ORLANDO, FL (July 25, 2004) - US Youth Soccer National Champions were crowned today at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. Champions in the Boys and Girls Under-14 through Under-19 age groups from each regional event met to battle for the US Youth Soccer National Championship.

The Far West Region took home top honors on the day with seven National Championships, the Midwest Region followed with two and Region I earned one. The California South State Associations won four National Championships, followed by California-North and Missouri with two each. Michigan, Illinois, Maryland and Hawaii each take home a National Championship.

In Under-19 action, the HSC Bulls '85 of Hawaii won the island state's first-ever US Youth Soccer National Championship, defeating CASL Elite of North Carolina 3-2.

"I'm extremely proud of these players and they deserve all the credit," said HSC Head Coach Phil Neddo. "A little island in the middle of the Pacific just won a National Championship, and the name Hawaii will never be taken off the James P. McGuire Cup.

The Pleasanton Rage take home the Under-19 Girls Championship, shutting out Georgia's GSA Phoenix Red 2-0. adidas® Golden Boot winner Christina Estrada netted the first goal for Pleasanton Rage at 62:00, with teammate Jennifer Tuttle following with the insurance goal at 86:00.

"I've coached them for seven years and this is their 2nd National Championship," said head coach Jay Fischer. "This is an incredible way to end their US Youth Soccer career"

The Michigan Hawks won the Under-18 Girls title, by a score of 3-2 over the San Diego Surf. The Surf's Amy Epsten opened scoring at 10:00, to be followed by Michigan's Melissa Dobbyn at 33:00. Epsten came back with another tally at 63:00 and was answered twice by the Hawks' Nicole Cauzillo at 67:00 and 81:00

"It's unbelievable. Our hard work has gotten us here and its very rewarding," said Michigan Hawks captain Maureen Pawlak "We've been together for 10 years and its good to go out like this."

Missouri took home another National Championship, with a victory in the Under-18 Boys group. Busch SC shutout the Sereno '86 White (Arizona) 2-0. Busch's Zachary Przybeck tallied the first goal at 68:00, followed by teammate Kyle Smith at 76:00.

In Girls Under-17 action, So Cal United (California South) downed the Windy City Pride (Illinois) 4-1. So Cal's Kristina Loucks tallied a hat trick on the day, with goals at 3:00, 43:00 and 90+, teammate Alex Fries added one for good measure at 29:00. Windy City's Crysti Howser showed signs of a rally, finding the back of the net at 82:00, but the So Cal defense minded their territory and took home the US Youth Soccer National Championship.

Host state Florida's Weston came up short in overtime, loosing 2-1 to Scott Gallagher of Missouri in the Under-17 Boys final. Weston's Juan Guerra scored on a 25-yard bomb from center but Scott Gallagher's Timothy Walters was too much, scoring both goals, including the overtime-game winner.

The Casa Mia Bays of the Boys Under-16 group defended their 2003 US Youth Soccer National Championship. Maryland's Casa Mia defeated FC United (Washington) 3-0, with two goals from adidas® Golden Boot winner Xavier Rock.

"They may not be the best team on paper, but on the field these guys are super," said Casa Mia Head Coach Stephen Nichols. "These guys respond to pressure - they have all year."

The Eclipse Select (Illinois) downed the Slammers FC (California South) 2-1 in Under-16 Girls Championship action today. Down two-goals, the Slammers tested the Eclipse defense late in the game with a goal at 68:00, but the Eclipse defense held strong and claimed their national championship.

"This team is all about character. We began as a piece of paper, pages of notes on player identification when the girls were 13 and 14 years old," said Eclipse Select Head Coach Mike Nesci. "The goal was simple - to win the National Championship. Today we've met our goal, and in less time than we originally thought possible.

"All year, the girls showed desire and I believe their character is what got them here today. Character always prevails," added Nesci.

It took only one goal for California North's Mustang Blast to win the Under-15 Girls trophy and defeat the Michigan Hawks. Heather Vandevanter found the back of the net at 31:00 and that proved to be enough.

California South's Arsenal FC downed the Chicago Magic 2-1 in the Under-15 Boys final. Chicago netted one goal at 65:00 but Arsenal's defense kept them at bay through the final seconds of the match.

In Under-14 Girls action, the Eagles (California South) downed the ESC '90 Black (Oklahoma) 2-1. The teams played evenly for 64 minutes until the Eagles' Kelsea Smith netted her first goal. Six minutes later, Smith followed up with the insurance goal. ESC pushed the issue with a tally in extra minutes, but the Eagles defense proved strong enough to win the US Youth Soccer National Championship.

"In the last ten minutes, they took their effort to a whole new level," said Eagles Head Coach Vince Thomas. "We've said to ourselves all along that we need to take responsibility for winning. Kelsea showed guts getting that last goal - and that's how she's been all week."

The Under-14 Boys crown went to another California South team, the Celtic Harps downed the Rockford Raptors (Illinois) 3-1, finding the back of the net twice in the first half. According to team officials, some of the Celtic Harps have already been playing together for six years, while Head Coach Matthew McDonagh claims his first National Championship after 25 years of coaching.

The 2004 US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, providing approximately 124,000 players on 7,200 teams from US Youth Soccer's 55 State Associations the opportunity to showcase their soccer skills against the best competition in the nation while emphasizing teamwork, discipline and fair play, is the country's most prestigious national youth soccer tournament. The US Youth Soccer National Championships cap a yearlong series of competitions for boys and girls teams in multiple age brackets.

About US Youth Soccer - US Youth Soccer-The Game for ALL Kids!® is the largest member of the United States Soccer Federation, the governing body of soccer in the United States. US Youth Soccer registers more than 3.2 million players annually, ages 5 to 19, in 55 member state associations. US Youth Soccer programs provide a fun, safe and healthy environment for players at every level of the game.

US Youth Soccer National Championship Final Results

Under-14 Girls - Elmer Ehlers Cup
Eagles (California South) 2, ESC '90 Black (Oklahoma) 1
Goal Scorers: (2) Kelsea Smith (Eagles) 64:00, 70:00, Kaylie Garcia (ESC) 70+

Under-14 Boys - US Youth Soccer National Cup
Celtic Harps (California South) 3, Rockford Raptors (Illinois) 1
Goal Scorers: Jesus Corona (Celtic) 21:00, Michael Mora (Celtic) 33:00, Ross Vanosdol (Rockford) 70+, Mario Gutierrez (Celtic) 70+

Under-15 Girls - Kristine Lilly Cup
Mustang Blast (California North) 1, Michigan Hawks (Michigan) 0
Goal Scorers: Heather Vandevanter (Mustang) 31:00

Under-15 Boys - adidas® Cup
Arsenal FC (California South) 2, Chicago Magic (Illinois) 1
Goal Scorers: Davis Paul (Arsenal) 27:00, James Gamboa (Arsenal) 55:00, Eric Lichaj (Chicago) 65:00

Under-16 Girls - Patricia L. Masotto Cup
Eclipse Select (Illinois) 2, Slammers FC (California South) 1
Goal Scorers: Brittany McCoy (Eclipse) 3:00, Chelsea Potts (Eclipse) 64:00, Alexa Orand (Slammers) 68:00

Under-16 Boys - D.J. Niotis Cup
Casa Mia Bays (Maryland) 3, FC United (Washington) 0
Goal Scorers: (2) Xavier Rock (Casa Mia) 27:00, 59:00, Jonathan Ports (Casa Mia) 35:00

Under-17 Girls - Laura Moynihan Cup
So Cal United (California South) 4, Windy City Pride (Illinois) 1
Goal Scorers: (3) Kristina Loucks (So Cal) 3:00, 43:00, 90+, Alex Fries (So Cal) 29:00, Crysti Howser (Windy City) 82:00

Under-17 Boys - Don Greer Cup
Scott Gallagher (Missouri) 2, Weston (Florida) 1 (OT)
Goal Scorers: (2) Timothy Walters (Scott Gallagher) 14:00, Golden Goal, Juan Guerra (Weston) 79:00

Under-18 Girls - Francis J. "Frank" Kelly Cup
Michigan Hawks (Michigan) 3, San Diego Surf (California South) 2
Goal Scorers: (2) Amy Epsten (San Diego) 10:00, 63:00, Melissa Dobbyn (Michigan) 33:00, (2) Nicole Cauzillo (Michigan) 67:00, 81:00

Under-18 Boys - Andy Stone Cup
Busch SC (Missouri) 2, Sereno '86 White (Arizona) 0
Goal Scorers: Zachary Przybeck (Busch) 68:00, Kyle Smith (Busch) 76:00

Under-19 Girls - Ross Stewart Cup
Pleasanton Rage (California South) 2, GSA '85 Phoenix Red (Georgia) 0
Goal Scorers: Christina Estrada (Pleasanton) 62:00, Jennifer Tuttle (Pleasanton) 86:00

Under-19 Boys - James P. McGuire Cup
HSC Bulls '85 (Hawaii) 3, '84 CASL Elite (North Carolina) 2
Goal Scorers: Matthew Fishcer (HSC) 6:00, Satoshi Mitsuda (HSC) 26:00, Duke Hashimoto (HSC) 63:00, (2) Russell Bienias (CASL) 59:00, 79:00