Champions Crowned at 2008 US Youth Soccer Region II Championships

Illinois sends five teams to national championships
Michigan and Kansas each send two
Twelve more teams set for nationals – http://championships.usyouthsoccer.org
Under-14 Toro Bravo first girls team from Nebraska win
Under-19 Force Football Club Girls return
Under-18 FC Milwaukee Boys fall
Under-16 Vardar Girls in despite loss
Under-17 Everest SC one of few boys team in over 25 years from Ohio-North win

ROCKFORD, Illinois (June 25, 2008) – A driving rain and muddy fields added another competitor in today's US Youth Soccer Region II Championship finals as teams tried to focus on the task at hand and the chance to advance to the US Youth Soccer National Championships as one of the top four teams in the country. 

What began as a 210 team field was narrowed to just 14 yesterday to set the stage for today's finals at Sportscore 2 Soccer Complex in Rockford, Illinois. These winners in the Under-14 through Under-19 age groups will take one of four places in the national championships.

2008 US Youth Soccer Region II (Midwest) Champions
BOYS
Under 13 (IL) ELGIN PUMAS
Under 14 (MI) GRAND RAPIDS CREW JRS
Under 15 (IL) CHICAGO FIRE JRS. RED
Under 16 (KY) JAVANON SC
Under 17 (OH-N) EVEREST SOCCER CLUB
Under 18 (MN) SHATTUCK-ST. MARYS
Under 19 (KS) KC WIZARDS JUNIORS  

GIRLS
Under 13 (IN) CARMEL UNITED ACADEMY
Under 14 (NE) TORO BRAVO
Under 15 (KS) KCFC INTENSITY
Under 16 (IL) ECLIPSE SELECT
Under 17 (IL) ECLIPSE SELECT
Under 18 (IL) ECLIPSE SELECT
Under 19 (MI) BLOOMFIELD FORCE

Illinois' Eclipse Select sent several teams to the 2007 regional finals only to come away with second place finishes.  This year the club was focused to again earn places in the finals and hoped to claim tickets to the national finals.  Eclipse sent one boys team and three girls into today's finals with all three girls' teams winning the Region II Championship and the tickets to the national finals.

"This is something we started talking about at last year's finals," said Mike Nesci, director of senior girls for Eclipse Select.  "It was 6-27-07 last year.  All of our teams were eliminated and our team and this club really focused on getting back (US Youth Soccer Region II Championships) and seeking to win and advance."

Kansas will send the Under-15 Girls KCFC Intensity and Under-19 Boys KC Wizards Juniors to Little Rock, Arkansas, site of the 2008 national championships, thanks to wins over Cleveland Futbol Club (OH-N) and Scott Gallagher (MO) respectively.

Eclipse Select entered today's Under-16 Girls final knowing that their tickets were already claimed for nationals after winning the inaugural US Youth Soccer National League this spring.  The league is made up of top regional teams that compete against teams from across the country.  Showing the passion to claim the regional title, Eclipse and Vardar (MI) met to determine the champion and a spirited contest followed as both opponents sought victory.  After a scoreless game in regulation, Katie Uyenishi opened things up for Eclipse in the 89^th who would go on to add two goals by Maggie Murnane in the 98^th and 99^th and claim the win (3:0) and regional crown. 

Vardar will go on to represent the regional champion and Eclipse will go on to represent the league at the national championships in July.  Chicago Fire Juniors Red Under-15 Boys also participated in the US Youth Soccer National League however they did not finish in the top two, top two teams move on to nationals, but did retain their slot for the 2008-2009 national league season.  The league has added the Under-17 Boys and Girls divisions. 

Under-19 Girls Force Football Club scored three goals to advance to their second consecutive regional championship.  Force defeated KC College Select (3:1) to advance to nationals where they will look to defend their 2007 US Youth Soccer National Championship as Under-18 Girls. 

"The weather was terrible and our match against Eclipse (Select) yesterday really took it out of the girls," said Andy Wagstaff, Force Football Club.  "These were three very tough matches in three days and I'm really proud of the girls.  Everyone wanted to knock us off and we did it.  It's a bit surreal."    

In 2007 only the second boys' team advanced to nationals with NFC Bluejays Under-18 Boys.  This year, Under-14 Girls Toro Bravo will be the first girl's team from Nebraska to win and advance to the national finals.  Toro defeated Michigan Hawks 5-4 in penalty kicks after scoreless regulation and overtime periods.

"We've played these guys (Hawks) in the US Youth Soccer Midwest Regional League and I didn't want to face them in until the final, if we were fortunate enough to make it," said Marcus Kelcher, head coach for Toro Bravo.  "Today's win is huge for our club and our state.  This is massive for the girls and shows that hard work and determination pays off, no matter where you're from." 

Everest SC (OH-N) played Scott Gallagher (MO) and extra time was needed to determine a champion in Under-17 Boys as was the case for five of today's championships.  Jared Gain put Scott Gallagher out front in the 27^th but before the half Alex Johnson evened the match in the 45^th for Everest.  After overtime periods the score would remain and a shootout 4-3 victory gave Everest the ticket to nationals. 

"This is a team that's been together since they were eight-years-old," John Fenix, head coach for Everest Coach.  "We are one of the few boys' teams from Ohio (North) to advance to nationals in over 25 years.  This experience (regionals) is beyond the boys' wildest dreams and expectations and they have really enjoyed it."

Showcasing the level of play in regionals, back-to-back regional champion FC Milwaukee Blue Under-18 Boys faced Shattuck-St. Marys for the regional crown.  Knotted at zero after the first half, Akil Howard broke the tie for Shattuck in the 57^th and teammate Teal Bunbury doubled the advantage in the 87^th.  The win ended the Blue's streak and provided

"We survived the first half and scored off of a restart," said Tim Carter, head coach of Shattuck-St. Mary.  ""We followed with a very nice second goal and with these conditions, with the weather, being down two (goals) is very difficult.  This win says a lot about us and it is an honor to win the Region II Championships and look forward to represent our region at nationals.' 

Look for more game information and quotes from today's games at http://championships.usyouthsoccer.org/regionII.  Today's scores…

2008 US Youth Soccer Region II Championships Final Results 

Boys
Under 13 (OH-N) CASA v. (IL) ELGIN PUMAS, 3:4
Goal scorers:|
CASA - 29 (6:00), 40 (12:00) (64:00)|
Elgin - 5 (26:00), 11 (41:00), 32 (57:00), 17 (62:00)|
2:1 at half

Under 14 (WI) FC MILWAUKEE BLUE v. (MI) GRAND RAPIDS CREW JRS, 0:3|
Goal scorers:
Rapids - 9 (7:00), 10 (47:00) (56:00)
0:1 at half

Under 15 (IL) CHICAGO FIRE JRS. RED v. (MRL1-KS) KCFC RANGERS, OT 4:2
Goal Scorers:
Fire - Tyler Gill (48:00), Jon Rosenbaum (92:00), Grant Fitzgerald (103:00), Horacio Sanchez (107:00)|
KCFC - Corben Gailey (14:00), Tyler Dixon (85:00)
0:1 at half
1:1 at end of reg

Under 16 (KY) JAVANON SC v. (IL) ECLIPSE SELECT, 3:1
Goal scorers:
Javanon - Brandon Causey (5:00), Tyler Riggs (29:00), Will Vitalis (72:00)
Eclipse - Irving Castillo-Lopez (31:00)
2:1 at half

Under 17 (OH-N2) EVEREST SOCCER CLUB v. (MRL1-MO) SCOTT GALLAGHER, 1:2 (4-3 PKs)
Goal scorers:
Everest - Alex Johnson (45:00)
Scott - Jared Gain (27:00)
1:1 at half
1:1 end of reg
1:1 end of OT

Under 18 (WI) FC MILWAUKEE BLUE v. (MN) SHATTUCK-ST. MARYS, 0:2
Goal scorers:
Shattuck - Akil Howard (57:00), Teal Bunbury (87:00)
0:0 at half

Under 19 (KS) KC WIZARDS JUNIORS v. (MO) SCOTT GALLAGHER, 1:0
Goal scorers:
Wizards - Curt McDonald (52:00)
0:0 at half           

GIRLS
Under 13 (IN) CARMEL UNITED ACADEMY v. (KS) KCFC FORCE, 1:0
Goal Scorers:
Carmel - 18 (65:00)
0:0 at half

Under 14 (MI) MICHIGAN HAWKS BLACK v. (NE) TORO BRAVO, 0:0 (4-5 PKs)
0:0 at half
0:0 end of reg
0:0 end of OT

Under 15 (KS) KCFC INTENSITY v. (OH-N) CLEVELAND FUTBOL CLUB, 1:0
Goal scorers:
KCFC - Heather Nelson (37:00)
1:0 at half

Under 16 (IL) ECLIPSE SELECT v. (MI) VARDAR, OT 3:0
Goal scorers:
Eclipse - Katie Uyenishi (89:00), Maggie Murnane (98:00) (99:00)
0:0 at half
0:0 at end of reg

Under 17 (IL) ECLIPSE SELECT v. (WI) FC MILWAUKEE BLUE, OT 1:0
Goal scorers:
Eclipse - Nicole Lipp (109:00)
0:0 at half
0:0 end of reg

Under 18 (MRL2-IL) ECLIPSE SELECT v. (MO) ST. LOUIS SC, 2:1
Goal scorers:
Eclipse - Lauren Mathy (34:00), Jessie DaPisa (89:00)
St. Louis - Blake Miller (17:00)
1:1 at half

Under 19 (MI) BLOOMFIELD FORCE v. (KS) KC COLLEGE SELECT, 3:1
Goal scorers:
Force - Jackie Carron (36:00) (50:00), Stephanie Crawford (85:00)
KC - Rachel Morris (45:00)
1:1 at half

Regional winners of the Under-14 through Under-19 brackets earn a berth to the 2008 US Youth Soccer National Championships to be played July 22-27, in Little Rock, Arkansas, at Burns Park Soccer Complex. 

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 73rd anniversary of the storied cup.

Daily reports and complete results from the tournament will be available on http://championships.usyouthsoccer.org.

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About the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series
The US Youth Soccer National Championship Series provides more than 10,000 teams from US Youth Soccer's 55 State Associations the opportunity to showcase their abilities against the best in the nation while emphasizing teamwork, discipline and fair play. The yearlong competition begins with over 185,000 players in the US Youth Soccer State Championships.  These champions and selected wildcard teams through US Youth Soccer Regional Leagues advance to compete in one of four the US Youth Soccer Regional Championships. Champions (U-14 through U-19) from each regional event advance to the US Youth Soccer National Championships.  Adding to the excitement in 2008, the national championships will feature two teams from the newly formed US Youth Soccer National League in the U-15 and U-16 age groups.  Overall 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.

About the United States Youth Soccer Association (US Youth Soccer)
The Game for ALL Kids! is the largest youth sports organization in the country and 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, and over 900,000 administrators, coaches and volunteers in 55 member state associations. US Youth Soccer programs provide a fun, safe and healthy environment for players at every level of the game. For more information, visit www.USYouthSoccer.org.

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