R-III Youth Champs From Eight States

Eight of the 12 state associations in US Youth Soccer Region III took home regional championships from Edmond, OK, and booked a ticket to the national championships, July 22-28 in Overland Park, Kan.

Georgia led the way by winning four championships, taking the U13 and U16 boys titles and the U14 and U19 girls championship. Florida won three boys title in the U15, U18 and U19 age groups.

North Texas, with the U14 boys and U13 girls championships, was the only other state association with more than one title.

The single championship winners were Tennessee (U15 girls), Louisiana (U16 Girls), South Texas (U17 girls), Oklahoma (U18 girls) and North Carolina (U17 boys).

The U17 boys final, between Triangle United SA Gold and West Pines Strikers from Florida, went to a penalty kick shootout after a scoreless draw through regulation and overtime.

After each team made four of its first five kicks, TUSA’s Michael Barrell put his team in position to win by converting his kick from the spot. TUSA keeper Justus Helzer dove to his right to stop West Pines’ next attempt, giving his squad the win and the U-17 boys title.

[show_disconnected][show_to accesslevel=’Subscriber’] The win in the final marked TUSA’s third consecutive penalty kick shootout victory. TUSA head coach Billy Englishby said it was a challenge with each game being played so tightly, but his team stuck together and played at a high level necessary to win a Region III championship.

“Any time you come to Regionals and you’re playing in the final, the competition is always going to be good,” Englishby said.

“I thought the Florida team, West Pines, did a fantastic job. They made it difficult in spots for us. We really needed to take a disciplined approach and make sure we were aware of our individual tasks and be able to perform at this level.”

Florida’s three victories came from Sunrise Elite 97/98 with a 3-0 shutout over FC Dallas 98 Premier, 4-0 win by Team Boca over 95 Lions White from South Texas and a 2-1 victory by Plantation Copa over the Vestavia Steamers 94 Black.

Tennessee got its championship when Tennessee SC 16 took a 3-1 victory over Tampa Bay United 97 Premier from Florida. Danielle Marcano had two goals in the game, with Maddison Falter scoring the game-winner. The Tennessee team was also the Region III champion in 2012.

Georgia had a stellar effort on championship game in Edmond. Tophat 17 Gold defeated Tulsa Blitz 99 White (OK) in the U14 girls final. The winning goal came in the final minute of play when Emma Kurtz drilled a low shot from the top of the box that beat the Tulsa goalkeeper.

The Under-19 girls title went to NASA 12 Elite II with a 2-1 win over Tampa Bay United Premier Girls 93, 2-1, and the United FA 00 Elite shutout Andromeda 008 Red from North Texas to win the U13 boys championship.

The Under-19 girls championship was the first final completed in the Edmond tournament. North Atlanta SA played Tampa Bay United Premier to a 1-1 draw through regulation and overtime, and the game was settled with a penalty kick shootout.

NASA goalkeeper Alyse Scott made three saves in the shootout to help her team to its second Region III championship in three years.

NASA coach Dave Smith said the championship was a fitting way to end his squad’s Region III history. The team has made six trips to the Region III Championships, and they’ve gone to penalty kick shootouts four times.

This team ages out after the national championships. The team has had a basic core of players since they began playing together at the U-13 age level. Many of the players are already in college, but Smith said the players put high value on coming back and taking one more shot at winning a national championship.

“They’re the ones that came to me because they’re all off in college now,” Smith said. “They said, ‘We want to get together. We want to make one more run at this.’

“Of course, I love that. That’s why we came back to play U-19s. They wanted another chance at the national championship.”

The U13 boys final was a rematch between United FA 00 Elite and North texas’ Andromeda 008 that was won 5-3 by United on Day 1 of the tournament.

In the final, Carlos Reyes scored twice in the first five minutes of the game and United held that score throughout for a 2-0 championship win.

After finishing as the runner-up last year, GSA Phoenix 97 Red returned to the championship game to take on NASA B15 Elite in an All-Georgia U-16 boys final. GSA’s Joseph Efford put his team ahead in the fifth minute after he beat a trio of defenders and fired the ball low and hard past the goalkeeper.

GSA doubled the lead in the 28th minute on a Shadrack Msumami goal and went on to secure the 2-0 shutout.

Because GSA has qualified for the National Championships by winning its division in the US Youth Soccer National League, NASA will continue on to Overland Park as Region III representatives.

Florida advanced seven teams to the Region III championship games, with three winning title.