US Youth Soccer Far West Regional Championships kick off in Honolulu
Preliminary Games, Day 1 of 3
Scores & Standings
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HONOLULU (Via US Youth Soccer) — More than 210 teams, including three former US Youth Soccer National Champions or finalists, kicked off the 2018 US Youth Soccer Far West Regional Championships Monday at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex in Honolulu.
Teams from all over the western United States took the field with the goal of taking the next step toward claiming the coveted US Youth Soccer National Championship in their respective age group.
For 18U Girls Cook Inlet SC 00 (AK), Hawaii is clearly a change coming from Alaska, but the team was able to open up the event with a 1-0 win.
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“So far, we’re off to a great start, beating New Mexico, which is a quality side,” head coach Tim Valesko said. “You could tell towards the end of the game that the heat was a factor. We just don’t get that environment up in Alaska, so it was tough, but the girls toughed it out, and we got a good result.”
After the win, Cook Inlet looks forward to the future games and overall experience.
“We love Hawaii, the complex, the teams and the spirit of competitiveness,” Valesko said. “We’re looking forward to some more quality games. The girls are probably spent, but it’s all about recovery now in the next 24 hours.”
The 2018 US Youth Soccer Far West Regional Championships feature 210 of the top boys and girls teams from the 14 State Associations that make up the US Youth Soccer West Region, with each squad competing for the 2018 regional title. Preliminary games will be held June 18-20, with quarterfinals, semifinals and finals taking place June 22-24.
Round Robin Recaps:
13U Boys
LVSA 05 Red (NV) defeated Total Futbol Academy (CA-S), 2-1 in the 13U Boys age group. The match started off with Total Futbol Academy playing the ball around and LVSA getting some shots on goal every so often, but near the end of the first half, LVSA applied a significant amount of pressure. The Nevada side was rewarded when a corner kick led to a quick scramble, and the ball bounced out for Rafael Lucio Vargas to volley the ball out of the air and into the net. With the goal being the last play of the half, LVSA left the field for the break with the momentum. The team earned a second goal in the 56th minute as Andres Arita placed the ball in the back of the net. Three minutes later, Total Futbol Academy’s Enzo Melendez cut into LVSA’s lead when he scored, but the Cal South team was unable to catch up before the final whistle, and LVSA took the win.
14U Girls
14U Girls Greater Seattle Surf (WA) defeated Eastside 04 Red (OR), 2-1, with all three goals taking place in the span of five minutes. In the 31st minute, Greater Seattle Surf’s Morgan Manalili took a shot from the top of the 18-yard box, and the ball managed to get by the Eastside goalkeeper. Eastside responded quickly as the team ran the ball into the 18-yard box and Ava Peterson poked the ball into the goal. Three minutes later, Kaitlyn Manalili sent a shot on the ground to the bottom right of the net to finish off the first half. The second half did not see any other goals as Greater Seattle Surf worked to gain some breathing room, while Eastside attempted to tie up the game, but it was the Washington side that came out on top.
15U Boys
On the 15U Boys side, Washington Rush 03 (WA) started off the competition with a significant shutout win over AYSC Arsenal 03 (AK). The teams almost went into halftime with the score tied at 0-0, but Alexander Hristov went up for a 50/50 ball in the air and connected with it enough to put the ball in the goal right at the 40th-minute mark. In the second half, Rush dictated the pace and went on a scoring spree. A heel pass from Nathan Lemoi for Anthony Louangrath led to Rush’s second goal just eight minutes into the half, and Lemoi earned a goal of his own in the 62nd minute to put Rush ahead 3-0. Nicholas Ramoso blasted a strike from outside the 18-yard box into the upper net to increase Rush’s lead once more, and Louangrath topped off the game with his second of the match.
16U Girls
In the 16U Girls age group, WA Timbers 02 Red 1 (OR) came out with a victory over NM Sting Samba Elite 02 (NM). WA Timbers turned on the pressure early and went up in the 10th minute as Elizabeth Parker lofted the ball in the air to convert a goal. Parker scored again for WA Timbers in the 25th minute, while Olivia Fothergill’s goal in the 65th minute also increased the gap. Finishing off the game, Fothergill ran onto a through ball, cut the ball a couple times to catch both the defender and goalkeeper off guard and took the open shot for her second goal.
17U Boys
Santa Clara Sporting 01 Green (CA-N) held on for a 2-1 win over WAFC 01 Orange (CO) in the 17U Boys age group. Andrew Garcia put Santa Clara ahead in the third minute of the game when he put the ball in the goal. Santa Clara worked the ball around and went up 2-0 thanks to a goal from Mica Sinko in the 28th minute. In the second half, Santa Clara maintained possession and earned several opportunities as the offense got in behind the WAFC defense, but none of the shots touched the back of the net. In the 75th minute, WAFC pulled one back with a Gabe Marti goal, motivating WAFC to get a hold of the game and become hungry for the equalizer. Despite a few last-minute chances for WAFC, Santa Clara took the win.
18U Girls
18U Girls Cook Inlet SC 00 (AK) claimed a close 1-0 win against AUFC 00 Fusion (NM) for the first day of preliminary play. The first half saw even play, which resulted in a scoreless draw. In the second half, Cook Inlet snuck in the only goal of the game as the ball traveled from its defensive half to AUFC’s end line, and the ball was played across the goal for Corina Froehle to pass into the net. AUFC fought for the equalizer, running the ball down the field and taking consecutive shots. The New Mexico side nearly succeeded in its efforts when McKenna Jones took the ball down the right flank and crossed the ball into the 18-yard box for an AUFC player to put the ball in the goal, but it an offside call prevented AUFC from tying the game. Cook Inlet hung onto the lead for the win after the full 90 minutes.
19U Boys
HSC Bulls Academy 99/00 (HI) and ECFC Salinas Pumas 99 (CA-N) battled to a 2-1 game in ECFC’s favor. In just the second minute of the game, Anthony Rangel ran onto a through ball and drove a shot into the upper net, putting ECFC in the lead. HSC did not appear to be discouraged by the goal and created several plays in ECFC’s defensive end. When HSC earned a free kick at the top of the 18-yard box, Max Moonier stepped up to the spot and placed the shot in the left side of the goal to tie up the match. The game nearly ended in the 1-1 tie until Rangel earned the game winning goal for ECFC in the 86th minute.
Regional winners of the 13U through 19U age groups earn a berth to the 2018 US Youth Soccer National Championships, which will be played July 23-29 at the Toyota Soccer Center in Frisco, Texas.
