US Youth Soccer National Championships Day 3 Recap

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FRISCO, Texas (Via US Youth Soccer)— The 2018 US Youth Soccer National Championships continued Thursdaywith the third and final day of group play at the Toyota Soccer Center in Frisco, Texas. The 13U and 19U final matchups are now set, while the final four teams in each of the 14U through 18U gender age groups have been determined.

Following a rest day on Friday, the 14U through 18U teams will compete in semifinal games on Saturday morning, and the first champions will be crowned Saturday night when 13U and 19U sides take the field for their Championship finals.

2018 US Youth Soccer National Championships

Saturday Finals Schedule

All of the teams competing in Frisco earned their place in the National Championships via success in the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series or the US Youth Soccer National League.

Live broadcasts of more than 80 games, daily highlight videos, photos, reports and complete results from the tournament are available on http://championships.usyouthsoccer.org/.

A few highlights from Thursday’s matches…

13U Girls
KHA 05 Red (KY) advanced to the 13U Girls National Championship game after defeating Pipeline SC Pre-Academy (MD). Pipeline took the lead in the 18th minute with a goal from midfielder Politimy Roros. After 35 minutes of play, Pipeline had the 1-0 lead. In the 54th minute, Olivia Tritsch scored the equalizer for KHA. Just four minutes later Amanda Schlueter scored to give KHA the one goal lead. KHA held on for the 2-1 victory and will face San Diego Surf 05 Academy Select (CA-S) in the championship game.

14U Girls
Michigan Jaguars 04 Green (MI) solidified its 14U Girls semifinal spot by defeating FC Dallas Blue (TX-N), 1-0. After a scoreless first half, Ella Janz gained the game winner in the 53rd minute. Michigan Jaguars finished the preliminary round with three 1-0 victories. Despite falling to Michigan Jaguars, FC Dallas still qualifies for the semifinals with a 2-1-0 record.

15U Girls
With a 1-0 win over IFC 03 GPS (OR), LVPSA 03 Red (NV) is still in the hunt to defend its National Championship title as it made it out of the group and will play in the 15U semifinal on Saturday. An even first half with no significant chances for either sides led to scoreless tie at halftime. However, in the 56th minute, Jacqueline Hillegass scored her second of the week to give LVPSA the advantage. LVPSA finished group play with a 2-0-1 record, scoring seven goals and allowing two.

16U Girls
After a 0-0 tie, 16U Girls SJEB Rush 02 Academy Blue (NJ) and Fullerton Rangers 02 White (CA-S) both earned the point necessary to clinch a spot in Saturday’s semifinals. With three teams in Group B tied at three points coming into the game, both games had huge implications on who would advance through to the knock out rounds. After two scoreless halves, each team earned a point with the 0-0 draw. In the other game, North United Rush (PA-W) needed just a tie to advance through to the semifinals with the result of the Fullerton game, but fell 2-1 to USA 02 Premier (UT) allowing Fullerton to sneak through.

17U Girls
TFA Elite 01 (OH-S) used two late goals to fight back against Pacesetter Villa Red (OH-N) for a 2-1 win that put it through to the 17U Girls semifinals. After a scoreless first half, Madison Misna netted a 60th-minute goal to put Pacesetter in front and left the Ohio South side needing at least two goals to advance. With the final whistle nearing, Madelyn Pittman pulled TFA level with an 85th minute strike — providing some late hope for her team. The momentum of that goal carried into the final moments, as Julia Hoffmann scored a crucial game-winner in the 89th minute to give TFA the win it needed to finish in second place in Group A.

18U Girls
Princeton SA (NJ) and Legends FC South (CA-S) squared off in an 18U Girls matchup on the final day of preliminary games. Francesca McDonough scored in the 18th minute to give Princeton the lead, and the New Jersey side took that lead in to halftime. Just 10 minutes in to the second half Miale Jones scored the equalizer for Legends. In the 71st minute Joey Kerestes scored to give Legends the lead, but Faith Preziosi netted the equalizer for Princeton just a minute later. With 10 minutes left in the game, Princeton scored the game-winner off of a corner kick. The initial ball was deflected to Maddison Perna, who headed a looping shot that flew just over the keeper’s outstretched hands and into the back of the net. The comeback win allowed Princeton to move past Legends and into second place in Group A — giving it berth to the semifinals.

19U Girls
Needing at least a tie to earn a berth to the 19U Girls final, Utah FC 99 Black (UT) earned a late penalty kick to tie 1-1 against NSA Shock (IL). It didn’t look good in the first half for Utah FC as NSA went ahead in the 20th minute. After a poor clearance, NSA’s Shaina Dudas received a quick pass from Erin Flynn. Dudas got her defender 1v1, beat her to the left and then hit a bending shot to the far left post. With the score in the other 19U girls game getting lopsided, Utah FC knew they had to fight back in order to advance to the final. In the 76th minute, Utah FC’s Samantha Brady drew a penalty kick as ran after a long ball over the top. Utah’s Tess Donaldson stepped up and finished her penalty kick inside the left post for the goal that would earn Utah a spot in the 19U Girls National Championships final. NSA and Utah will have their rematch on Saturday, July 28 at 7 PM CT with the 19U Girls Crown on the line.

13U Boys
With a 2-0 win over Soccer Nation Academy (KS), CDA Slammers FC HB05 Elite (CA-S) claimed a spot in the 13U Boys championship match. CDA Slammers’ Sonny Mosdri found the back of the net in the seventh minute of the match, and Devin LaClair doubled the lead in the 47th minute, scoring his fourth of the week. The group play match was also a preview of the National Championship final as Soccer Nation already qualified with two wins – Soccer Nation being the only 13U Boys team to obtain two victories. CDA Slammers finished group play with a 1-0-2 record.

14U Boys
ECFC Salinas United 04 (CA-N) earned a spot in the 14U Boys semifinal with a 1-0 win against VHSC Steamers 04 Black (AL). Although the first half did not produce any goals, Anthony Arevalo scored in the first three minutes of the second half to put ECFC on top. A tight Group B in the age group meant that anyone could have taken the two spots in the knockout round, but ECFC made it with a 1-1-1 record.

15U Boys
Beadling Elite 2003 (PA-W) and LVSA 03 Silver (NV) played to a 1-1 draw on the final day of group play, sending both team through to the 15U Boys semifinals. With LVSA having already clinched a spot after two days of play, Beadling needed a result and some help in the other game to go through. It didn’t look good for the PA West side as LVSA opened up the scoring early in just the 5th minute of play. Beadling put itself back on level terms heading into halftime as Jaxon Ervin scored his first goal of the tournament to bring the teams to 1-1. After a scoreless second half, Beadling looked to the score of the other game in the group. 03 PTFC Black had defeated Beadling in the previous day and needed to tie or beat Beadling’s result to ensure a spot in the semifinals. FC United 2003 Pre-Academy (IL) defeated PTFC, 5-1, to set up a rematch of the last year’s 14U Boys National Championship final, as Beadling will face USA/MP 03 Premier (SC) in Saturday’s semifinal.

16U Boys
02 NCFC Elite Boys (NC) capped off 16U Boys group play with a 2-1 victory over Arlington SA 2002 Red (VA). Just eight minutes in to the game midfielder John Alexander scored to give the early lead to NCFC. Late in the first half, Arlington had a chance to tie the game on a free kick but the kick sailed just above the net. NCFC took the 1-0 lead to halftime. Nine minutes in to the second half midfielder Kyle Burbage headed in the equalizer for Arlington off of a cross. Devin Faison scored just seven minutes later to give the lead back to NCFC. Late in the game NCFC had a chance to extend the lead to two, but the shot hit off the far post and out of the goal. NCFC held on to the lead for the 2-1 victory and a 3-0 record in group play as they advance to the 16U Boys semifinals.

17U Boys
PPA KSA 01 Pro-Profile (GA) came back to defeat SLSG Elite 01 (MO), 2-1 and seal its spot in the 17U Boys semifinals. SLSG kicked off the scoring in the 14th minute when Trent Dolson found the back of the net after the goalkeeper spilled the ball. Just six minutes later, KSA leveled the score as Jide Awujo added his first goal of the tournament. The ball fell to Awujo who spun and hit a looping left footed shot to the backpost for the equalizer. The game looked like it would finish tied 1-1, but Deedson Vixamar stole a back pass to the keeper and knocked his fourth goal of the event into an open net in the 90th minute to snatch victory for KSA.

18U Boys
West Coast FC Armour 2000 (CA-S) heads to the 18U Boys semifinal after a 3-2 win over Davie United Sharks 2000 Blue (FL). The Cal South side took a 2-0 lead within the first nine minutes. In one of the first plays of the match, West Coast gained the lead as the ball was cut across the goal for Angel Morales-Montalvo to tap in. Soon after, Max Roetcisoender dribbled the ball down and laid the ball off for Carson Kendall to find the open net after he came off his line. Whereas West Coast scored two in the first nine minutes, Davie United equalized the score in the last five minutes of the first half. Davie United cut one back as Carlos Castro blocked a defender and the ball went flying towards the goal to bounce off the side post. Castro followed the ball up immediately to drive the ball into the net. Just before the half, a free kick from midfield was launched into the box where Ian Tomancik flicked the ball with his head into the net. In the 72nd minute, West Coast stole the lead as a couple wall passes led to Kyle Carey taking a left-footed shot on target.

19U Boys
Thursday’s matchup was a preview of the James P. McGuire Cup final with Baltimore Celtic SC Christos (MD) and FC Golden State White (CA-S) battling to a 1-1 draw. The intense game was scoreless at halftime despite chances for both teams. In the 60th minute, FC Golden State went up 1-0 when Flavio Lucas Correia De Moraes ran onto a through ball down the right side and kept the ball on the right side of the goal, slipping it past the keeper. Nine minutes later Baltimore Celtic earned the opportunity to level the game when a corner kick led to a foul in the box. Brady O’Connor stepped up to the penalty kick mark and placed the ball in the net. Baltimore Celtic finished the preliminary round as the group winner with a 2-0-1 record, while FC Golden State finished with a 1-0-2 record.