2014 US Youth Soccer Region III Championships heating up in Baton Rouge, La.

Preliminary Games, Day 2 of 3

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BATON ROUGE, La. (June 21, 2014) — The 2014 US Youth Soccer Region III (South) Championships continued Saturday at the BREC Burbank-Soccer Complex in Baton Rouge, La. More than 190 games have been completed, and tomorrow’s action will decide the 96 teams moving on from the event’s preliminary round. Sunday’s matches begin at 7:45 a.m. CT and continue throughout the day with the final matches kicking off at 4:45 p.m.

Seeking players for future roster spots, more than 100 college coaches have registered for the US Youth Soccer Region III Championships, with more expected during the rest of the week. Year after year, the coaches enjoy the level of performance and urgency that comes when the teams play for advancement in the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series. 

“Events like this, with the level of competition, lend themselves to having college coaches come to see players in this environment,” said Nick Finotti, head coach of Under-18 Boys CESA 95 Premier (SC). “It’s a great opportunity for players to show themselves and hopefully get recognized and draw some attention to move on and play at the next level, which is ultimately the goal for all of the kids here.”

Regional winners of the Under-13 through Under-19 age groups earn a berth to the 2014 US Youth Soccer National Championships, presented by the National Guard, which will be played July 22-27 at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md.

The US Youth Soccer National Championships will consist of US Youth Soccer Regional Champions, as well as the US Youth Soccer National League qualifiers in the Under-14 through Under-18 Boys and Girls age groups to complete the field of 96 teams.

Girls Highlights

Local side BRSC/CSC 96 Alliance (LA) is in a good position to move on from Under-18 Girls Pool A after playing to a 2-2 tie Saturday against 95 JASA Coastal Surge (NC). The Baton Rouge area team took the lead in the 16th minute when Monique Hundley found the back of the net, but JASA responded just four minutes later with a Natalie Johnson goal. Alliance appeared to be heading for a win after Cayla Hebert scored midway through the second half. However, Victoria Riggs scored an equalizer for JASA in the final minutes to force the 2-2 draw. Another tie on Sunday would guarantee Alliance a spot in the Under-18 Girls quarterfinals.

In a rematch of the 2013 Region III Championships final, defending champion Tennessee SC 16 (TN) snuck past Tampa Bay United 97 Premier (FL) with a 1-0 win. The Under-16 Girls matchup went back and forth, with the lone goal coming from Tennessee’s Maddison Falter in the 19th minute. Tampa Bay had an opportunity to equalize late in the game but saw its shot hit the left post. Despite the loss, the Florida side still has a good chance of advancing out of Pool A.

After they each came away with wins on the first day, United FA 99 Elite (GA) and Arkansas United 99 (AR) split the points on Saturday — playing to a 1-1 draw. Deven Simpson put United up in first-half stoppage time when she tapped in a rebound following a nice diving save from the Arkansas keeper. Tristyn Edgar tied the game with a goal early in the second half, and the teams exchanged chances before ending deadlocked at 1. The two squads are now tied atop the Under-15 Girls Pool B at four points each heading into the final day of pool play.

Playing in their first Regional Championship, Under-13 Sunrise Sting 00/01 (FL) and CASL Elite Jrs. (NC) met Saturday with control of Pool C on the line. Chloe Laureano opened the scoring for Sunrise in the 34th minute, but CASL came back 10 minutes later with a strike from Emily Duerr. The match came down to the final moments, when Laureano scored her second goal of the game to lift Sunrise to a 2-1 win.

Boys Highlights

Two wins to start the weekend have given CESA 95 Premier (SC) a good shot at finishing first in the Under-18 Boys Pool A. Saturday’s win required a comeback after Arkansas Comets 96 Premier (AR) took a 34th-minute lead thanks to an Erick Batres goal. Jose Cerra responded quickly for CESA before halftime, and Jonathan Cutrone hit a side-volley into the upper-90 to give the South Carolina side a 2-1 lead in the 50th minute. Rolando Sidon equalized the game in the 78th minute, but once again CESA followed with a goal of its own shortly after, as Brennan Koslow fired a shot from the top of the box past a diving keeper — giving CESA a 3-2 win.

CESA 95 coach Nick Finotti said it was important to carry over Friday’s good performance into Saturday and produce the late winner.

“The game was in the balance there,” coach Nick Finotti said. “The experience of this group and the character of the group contributed to us finding a way to get a goal in the last six, seven minutes. It’s very important moving into the third game to be on top of the group.”

GSA Phoenix 97 Premier (GA), the 2013 US Youth Soccer National Championships finalist, is off to a good start in Baton Rouge after winning its opening two games. The Georgia side took control Saturday against Louisiana Fire Red 97 (LA) after it received two second-half goals from Santino Jerke following a Yosef Samuel strike in the 39th minute. A pair of late goals from Louisiana’s Eric Guin and Jon Karl Bosch kept it close, but an own goal helped cap a 4-2 GSA victory. After a goal differential tiebreaker caused GSA to miss out on a National Championships berth through the US Youth Soccer National League, the Georgia side will need to defend its Region III Championships title in order to have a shot at returning to the National Championship final in 2014.

In Under-16 Boys play, FC Dallas 98 Premier (N-TX) defeated FC Dallas El Paso (S-TX), 1-0, in a matchup of foes from opposite sides of Texas. The game remained scoreless until just before halftime, when Premier’s Gerber Chavez found the back of the net to give his side the lead. That proved to be the game’s lone goal, as Premier held on for the shutout win and jumped El Paso into first place in Pool D.

The Region III Championships have been filled with tight games, and the Under-13 matchup between Tennessee SC 19 (TN) and WSA 01 White (OK) was no different. After a scoreless first half, WSA struck first when Jose Eduardo Portillo finished off some nice build-up passing by sliding his shot past the keeper. It took just two minutes for Tennessee to tie the score, as Sean Spoletini hit a diving header into the net to level the game at 1. The defenses clamped down after the two quick goals, and the game finished in a 1-1 draw.

Daily reports and complete results from the US Youth Soccer Region III Championships are available on http://championships.usyouthsoccer.org/regionIII/.

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Complete scores from Saturday’s action are below.