2017 US Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup Kicks Off
The second day of the 2017 US Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup concluded on Friday as top teams from across the nation come together in Florida.
The US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup is designed for teams seeking additional challenges to play against teams of similar abilities for a national title. The cup provides a progressive, competitive experience to teams that might not otherwise get the opportunity to participate in a series of elite competitions.
Youth Soccer News: The 2017 US Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup continued Friday with the 40 U13 through U17/18 Boys and Girls teams taking the field for the second day of play at Lake Myrtle Sports Park. The tournament, which features US Youth Soccer teams from 20 different State Associations, will continue with preliminary games through Saturday, July 15. Consolation and championship matches will take place on Sunday, July 16.
U15 Girls Colorado Storm North 02 Select (CO) picked up an important win against World Cup SC Greater Nashua 2002 Elite (NH) on Friday after enduring a loss on the first day of preliminary games. Colorado Storm head coach Clint Shade talked about his thoughts on the win, relating it back to what took place at Region IV Presidents Cup.
“The importance of today’s win was after yesterday’s loss to come back and get three points and put us back in the hunt to go on for the finals,” said Shade. “They put in a lot of hard work today and pulled off a good win. We lost the first game [at Region IV Presidents Cup] too and then came back and ran the table, so we’re hoping to do the same here. The National Presidents Cup means a lot to them for sure. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. They’re obviously very excited about it.”
Match Highlights:
U13 Boys
TFA SFV 04 (CA-S) defeated Farmington Indians (CT), 3-0, on Friday. Despite a scoreless first half with chances on both ends of the field, TFA went into the second half, controlling the momentum. Juan Delgado earned TFA’s first goal, and Delgado scored again off of Vincente Navarro’s corner kick as he volleyed the ball into the net. TFA topped off the victory when Aldahir Rua stepped up to take a free kick about 20-yards out and hit the ball to the upper net over the goalkeeper’s hands.
U13 Girls
Beach FC LB 04 Nunes (CA-S) defeated VAR 2004 Rush (VA), 3-0, in its Day Two 13U Girls matchup. With the win, the Cal South side clinched a spot in Sunday’s final match. Both teams played a back-and-forth first half with the best chance coming on a Camryn Cruz shot that was pushed wide by Rush’s keeper, Sarah Mangels. Beach kept pushing for goals and was rewarded when Sydney Trump headed in a second chance after a Beach free kick hit the crossbar. Just two minutes later, Evelyn Sandoval added her fourth goal of the tournament when she lofted a shot just above Mangels’ fingertips. Camryn Cruz added the final goal of the game when she blocked a clearance and then outran the Rush players for a tap-in.
U14 Boys
Eagle FC Ajax (PA-E) built on its Day One tie with a 2-0 victory over Downtown LA Soccer Club 03 (CA-S). Downtown pressed early but had an early 1v1 chance saved by a sprawling Luke Snyder. Both sides went into halftime, but the deadlock was broken early in the 49th minute as Bailey Lutz found the back of the net. Eagle FC built on that lead in the 58th minute with Hayden Schetrompf beating the keeper to make the score 2-0. The Eastern Pennsylvania side’s defense held tight for the remainder of the game and it now sits in a great spot to qualify for Sunday’s final.
U14 Girls
FC United 2003 Predator (IL) picked up a 3-0 win against Solar Chelsea 03 Wells (TX-N). From the beginning, FC United applied high pressure and pushed forward, earning an early penalty kick, which Roxana Zieba placed in the bottom left corner. FC United increased its lead when Lillian Denk sent a long cross to the back post where Zieba headed the ball into the net. In the second half, Solar Chelsea picked up the pace and intensity, but FC United added one more goal as Zieba took a shot from a difficult side angle, earning a hat trick for the day.
U15 Boys
VK Cobras (UT) earned a crucial three points after defeating VE Gunners (PA-E), 4-2. VE Gunners took the lead early on a Henry Moyer goal, but Cobras answered in the next minute as Antony Galindo Jaimes equalized. Gunners took a 2-1 lead into halftime when Nicholas Marchionni scored just before the break. Antony Galindo Jaimes leveled the score in the 51st minute with his second goal of the match. Salvador Colorado and Jose Torres Estrada finished the comeback, pulling the Utah side ahead to a 4-2 victory.
U15 Girls
Colorado Storm North 02 Select (CO) went on a scoring spree to defeat World Cup SC Greater Nashua 2002 Elite (NH), 5-0. It was a fairly even first half, but Colorado Storm took the lead when Kiana Fen ran onto a short through ball and slipped it past the goalkeeper. After receiving a pass from Bridget Feely, Paige Vogel finished the ball into the upper net for Colorado Storm’s second goal. In the second half, World Cup SC showed determination to get in the game, serving the ball into dangerous areas in front of the goal. However, Colorado Storm shut World Cup SC down with two goals from Ally Sanchez and one from Haley Sommer.
U16 Boys
In an intense matchup, Santos Laguna White (CA-S) and Mainland Utd Upper Township FC (NJ) tied, 1-1. Santos Laguna earned back-to-back corner kicks late in the first half, and on its second one, the ball bounced around after a few blocked shots, yet Miguel Lopez eventually blasted the ball into the goal. In the second half, both teams put in the work as Santos Laguna wanted some breathing room and Mainland Utd wanted the equalizer. Mainland Utd tied up the match when Matt Brook crossed the ball to the back post for Trevor Paone to head into the goal.
U16 Girls
U16 Girls FC Dallas TRI 01 Premier (TN) earned three points after defeating CWSC 01 Academy Elite (OH-S), 3-1. CWSC had a great early opportunity as the FC Dallas keeper spilled a chance, but the follow-up shot was cleared by the defender who had smartly covered the keeper’s position. Rachel Phillips scored the game’s lone first half goal as she cut in from the left side and hit a shot into the top right corner. Phillips added her second early in the second half to push the lead to 2-0. CWSC responded just five minutes later when Sophia Blasi finished her chance and cut the least to just one goal. After going down to 10 players, CWSC still pushed for an equalizer and had its best chance off a free kick. The free kick sailed over the keeper, bounced out off the far post, but CWSC couldn’t finish the rebound. Phillips finished her hat trick as she collected a misplayed clearance and hit a shot into the right side of the net. FC Dallas will need to earn at least a tie tomorrow to seal its spot in Sunday’s final.
U17/18 Boys
U17/18 Boys 00 CASL White North (NC) fell, 1-0, to Rockford Raptors 2000 (IL). CASL controlled the game at the beginning and had an early chance that was deflected off the crossbar. Raptors took the lead late in the first half when a misread cross by the keeper fell in the box and was put away by Michael Kozlowski. In the second half, Raptors pushed for a second goal and had a great point blank chance saved by CASL’s Hayes Ference. CASL came close to equalizing late in the second half but a great chance was parried by Raptors’ Christopher Couper. The Illinois side made sure it held its lead today and grabbed a crucial three points to put itself tied at the top of the table with four points.
“It was very important to get this result today since last game we were up and ended up getting tied in the last 15 seconds,” said Rockford Raptors head coach Vee Jevremovic. “It’s huge for us to be here. I’ve been coaching club for 20 years and this is my first time at a national event. For some of these boys we laid it out on a line to them and told them they may never be here again so they need to enjoy and live in the moment but to remember what got them here.”
U17/18 Girls
Illinois Fusion (IL) gained its second victory and clean sheet of the event after defeating 00 CASL Ladies Black (NC), 3-0. Lauren Shanks put the ball in the back of the net in the eighth minute of the match, and the score remained 1-0 until the second half when Audrey Marsaglia increased the lead to two. Meredith Johnson-Monfort then topped off the win with a goal of her own.
To view all of Friday’s results visit here.
