FRISCO, Texas (July 26, 2007) – The US Youth Soccer National Championships continued early Thursday with the second day of preliminary round play at Pizza Hut Park. It was a must-win situation for many of the teams looking to advance to this weekend’s finals.  Teams earn three points for a win and one point for a tie.  The two top teams at the conclusion of tomorrow’s round robin play will meet over the weekend in the national championship finals. 

Brief recaps of several games are below… 

Under-14 Boys
The Under-14 Boys CASL Elite (NC) and West Coast FC (CA-S) played on the stadium field early this morning to a 1-1 tie. As the first time either of these teams have had an opportunity to advance to the US Youth Soccer National Championships due to the age brackets.

“We were up 1-0 and switched to a 4-5 and they caught us in transition and caught a break,” said Bruce Talbot, CASL’s head coach, about the second goal. “The team has high character and holds each other accountable.”

CASL has two teams represented at nationals, the Under-14 Boys and the Under-19 Girls. The Under-14s enjoyed supporting their older counterparts at yesterday’s evening games and plan to continue their support throughout the rest of the week.

“Club spirit is important to us. We want to let everyone know who we are,” said Ryan Metts, a player for CASL Elite. “We had so much fun last night; there was so much excitement. We plan on coming out again tonight. Our toughest game is tomorrow against Baltimore and we are going to have to bring our game.”

CASL Elite and Baltimore Casa Mia Bays played each other earlier this year and tied 0-0. CASL has been training up to four times a week to prepare for the Series. “We are fortunate to be here, but at CASL you are expected to win state. At regionals, it usually comes down to CASL, the Texans and Solar,” said CASL’s head coach Bruce Talbot.

Under-14 Girls
The Under-14 Girls match between FC Stars of Massachusetts and Sting Royal 93 featured players that knew how to finish.  Sting Coach Mary Howard expressed how “they had to win” in order to stay in the tournament.  In the second half, the Stars came back to tie the game at two each with 30 minutes remaining.  Jessica Howard flew by the Stars defense to score her third goal of the game and provide her side with the much needed advantage.  The game would end in favor of Sting 4-2.  Howard remarked that Jessica is a special player and shows great confidence on the field.  “She is a buzzer, a crafty, skillful player.”

The Sting was unable to get the win yesterday but are determined to continue to push for the chance at winning the national championship.  Coach Howard said, “We talk all the time about mentality and just kind of let it out.  Yesterday obviously the California team (Slammers FC) is fabulous, but it was not our best effort.  Today we had to refocus in order to respond.  It’s just one of the situations where we were under pressure and had to win today, or we would have no chance.”

After two days of play, the FC Stars of Massachusetts and the Sting Royal 93 are neck-and-neck for playing for the final spot in this weekend’s finals. 

Under-15 Boys
The Under-15 Boys match between Sereno and Michigan Wolves proved to be a nail biter for both sides, as numerous scoring chances were available but neither side would capitalize.  Sereno’s chances came early while late into the second half it looked like the Wolves would strike.  Michigan’s Hassan Saad played a great ball into the box for an apparent goal until Sereno’s Conor Brikhold flew in from the left side to sacrifice his body for the save.  It would be the only ball Justin Tailloe wouldn’t save himself as the Sereno keeper took on the pack throughout a barrage of one-on-one chances, each time coming up successful.  Carter Owen made a great tackle in the box on Jordan Tyler who for a few moments went unmarked.  Owen’s tackle provided the goal kick and a short mental break for Sereno.  As stoppage time neared an end, Hassan Saad would again take on Tailloe and come up just short.  Michigan would press through the end of stoppage time and walk away with the tie. 

Giving up the first goal of the game in a PK to the Lonestar 92 Red, the Under-15 Boys PDA Larsson team knew they had to step-up their game.  PDA and the Lonestars 92 Red ended the first half at 1-1.  PDA Coach John Murphy used the half time break to calm his boys and give them some good words of encouragement.  Murphy said that as the week goes on the boys legs become heavier and heavier, and they must work on keeping focused to stay on top of their game. 

Under-18 Girls
Arsenal World Class (NJ) knew that they had to win today against the home team Solar 89 to advance to Sunday’s finals. This tight game went to 4-3 to Arsenal.

“It was an exciting game. We came out knowing we must win to continue to the finals. They kept coming back after we scored to keep up with us,” said Arsenal World Class head coach Kazbek Tambi. As for the large crowd equipped with posters and a lot of Solar spirit, cheered for the team on throughout the game. Tambi said, “It was a much more exciting environment with the crowd.” 

Under-18 Girls
Under-18 Girls, Slammers FC and Bloomfield Force put up a good show in today’s game.  Jill Flietstra, the Slammers keeper, allowed only one of the nine attempts by Bloomfield in the first half.  As Bloomfield took an early lead of 2-1 by the half, the Slammers came back to score and tie the game in the 63^rd.  “We started off early, in the ninth minute with a score.  And we extended our lead after the 20^th and I felt if we had managed to squeeze another one in at that point, we might have knocked them out.  We let them get back into it,” said Bloomfield Force head coach Andy Wagstaff.

Under-18 Boys
The Under-18 Boys Arsenal are one step closer today to achieving their goal of a four-peat after winning today’s match against Nebraska FC, only the second team from Nebraska to qualify for the US Youth Soccer National Championships, with a 3-1 win.  Arsenal tried to take control early with Ryan Thomas scoring in the third minute off an assist from Davis Paul. It would take less than 10 minutes for Nebraska to tie with a goal from Logan Stichler. The game was tied, but only for a minute when Arsenal’s Ryan Peterman scored to give the three-time champs some breathing room. After the half the Arsenal came back hungry and Davis Paul scored a goal of his own in the 52^nd against a tight Bluejay defense.

“Hard work and team play was vital in our win today. We really came together to score when we needed to,” said Dominique Yahyari, one of the many players that flew in from the Pan-American games in Brazil to play this week. “The intensity was very high and a very good level of play. There are great teams here and we respect them greatly.”

“Arsenal was unbelievable, they never stopped moving, it was great,” said Byron Dacy, coach for Nebraska FC.  “I was very impressed with them and our ability to continue to fight harder and not get out of the game.  We played great today and I think we are turning some heads this week.”

The Arsenal’s Luis Ocampo said about the Bluejays, “Today was more intense than yesterday because they attacked a lot.”

Nebraska FC looked to further represent their home city of Omaha with (402) on their jerseys, the area code for Omaha.  Coach Dacy’s team is really enjoying the experience and the opportunity to play against teams they’ve always wanted to play.  “I got to see the trophy we are playing for on Tuesday and the fields here are amazing, the best that I’ve seen in a really long time.”

Play heated up on field seven today as the Terryville Fire (E-NY) and Atlanta Fire Elite (GA) both fought for the three-point win. First time qualifiers to the national championships, Terryville, from Long Island, are representing their club well, enjoying the experience and look to get back soon.

“We are a small club and this is our first year to win our state and regionals and we are really enjoying it (nationals),” said Terryville coach Richard Flaim.  “This has really been a great experience and we are really enjoying it.  Today’s match was very important for both teams as Atlanta lost yesterday and we really wanted to win, but we got the tie.  If we had won, we knew we were in really good shape for getting to the finals,” said Flaim. “They (Atlanta) were a very big, strong team, and well coached and organized. Being up 2-0, we gave them too much time and they were able to come back. It was a hard tested game and all the boys on both teams they are exhausted.”

“We don’t have any national team or regional players.  We are a hard working group of kids.”

Tomorrow the Terryville fire will go up against the storied Arsenal FC at 7:30 a.m. They will have to go for the win in order to guarantee a spot in Sunday’s finals. They are aware of the challenges that lie ahead, but are determined to fight for their spot.

The Under-19 and the Under-17 Boys and Girls divisions kick off at 7:30 p.m. tonight. Updated game results are available throughout the day at http://Championships.USYouthSoccer.org.

The 2007 US Youth Soccer National Championship Series is the country’s most prestigious national youth soccer tournament, providing over 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 groups as teams earn their way from the top team in their state to the regional championship tournaments. State Cup champions and selected wildcard teams in most age groups are eligible to compete in one of four US Youth Soccer Regional Championships. The champions in the under-14 through under-19 age group from each regional event converge to enjoy the nation’s top competition.

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 72^nd anniversary of the storied cup.

Annually the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series provides the nation’s top collegiate coaches with the premier stage to identify and scout the most coveted players in the country. In 2006, 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 2006 NSCAA/adidas National Rankings for NCAA Division I schools.

US Youth Soccer National Championships
Day 2 Morning Session Results – Preliminary Matches

Under-14 Girls
FC Stars of Massachusetts (MA) 2, Sting Dallas Royal 93 (TX-N) 4
Goal Scorers: FC Stars of Massachusetts- Alexandra Doody (57:00), Stephanie McCaffrey (70:00)
Sting Dallas Royal 93- Brittany Nash (17:00), Jessica Howard (31:00) (69:00) (70:00)

CUSC Academy 93 (IN) 0, Slammers FC (CA-S) 2
Goal Scorers: Slammers FC- Tessa Andujar (64:00), Kaitlin Hellmann (70:00)

Under-14 Boys
West Coast FC (CA-N) 1, 92 CASL Elite (NC) 1
Goal Scorers: West Coast FC- Juan Ocegueda de Alba (56:00)
92 CASL Elite- Kenneth Meyer (40:00)

Baltimore Casa Mia Bays (MD) 2, Sockers FC Chicago (IL) 1
Goal Scorers: Baltimore Casa Mia Bays- Glenn Caltabiano (1:00), Jonathan Guzman (55:00)
Sockers FC Chicago- Johnny Watrach (35:00)

Under-15 Girls
ELA Elite (IL) 1, Dallas Texans 92 Red (TX-N) 2
Goal Scorers: ELA Elite- Jannelle Flaws (55:00)
Dallas Texans 92 Red- Brittany Morgan (30:00), Kathryn Bass (74:00)

So Cal Blues (CA-S) 0, PDA Fire 0

Under-15 Boys
PDA Larsson (NJ) 4, Lonestar 92 Red (TX-S) 2
Goal Scorers: PDA Larsson- Robert Barrera (28:00) (52:00) (78:00), Johan Hernandez (74:00)
Lonestar 92 Red- Jesus Padilla (17:00), Martin Ontiveros (50:00)

Sereno 92 White (AZ) 0, Michigan Wolves 92 Black (MI) 0

Under-16 Girls
McLean Freedom (VA) 2, Dallas Texans 91 Red (TX-N) 1
Goal Scorers: McLean Freedom- Jenna Richmond (9:00), Caroline Miller (23:00)
Dallas Texans 91 Red- Kimberly Castleberry (77:00)

Michigan Hawks (MI) 0, Pleasanton Rage (CA-N) 1
Goal Scorers: Pleasanton Rage- Ahsha Smith (24:00)

Under-16 Boys
Michigan Wolves 91 (MI) 2, Real SoCal (CA-S) 1
Goal Scorers: Michigan Wolves 91- Hamoody Saad (53:00) (55:00)
Real SoCal- George Panteoic (40:00)

Houstonians FC 90/91 (TX-S) 0, FC Delco Hammerheads (E-PA) 4
Goal Scorers: FC Delco Hammerheads- Christian Cruz (12:00) (23:00), Antonio Munoz (27:00), Rommel Morales (38:00)

Under-18 Girls
Solar 89 (TX-N) 3, Arsenal World Class (NJ) 4
Goal Scorers: Solar 89- Chelsea Palmer (40:00), Lauren Shepherd (62:00), Brianne Frost (90:00)
Arsenal World Class- Sylvia Stone (11:00), Danielle Schulman (32:00), Amber Brooks (54:00), Jessica Hurtado (70:00)

Slammers FC (CA-N) 2, Bloomfield Force (MI) 2
Goal Scorers: Slammers FC- Christen Press (29:00) (63:00)
Bloomfield Force- Lindsey Harortunian (9:00), Jackie Carron (25:00)

Under-18 Boys
Arsenal FC (CA-S) 3, NFC Bluejays (NE) 1
Goal Scorers: Arsenal FC- Ryan Thomas (3:00), Ryan Peterman (12:00), Davis Paul (52:00)
NFC Bluejays- Josh Moran (11:00)

Terryville Fire (E-NY) 2, Atlanta Fire United (GA) 2
Goal Scorers: Terryville Fire- Conor O’Brien (3:00), James Pymm (61:00)
Atlanta Fire United- Sam Arthur (68:00) (76:00)