “Everything goes to my teammates because without them, I’m back there struggling. They’re keeping me up. They’re keeping me going.”

19U Boys: Baltimore Celtic SC Christos (MD) 2-1 FC Golden State White (CA-S)
With a 2-1 comeback victory, Baltimore Celtic SC Christos (MD) defeated FC Golden State White (CA-S) to claim the 19U Boys James P. McGuire Cup title. Celtic had its share of possession in the attacking half in the early minutes, but Golden State went in front by converting its first real chance. A 21st-minute cross into the box fell to Jhonny Felipe Barbosa Pereira, and he slid a shot through traffic and into the left corner to put the Cal South side in front. Celtic replied in the 31st minute when a long free kick was played into the box before being deflected to Brett St. Martin, who nodded a header into the back of the net to level the score. Shortly after, Golden State received a red card and went down to 10 men but generated plenty of opportunities in the second half. However, Celtic grabbed the lead following another long free kick in the 72nd minute. After the ball was played into the Golden State penalty area, Matthew Bailey flicked a shot into the left corner of the net for what proved to be the game-winner.

“It’s a team that has accomplished a lot, but also felt like they had some unfinished business coming into this season,” Baltimore Celtic head coach Brandon Quaranta said. “We lost in the final four in the last two years. The guys wanted to return and give it another run because they wanted to go out on top. We did a lot of work this year, and it’s a great group of kids that have accomplished a ton over their entire span of their club careers. They deserve to finish it this way.”

2018 US Youth Soccer National Championships | Saturday Finals

2018 US Youth Soccer National Championships
Finals Schedule | Sunday, July 29

*Central Time