Region III Punches Final Tickets to the 2006 US Youth Soccer National Championships

FRISCO, Texas (July 6, 2006) – US Youth Soccer is proud to announce the 2006 US Youth Soccer Region III (South) Champions and acknowledge their success in the state and regional championships of the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, the country’s most prestigious national youth soccer tournament. These teams now move on to the third and final leg of the quest for the national championships.

“What a great week of play and a tremendous event by host Arkansas State Soccer Association," said David Messersmith, president of US Youth Soccer. "Each year, the nation’s top players look forward to the country's best competition as teams earn their way from state to regional champions, striving to be one of the top 48 teams in the country playing for the National Championship. Congratulations to all of the more than 180 teams who advanced to represent their state at the regional competition this week and to those who will continue their quest to lift the National Championship trophy high.”

The 2006 US Youth Soccer National Championship Series is the country’s most prestigious national youth soccer tournament, providing approximately 185,000 players on more than 10,000 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.

The US Youth Soccer National Championships cap a yearlong series of competitions for boys and girls teams in multiple age brackets as teams earn their way from the top teams in their state to the regional championship tournaments. US Youth Soccer State Champions and selected wildcard teams are eligible to compete in one of four US Youth Soccer Regional Championships. The champions in the Under-14 through Under-19 age brackets from each regional event will converge in a final four at the James W. Cownie Soccer Complex, July 25-30, in Des Moines, Iowa against the nation’s top competition.

2006 marks the 30^th anniversary of the under-16 boys D.J. Niotis Cup and 15^th Anniversary of the under-17 girls Laura Moynihan Cup. The James P. McGuire Cup is the oldest trophy in youth sport dating back to 1935 with the inaugural youth championships. The under-19 boys age group as the National Champion will hoist the McGuire Cup. This is the 71^th anniversary of the storied cup.

Annually the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series provides the nation’s top collegiate coaches the premier stage to identify and scout the most coveted players in the country. In 2005, over 500 coaches attended the US Youth Soccer Regional Championships including the majority of the top 25 men’s and women’s programs based on the final 2005 NSCAA/adidas National Rankings for NCAA Division I schools. The chronological dates and locations for the 2006 US Youth Soccer National Championships:

2006 US Youth Soccer National Championships
James W. Cownie Soccer Park – Des Moines, IA
July 25-30, 2006

To learn more about the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series and see the results from all of the regional competitions log on to http://Championships.USYouthSoccer.org, the online home for the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, providing the latest in news, information and more.