FRISCO, Texas (July 26, 2007) – The US Youth Soccer National Championships continued Thursday evening with the second night of preliminary round play at Pizza Hut Park. Each team played its second of three preliminary matches seeking three points for a win or one point for a tie.  Severe weather delayed the start times by forty-five minutes.

As the clouds left the complex, huge crowds returned to the second night of play.  Teams sought the needed result to maintain a track to this weekend’s finals. 

Under-19 Boys
The Under-19 Boys Dallas Texans Red 88, seeking their third consecutive national title, met a confident San Jose/Ruckus team from Northern California that made the most of their four shots on goal.  Jeffrey Cosgriff broke the stalemate in the 70^th and it appeared the goal would hold until the Texans’ Jonathan Villanueva collected and scored in the 86^th to again knot the score.  As time expired the Texans had a three shot advantage on the match and lead in corners, seven to one.    

Looking to dethrone the Texans and engrave their name on the James P. McGuire Cup, the Chicago Magic took on the Baltimore Casa Mia Bays.  The Magic’s Steve Kolzow would strike first in the 26^th and after the half teammate Andy Masteller would add to the lead, 2-0.  The Bays continued to battle with several scoring chances, although the stingy Magic defense appeared flawless.  Zach Tierney scored a third in the 71^st and it looked to be in the bag for the Magic but again the Bays would battle and score back-to-back goals thanks to Matt Beckman and Jonathan Ports respectively (80^th and 82^nd).  The Magic would earn their second win and take the lead in the standings going into tomorrow’s match-up against the second place Texans at 7:30 p.m. 

Under-19 Girls
Winning their first match yesterday, the PWSI Cardinals set themselves up well but were still hoping for a win tonight against CASL Spartans Elite.  All of the teams in the championships are evenly matched and the Under-19 Girls is no different.  The Cardinals and the Spartans played for ninety minutes and as the clock ran out, both sides earned a point in the 1-1 tie.  After yesterday’s loss, the Spartans knew today was a make-or-break moment for them to stay through the weekend.

Cardinal’s head coach Steve Smith said, “We had a chance today to win. CASL had a lot to play for and came out strong. They put us under pressure the entire game. Both teams needed results to move on and a win meant everything.”

“Jessie Davis and Mary Casey, our goalkeeper, stepped up and helped our team defensively,” said Smith. Emily Jukich scored the team’s lone goal in the 31st minute after Kristin Bowers had a free kick which Latrice Lee passed to Jukich for the tap in.

Tomorrow the PWSI Cardinals and the CUSC Cyclones face off at 7:30 p.m. Both sides know that only the winner of that match will move on to Sunday’s final.

Under-17 Girls
The Under-17 Girls Eagles SC continued to soar tonight against Richmond Strikers Elite.  Down 2-0, Richmond’s Kathleen Russell struck the back of the net in the 37^th to narrow the gap to one goal.  It would take sixty-seconds for Amanda Lisberger to again take the margin to two (38^th) for the Eagles.  April Price found space and scored the second goal for Richmond in the 60^th as the team was defiant in their efforts to tie the match.  The Eagles would add two additional goals and take the 5-2 win.

The Dallas Texans 90 Red steamed past the Michigan Hawks by a 4-0 margin this evening.  Texans player Kailey Anders led with the first goal in the second minute of play, while Melissa Henderson finished up with a hat trick (5^th, 22^nd and 73^rd).

“The game came down to who came back from the rain delay psychologically ready to start the game,” said keeper coach Paul Hason.  Scoring the first three goals within an eight minute span gave the Texans an advantage on the scoreboard and mentally.  When asked about key players, Hason expressed Jessica Schuveiller’s great focus throughout the entire game.  Schuveiller has “always been consistent in every part of the game.  She can play anywhere on the field,” said Hanson.

The Eagles and Texans are tied across the board in the standings with two wins, seven goals for and two goals allowed.  The leaders in the Under-17 Girls standing will face each other tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.

Under-17 Boys
Back for the second year in a row to the US Youth Soccer National Championship, FC Milwaukee set a goal to make it farther and play better than they did last year.  No opportunities were to be wasted.  This evening, Milwaukee won 1-0 against FC Delco 89 (E-PA) thanks to an Ethan Finley goal in the 61^st minute.

Milwaukee coach Billy Solberg said, “We came in knowing we had to scrap and fight and do everything we could to win. It came down to luck and hard work.  We are excited to be back.”

Knowing know the level of competition they can expect at nationals the team grew closer together this past year and more focused on their goal of winning the national championship. Solberg said, “Not one player missed practice. We have prepped, worked hard and focused on fitness since last year.”

The Real Colorado National (CO) and Andromeda 90 (N-TX) again drew a large crowd tonight as the Andromeda faithful came out in droves.  Breaking the scoreless tie, Real’s Alexander Engeman scored in the 70th minute curling the ball into the corner with his left foot.  This was just what Andromeda needed to bump up their intensity and apply more pressure. Andromeda’s Eric Frazier pushed through to tie the game at 1-1 in the 78^th.

Lorne Donaleson, Real Colorado National’s head coach, said “I thought it was a highly entertaining match. Two good teams met and both teams played well.  It was fast-paced and I thought we had some chances that we should have put away and we just didn’t. Then they came back to score.”

Asked about how the team (Real) was enjoying their first trip to nationals, Donaleson said, “I think the boys are enjoying it. It is a good team and the boys have prepared hard to get here. We thought it would be hotter, so we trained in sweats to prepare for the heat. But the temperature is actually great. We are coming from high altitude so we can run all day.”

Play resumes tomorrow, Friday, at 7:30 am. Updated game results are available throughout the day at http://Championships.USYouthSoccer.org.

On Tuesday, August 7, The US Youth Soccer National Championships Highlight Show, presented by adidas will air on the Fox Soccer Channel, US Youth Soccer's official television partner, at 8:00 PM ET. The two-hour show will highlight the national championships providing feature stories, interviews, game highlights and much, much more.

2007 US Youth Soccer National Championships
Day 2 Evening Session Results – Preliminary Matches

Under-17 Girls
Michigan Hawks 90 (MI) 0, Dallas Texans 90 Red (TX-N) 4
Goal Scorers: Dallas Texans 90 Red- Kailey Anders (2:00), Melissa Henderson (5:00) (22:00) (73:00)

Richmond Strikers Elite (VA) 2, Eagles (CA-S) 5
Goal Scores: Richmond Strikers Elite- Kathleen Russell (37:00), April Price (60:00)
Eagles- Kelsea Smith (3:00), Kelsey Owen (22:00), Amanda Lisberger (38:00), Emily Cressy (73:00), Chloe Johnson (78:00)

Under-17 Boys
FC Delco 89 (E-PA) 0, FC Milwaukee (WI) 1
Goal Scorers: FC Milwaukee- Ethan Finlay (62:00)

Andromeda 90 (TX-N) 1, Real CO National (CO) 1
Goal Scorers: Andromeda 90- Eric Frazier (78:00) Real CO National- Alexander Greenman (70:00)

Under-19 Girls
PWSI Cardinals (VA) 1, 87 CASL Spartan Elite (NC) 1
Goal Scorers: PWSI Cardinals- Emily Jukich (31:00)
87 CASL Spartan Elite- Jennifer Bronson (20:00)

Carmel Cyclones (IN) 0, Sereno 88 White (AZ) 1
Goal Scorers: Sereno 88 White- Kiersten Dallstream (7:00)

Under-19 Boys
Baltimore Casa Mia Bays (MD) 2, Chicago Magic (IL) 3
Goal Scorers: Baltimore Casa Mia Bays- Matt Beckman (80:00), Jonathan Ports (82:00)
Chicago Magic- Steve Kolzow (26:00), Andy Masteller (52:00), Zach Tierney (71:00)

South San Jose/San Juan Ruckus (CA-N) 1, Dallas Texans Red 88 (TX-N) 1
Goal Scorers: South San Jose/San Juan Ruckus- Jeffrey Cosgriff (70:00) Dallas Texans Red 88- Jonathan Villanueva (86:00)

CORRECTION: UPDATED GOAL SCORERS FROM THIS MORNING 
Under-16 Boys
Houstonians FC 90/91 (TX-S) 0, FC Delco Hammerheads (E-PA) 4
Goal Scorers: FC Delco Hammerheads- Wayne Maminski(12:00) (23:00), Jordan LeBlanc (27:00), Danny Dilullo (38:00)