Champions Crowned at US Youth Soccer Region IV (West) Presidents Cup
Region IV (West) Presidents Cup champions were crowned on Sunday in Arvada, Colorado, as teams Under-13 through Under-17 advance to the 2016 US Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup. Cal South claimed five regional titles as teams prepare for the national tournament next month in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Youth Soccer News: US Youth Soccer is proud to announce the 2016 US Youth Soccer Region IV (West) Presidents Cup champions, crowned Sunday in Arvada, Colo. Winning teams in the Under-13 through Under-17 Boys and Girls age groups advance to the 2016 US Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup, July 14-17 in Tulsa, Okla. Cal South led the way with five regional titles, while both Nevada and Utah claimed two and Cal North claimed one title.
2016 US Youth Soccer Region IV Presidents Cup Champions:
Age Group Champion Team Hometown Under-13 Boys CYSA La Laja (CA-S) Coachella, Calif. Under-14 Boys Fire FC Premier 02 MH (UT) St. George, Utah Under-15 Boys Players Elite AP (NV) Las Vegas Under-16 Boys Corning NCU Manchester (CA-N) Corning, Calif. Under-17 Boys Rampage 99 Black SC/TL (UT) Roy, Utah Under-13 Girls Hawks Academy (CA-S) Temecula, Calif. Under-14 Girls Pateadores Irvine White (CA-S) Irvine, Calif. Under-15 Girls West Coast FC Murphy (CA-S) Laguna Hills, Calif. Under-16 Girls California Elite SC Black (CA-S) Palmdale, Calif. Under-17 Girls FC Warriors Blue 99 (NV) Las Vegas
Match Highlights
Under 13 Boys
CYSA La Laja (CA-S) took home the regional title in the Under-13 Boys age group after a 2-1 win over PacNW 02 Blue (WA). The finals match was a re-match of a day three game, which CYSA also won 2-1. Mario Cadena’s goals opened up the scoring in the 31st minute, but Lomeri Torujo would equalize for the Washington side shortly after halftime. Josue Lopez would score the eventual game-winner in the 54th minute to give his side the regional title.
Under-13 Girls
Hawks Academy (CA-S) took care of business in the finals against Wasatch Elite SP (UT) 4-0 to take home the Under-13 Girls championship. Morgan Witz, who scored a last-minute game-winner in the semifinals, netted two goals in the finals to go with a goal from Daphne Mendez to secure the win for the Southern California side.
Under-14 Boys
After 6-1 semifinals victory, Fire FC Premier 02 MH (UT) got all it could handle from AVSA Storm (CA-S) in a 1-0 victory. Garrett Lewis scored the match’s only goal, and the Utah side’s defense clamped down the clean sheet, and ultimately a region title.
Under-14 Girls
Pateadores Irvine White (CA-S) came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Utah Storm Premier Loreen (UT) 3-2 in extra time. Storm looked to be in control after goals in quick succession from Racquel Whatcott and Joely Wilson in the 46thand 47th minutes respectively. However, Pateadores would score a pair of quick goals themselves as Ashley Zanelli found the back of the net in the 65 minute and Sofia Rossini scored just two minutes later. Emily Vu would score the final goal of the match in extra time to secure the regional title for Pateadores.
Under-15 Boys
Players Elite AP (NV) 1-0 edged out Antelope Valley Predators (CA-S) in a day-two rematch between the two sides. On the second day it was Henry Arguello who netted the game-winner, but today it was David Herrera who played the hero role with a 73rd minute goal to give the Nevada side the finals victory.
Under-15 Girls
West Cast FC Murphy (CA-S) defeated SoCal Rush (CA-S) 2-0 in an intra-state finals showdown. After scoring five goals in previous two days, Meagan Rowlett scored her seventh goal of the tournament to put West Coast up 1-0 in the 28th minute. Ryanne Molenaar scored her third goal of the tournament to double West Coast’s lead, and the West Coast defense would record a clean sheet against a SoCal Rush team that scored six goals in the quarterfinals.
Under-16 Boys
Corning NCU Manchester United (CA-N) used a 76th minute goal from Jaime Martinez en route to a 1-0 win over Agave la Raza. Corning NCU would also hold a team that scored 16 goals in its first five games goalless to earn the 1-0 win and a trip to the National Presidents Cup.
Under-16 Girls
California Elite Soccer Club Black (CA-S) came back from a 2-0 deficit to claim the Under-16 Girls regional title against Utah Storm Premier Lake (UT). Amy Botcherby put Storm up 1-0 with a goal in the 25th minute, and Chloe Martin would double the Utah side’s lead shortly after halftime. However, from the 50th minute on, the match belonged to California Elite as unanswered goals from Natalie Horton, Sierra Chavez and Karinna Plata gave the Southern California side the dramatic 3-2 victory.
Under-17 Boys
Rampage 99 Black SC/TL (UT) used its fifth clean sheet out of six matches to propel the team to a 2-0 win over West Coast Covina FC Elite (CA-S). Kyler Bryan began the scoring in the 38th minute, and Ramon Garcia Aparicio would add an insurance goal in the 55th minute to give the Utah side a 2-0 win.
Under-17 Girls
FC Warriors Blue 99 (NV) defeated 2014 Region IV and National Presidents Cup champ Crush Blue (UT) 3-0 to claim the Under-17 Girls title. After both sides produced clean sheets while scoring three goals or more in the semifinals, it was Warriors who carried its momentum in to the finals as Janis Martinez, Ashley Camacho and Alyssa Abby Nunez all found the back of the net.
The 6-day tournament featured 120 teams that had qualified by winning their respective State Presidents Cup events from 14 different US Youth Soccer State Associations – Alaska, Arizona, California-North, California-South, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup is designed for teams seeking additional challenges to play for a national title against teams of similar abilities. The cup provides a progressive, competitive experience to teams that might not otherwise get the opportunity to participate in a series of unique experiences highlighting competition, camaraderie and community from the state to regional to national levels of US Youth Soccer.
Source/Photo Credit: US Youth Soccer
