Surf SC GU13s Win US Youth Soccer National Championship
It starts with 10,000 teams from all across the country and ends with one champion. Surf SC’s GU13 is that one championship team, victorious over all the others.
San Diego Surf Soccer Club has a new US Youth Soccer National Champion. Following in the footsteps of Mark Spooner’s Surf SC’s ECNL U15 Championship team, Seth Trembly‘s GU13 team wins another youth national championship.
Every summer, US Youth Soccer holds the National Championship Series and crowns the top teams across the country. SD Surf SC’s GU13s became crowned National Champions last week when their National Cup run ended with a 4-2 penalty kick shootout victory over the Michigan Hawks. The SD Surf SC team became US Youth Soccer National Champions and their elite soccer club’s 9th national championship team.
“It’s just an amazing achievement for these girls,” said Trembly who will continue to coach this team – now the Girls ECNL Academy U14 – for this upcoming season.
“This competition started with 185,000 players from teams all across the country. I am very proud of our Surf players, who continued in the 2014 US Youth Soccer National Championship Series to became the champions. There are many great teams that have never been able to get this far and accomplish winning a national championship.”
Colin Chesters, Director of Coaching for SD Surf SC said, “Seth had a tremendous first season in the club winning Summer Surf Cup, State Cup, Far West Regionals and now the National Championship in Maryland. What a great accomplishment; 10,000 teams started in the competition and the girls ended up being number one!”
At Regionals, the girls were a perfect 3-0 in their group, advancing to the quarterfinal knockout stage, where they continued their run by beating Beach FC, Arsenal FC and FC Heat (NV), securing their spot in the National Finals.The team started their run with a clean sweep in Cal South’s National Cup, earning their spot in the knockout rounds. They won five consecutive knockout round games, beating Del Mar Sharks, Westside Breakers, Legends FC, Laguna Hills Eclipse and Arsenal FC West to advance to Far West Regionals in New Mexico.
At the National Finals, Trembly’s team shutout through their first two group games 4-0 vs. South Shore Elite (MA) and 3-0 vs. Dallas Kicks (TX), before falling 0-1 to Michigan Hawks in a tune-up match for the finals.
After a back and forth game vs. Michigan Hawks in the finals in which both teams had chances to score, the game ended 0-0 and went to overtime, and then penalty kicks. The Surf girls scored 4 of 5 shots while Golden Glove Goalkeeper MacKenna Carmichael stopped 2 of 4 shots to win the National Championship.
“It is really the depth of the team which is our true strength – the quality and talent of every player on the team,” said Trembly who has only coached this team for one year and joined Surf SC nearly 18 months ago. “The team is the star and always comes first. We trained hard for this national championship and even went up to Big Bear, CA from altitude training.”
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A national championship victory is a long road and it is tough for any team to stay in top form from April to July. According to Trembly, “It is important to take breaks at the right time. There was a very quick turn around from our victory at Far West Regionals (US Youth Soccer Region IV) in Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 22nd and our trip to the Championship on the East Coast in July. I gave our players time off before we returned to training three days a week. It is a delicate balance.
What is next for this championship team? Trembly says, “Our next goal is to defend our Surf Cup championship title this weekend and then to start competing in ECNL.”
Trembly and his GU13 team earned Surf SC their second US Youth Soccer National Championship in 2014 and their ninth overall for the elite youth soccer club history.
With an amazing six players making US Youth Soccer’s list of Top Scorers, Surf SC’s GU13 team is packed with talent for finding the back of the net. Although the score in the Final does not reflect the team’s ability to convert opportunities – the match went to Penalty Kicks (PKs) after a 0-0 regulation time score; the team earned the championship with an end score of 4-2.
| GU13 Top Scorers | Goals |
| HAWK – Lilian Lucas | 4 |
| HAWK – Kaya Frazier | 2 |
| SURF – Cruz Claiborne | 1 |
| SURF – Mia Fishel | 1 |
| SURF – Sheila Kaiser | 1 |
| SURF – Monique Landrum | 1 |
| HAWK – Erin MacDonald | 1 |
| SURF – Madison Mercado | 1 |
| SURF – Mackenzie Simpson | 1 |
| SSS – Samantha Smith | 1 |
In addition, Surf SC had 5 youth soccer players make the U13’s National Championships Best 11
- Monique Landrum
- Brooke Wilson
- Mackenzie Simpson
- Emma Reeves
- Mackenna Carmichael – Golden Glove Winner
Surf SC Team Roster includes: Jade Babcock-Chi, Sofia Beyer, Mackenna Carmichael, Cruz Claiborne, Mia Fishel, Sheila Kaiser, Monique Landrum, Amber McCorkle, Leyla Mcfarland, Madison Mercado, Victoria Nielsen, Emma Reeves, Sawyer Simo, Mackenzie Simpson, Elyse Waterhouse, Logan Wells and Brooke Wilson.
2013/2014 Tournament Results
Surf Cup – Champion
National Cup (CalSouth) – Champion
National Cup (Regionals) – Champion
