Youth National Championships Get Underway.
Eight teams with national titles to their credit finished the first round of
group play 3-2-3, including a pair of match-ups between past champions in the Under-19 boys and girls divisions.
The 48 boys and girls teams in age groups Under-14 through Under-19 began round-robin play, which runs through Friday. The top two teams in each age group as determined by points advance to the national championship finals Sunday. Teams earn three points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss.
Both match-ups of past winners were reprises of national finals. The San Diego Surf took a measure of revenge for its loss to the Michigan Hawks in last year’s Under-18 girls final by clipping the Midwest Regional champions, 4-1.
Last year’s Under-17 girls champion, the Bethesda (Md.) Fury, looked strong with a 4-0 win over Busch SC (St. Louis) in Under-18 play. After a scoreless first half, the four-time Region I champions pulled away as Ali Wean scored goals in the 55th, 56th and 60th minutes and Noelle Keselica added another three minutes later.
Three other players scored three goals each to tie Wean for the tournament scoring lead. Caroline Smith recorded a hat trick for
the Tsunami Sota (Minneapolis) in their 4-3 win over last year’s Under-16 girls champion, GSA ’85 Phoenix Red (Lilburn, Ga.). Brian Usinger scored all of his goals in the first half to boost the Rochester (N.Y.) Jr. Rhinos Elite past the Aiken (S.C.) Fire, 6-2, in Under-15 boys action. Tracy Lansing knocked home her goals in the second half for the West Valley Samba (Northridge, Calif.) Under-16 girls in their 4-0 win over Busch SC.
Atlanta FC coach Brian Moore had a successful day, leading the Under-14 Lightning ’88 White to a 3-0 win over Team Chicago followed with a 1-0 win for the Under-18 Lightning ’84 White over the Colorado Girls Soccer Academy (Littleton).
A repeat of the 2000 Under-17 boys title match between the champion Stony Brook (N.Y.) Panthers and Chicago Magic resulted in a 1-1 tie. The Magic won the Under-16 title in 1999.
The third champion in the Under-19 boys group, the Texans 82/83 (Houston), quieted Blast SC (San Bernardino, Calif.), 2-0, for a positive start to their quest for back-to-back titles.
In Under-16 boys action, the 2001 Under-15 national champion FC Delco Dynamo II (Downingtown, Pa.) and Michigan Wolves (Midland) also tied, 1-1. Peter Sokolski scored in the final minute to draw FC Delco even, seven minutes after Jacob Peterson had put Michigan ahead.
The two girls teams representing HBC (Huntington, N.Y.) opened their second consecutive visits to the national championships with shutout wins. The Under-19 HBC Magic dumped Challenge 82/83 (Spring, Texas), 1-0, and the Under-17 HBC Fury stopped the Pleasanton (Calif.) Rage, 2-0.
Other highlights included:
Under-18 boys – FC Delco Arsenal (Downingtown, Pa.) closed down the Classic FC Bandidos (Albuquerque, N.M.), who are making their second consecutive appearance, 2-0.
Under-17 boys – The Irvine (Calif.) Strikers started their second trip to
the national championships with a 3-2 win over another returning team from 2001, Dallas Texans ’85 Red. Irvine bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to reverse last year’s 3-0 round-robin loss to the Texans.
Under-16 boys – The Atlanta Fire, also making a second straight appearance, erased a 2-0 deficit in the second half to earn a 2-2 draw with the Sereno ’86 Golden Eagles (Phoenix).
Under-15 boys – Mike Bradley, son of MLS Chicago Fire coach Bob Bradley, scored twice for Sockers FC Chicago in its 3-1 win over the Palos Verdes (Calif.) Raiders in the Under-15 boys division.
Under-15 girls – Chantilly (Va.) Milan, the Under-14 runner-up last year, battled the Windy City Pride (Chicago) to the day’s only scoreless draw. The Laguna Hills (Calif.) Eclipse smothered Sting ’87 (Dallas), 4-0, behind Amy Rodriguez’s two goals. Rodriguez also had two goals in the Far West Regional final.
Under-14s – All four matches ended in shutouts. In addition to the Atlanta FC Lightning ’88 White’s win, the Slammers FC (Newport Beach, Calif.) picked up a victory on the girls side, while the La Jolla (Calif.) Nomads White and Maryland SC 88 Bays (Baltimore) each earned three points in the boys group.
2002 SNICKERS® US Youth Soccer National Championships
SNICKERS® Cup
Round-Robin Results – Day 1
Wednesday, July 24
Under-17 Girls
HBC Fury (Huntington, N.Y.) 2, Pleasanton (Calif.) Rage 0
Goal Scorers: (HBC) Shannon Donovan (32), Pam Schneck (83).
Tsunami Sota (Minneapolis) 4, GSA 85 Phoenix Red (Lilburn, Ga.) 3
Goal Scorers: (T) Caroline Smith (14, 22, 80), Katherine Krambeer (52); (GSA) Meredith Kohn (33), Michelle Hoddeson (37), Elizabeth Guess (75).
Under-15 Girls
Laguna Hills (Calif.) Eclipse 4, Sting 87 (Dallas) 0
Goal Scorers: Kasey Moore (16), Amy Rodriguez (27, 78), Kiara Bosio (30).
Windy City Pride (Chicago) 0, Chantilly (Va.) Milan 0
Goal Scorers: None.
Under-14 Boys
La Jolla (Calif.) Nomads White 2, Chicago Magic SC 0
Goal Scorers: Laurence Sisk (13), Eric Avila (70+).
Maryland SC 88 Bays (Baltimore) 3, IAYMCA Eagles (Alpharetta, Ga.) 0
Goal Scorers: Jonathan Ports (20, 27), Matt Beckman (43).
Under-16 Boys
Michigan Wolves (Midland) 1, FC Delco Dynamo II (Downingtown, Pa.) 1
Goal Scorers: (M) Jacob Peterson (73); (D) Peter Sokolski (80)
Atlanta (Ga.) Fire 2, Sereno 86 Golden Eagles (Phoenix) 2
Goal Scorers: (A) Cline Beam (63), Ryan Roushandel (72); (S) Bubba Bradley (31), Mike Gavin (35).
Under-15 Boys
Rochester (N.Y.) Jr. Rhinos Elite 6, Aiken (S.C.) Fire 2
Goal Scorers: (R) Brian Usinger (13, 34, 40+), Aaron Acello (44), Jamey Loucks (48), Keith Manscuk (57); (A) Sani Hadziahmetovic (62), Wallace Winkler (79).
Sockers FC Chicago 3, Palos Verdes (Calif.) Raiders 1
Goal Scorers: (S) Mike Bradley (11, 50), Nick Fiore (64); (PV) Nick Rippeto (19).
Under-14 Girls
Atlanta FC Lightning 88 White 3, Team Chicago 0
Goal Scorers: Kelley O’Hara (12), Kathleen Jacobsen (30), Adrienne Garofalo (66).
Slammers FC (Newport Beach, Calif.) 1, Bethesda (Md.) Eclipse 0
Goal Scorer: Alexa Orand (19).
Under-19 Boys
Stony Brook (N.Y.) Panthers 1, Chicago Magic SC 1
Goal Scorers: (SB) Alex Gavilla (51); (C) Jeff Klitzke (54).
Texans 82/83 (Houston) 2, Blast SC (San Bernardino, Calif.) 0
Goal Scorers: Joey Gaworecki (18), Jason Cunliffe (80).
Under-18 Girls
Bethesda (Md.) Fury 4, Busch SC (St. Louis) 0
Goal Scorers: Ali Wean (55, 56, 60), Noelle Keselica (63).
Atlanta FC Lightning 84 White 1, Colorado Girls Soccer Academy (Littleton) 0
Goal Scorer: Melanie Schneider (54).
Under-16 Girls
Challenge 85/86 (Spring, Texas) 1, VISTA Firestars (Springfield, Va.) 0
Goal Scorer: Caitlin Robbins (12).
West Valley Samba (Northridge, Calif.) 4, Busch SC (St. Louis) 0
Goal Scorers: Gina Farias-Eisner (42), Tracy Lansing (55, 75, 79).
Under-19 Girls
HBC Magic (Huntington, N.Y.) 1, Challenge 82/83 (Spring, Texas) 0
Goal Scorer: Lauren Ritchie (76).
San Diego Surf White 4, Michigan Hawks (Livonia) 1
Goal Scorers: (SD) Kristen Rogers (13), Kim Castellanos (36, 83), Brooke Roby (67).
Under-18 Boys
FC Delco Arsenal (Downingtown, Pa.) 2, Classic FC Bandidos (Albuquerque, N.M.) 0
Goal Scorers: Fred Chambers (3), Ashley Kozicki (78).
Texans 83/84 Red (Houston) 2, NFC Vincere (Omaha, Neb.) 1
Goal Scorers: (T) Lance Watson (6), Payton Webb (72); (V) Ryan Brown (45).
Under-17 Boys
Irvine (Calif.) Strikers 3, Dallas Texans 85 Red 2
Goal Scorers: (I) Kevin Long (44), Benny Feilhaber (48), Jonathan Bornstein (66); (D) Steven Trumbo (18), own goal (42).
Bethesda (Md.) Alliance (Md.) vs. Chicago Magic SC, later