Referees selected for 2019 US Youth Soccer National Championships

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FRISCO, Texas (July 17, 2019) — US Youth Soccer has announced the 104 referees who, based on their performance at the state and regional level, will be officiating the games at the 2019 US Youth Soccer National Championships, July 23-28 in Overland Park, Kan.

The selection process for referees for the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series is based on performance throughout the Series. Just as the teams advance from the state to regional to national level, so do the referees.

The United States Soccer Federation is sending referee assessors to Frisco, in addition to several US Youth Soccer assessors. The referees are an integral part of the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, and they play a key role in its success and advancement to the next level. Being invited to the national level is a great honor for these referees who are dedicated to promoting fair play and furthering their development.

This year, 17 top referees will be returning to work at their second consecutive US Youth Soccer National Championships based on their performance at last year’s tournament.

Referees participating in the 55 US Youth Soccer State Association State Cup events are considered for advancement to participate in one of the four US Youth Soccer Regional Championship events. The top referees from each regional event are then considered for advancement to the National Championships. Once selected to the National Championships, the top referees are identified and invited to return to the event the following year.

East Region Referees

First Name	Last Name	State Association	Grade
Lucia	Allen	MD	6
Jose Martin	Arana	NY-E	6
Zachary	Baker	VT	7
Brian	Becker	NJ	6
Victor	Borges**	CT	5
Adam	Brzozowiec	NY-W	6
Balvir	Cabrera Garcia	MD	6
Cedric	Cook	NJ	7
Joshua	Encarnacion**	PA-E	6
William	Ferris	CT	6
Stephen	Foster**	MD	6
Joe	Franks**	PA-E	6
Julie	Granger	NY-E	7
Andrew	Grenier	RI	6
Scarlet	Keane	MD	6
Otto	Leon	VA	6
Sean	Lyons	NY-E	7
Pedro	Manata	NJ	7
Joel	Marshall	NJ	8
Hayley	Morway	CT	6
Meghan	Mullen**	VA	6
Ryan	Nee	MD	6
Ariel	Raban	MD	6
Charles	Raney	VA	5
Adam	Rice	CT	5
Alla	Stepanov	MD	6

Midwest Region Referees

First Name	Last Name	State Association	Grade
Joshua	Abts**	MI	6
Kyle	Armstrong	MO	6
Gracie	Baker	OH-N	7
Corey	Beecher	WI	6
Nabil	Bensalah**	IN	6
Josh	Braunstein	OH-S	7
Eric	Burton	IN	6
Samantha	Cary	MO	7
Jordan	Castillejo	IL	6
Emily	DeVaux	IL	8
Youssef	Elmessoussi**	IN	6
Noah	Hartman	OH-N	6
Ryan	Homik	MI	7
Joseph	Knoff	MI	7
Michael	Koziara	MI	6
Shane	Labenz	NE	6
Sarah	Most	MN	7
Esad	Omanovic	IA	6
Vincent	Ragone**	OH-N	6
Zachary	Richter	IL	6
Laszlo	Sandler	IL	6
Chris	Schurfranz	KY	6
Brad	Snow**	OH-N	6
Daniel	Tibbitts	OH-N	7
Jacob	Urban	NE	7
Cristian	Vorovenci	MI	6

South Region Referees

First Name	Last Name	State Association	Grade
Seth	Barton**	OK	6
Joshua	Belk	GA	6
Alexandra	Billeter	FL	6
Alejo	Calume**	FL	5
Jessus	Cancino	TX-S	7
Juan Pablo	Casas**	FL	6
Fevzi	Demirhan	TX-N	5
Amanda	DiBiasio	TX-S	6
Chana	Forstall	AR	7
Brandon	Gardner	TX-N	5
Emily	Gomez	MS	6
Jalen	Gray	LA	6
Sydney	Halliday	TN	6
Hector	Hernandez	TX-S	6
Lorenzo	Hernandez	TX-N	5
Lauryn	Hill	TN	7
Kyle	Johnston**	GA	5
Domenick	Marotta	GA	6
John	Matto	NC	6
Benjamin	Meyer	TN	5
Michael	Mysiewicz**	TN	6
Ricardo	Ocampo	TX-S	6
Carlos	Pielago**	TN	6
Killian	Richardson	TX-S	6
Melvin	Rivas	TX-S	6
Gabriel	Rivera	NC	6

West Region Referees

First Name	Last Name	State Association	Grade
James	Abi-Abdallah	CA-S	6
Sergio	Armendariz	NM	7
Elorm	Atisu	WA	6
Oscar	Benavidez	OR	7
Jordann	Brown	MT	7
Karen	Callado**	CA-S	5
Jordan	Downs	UT	6
Ricardo	Fierro	CA-S	5
Hector	Gutiérrez	NM	7
Jason	Hampton	CO	6
Robert	Kosinski	UT	7
Liam	Leonard	WA	5
Alan	Martinez	AZ	6
Kassidy	Mashiyama	HI	8
Mariano	Mendez	UT	7
James	Mikko	MT	7
Joshua	Moorhead	AZ	6
Bryant	Perez	AZ	6
Jordan	Price	WA	7
Jose B	Rosales Chavez	AZ	6
Samantha	Rosenkranz	WA	7
Charles	Rupert	CO	6
Andres	Tercero	OR	7
Marcelo	Soto	CO	6
Jason	Ulrich	AZ	6
Jordan	Vlad	AZ	6

** Top returning referee from 2018 National Championships

Each summer, the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series crowns the boys and girls National Champion in seven age groups (13U through 19U). The finals are a culmination of a year-long series of competitions at the state and regional levels which provides approximately 185,000 players on over 10,000 teams from 55 US Youth Soccer State Associations the opportunity to showcase their soccer skills against the best competition in the nation.

Annually, the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series provides the nation’s top collegiate and professional coaches with the premier stage to identify and scout the most coveted players in the country.

One of the 14 national crowns awarded is the 19-and-Under James P. McGuire Cup, the oldest trophy in youth sports, dating back to 1935 with the inaugural youth championships, and played annually except during World War II. Officially known as the United States Soccer Federation National Junior Challenge Cup, the competition was renamed the James P. McGuire Junior Champion Cup in 1975, after the late United States Soccer Federation President.

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