USL Feature Article
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
GROUP A
Ironbound SC
Ironbound SC holds the distinction of being one of the only two perfect boys Super Y-League teams in the entire 140-team tournament. The other just happens to be West Pines United, who is also competing in the U13 North American Finals in Group D, the two could possibly meet in the U13 semifinals, but first, both will have to navigate group play.
Ironbound finished the regular season with a record of 14-0-0, scoring over five goals per match and allowing just 0.35 per game. Coached by Omid Namazi, Manuel Pinho and Rooslvet Rodrigo the team beat fellow North American Finals qualifiers: PDA (3-1), New Jersey Stallions (2-0), Long Island Rough Riders (6-0) and had their closest match of the season with Match Fit Chelsea, winning 2-1.
NOVA FC
NOVA FC ended the regular season with a record of 10-1-1. Their lone loss of the season was to their affiliate club, the Northern Virginia Royals, 4-1 on Wednesday, July 1. Despite the loss, NOVA FC enjoyed the top offense in the region, scoring 49 times in 12 matches. Matthew Ledder led the team in scoring. He found the back of the net 11 times this year. He also added three assists. The team’s defense allowed 1.25 goals per game, the second-best total in the region behind Alpharetta United.
New Hampshire Phantoms
The New Hampshire Phantoms finished the season atop Group A of the Super Y-League New England U13 boys division. The team is comprised of players from northern Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The Phantom’s 3-0 victory against Group B winner MPS Knights was the season’s highlight. The Phantoms allowed only 10 goals during the season and scored 38 – earning them league-leading honors in both categories.
Long Island Rough Riders
The Long Island Rough Riders finished fifth in the Mid Atlantic Division with a record of 9-4-1, edging out TSF Academy for the final qualification position based on goal differential. TSF matched the Rough Riders’ point total of 28 on the season, but Long Island’s offense netted six more goals this season. Head-to head with TSF, Long Island won 3-1 on May 31. Against the four other Mid Atlantic qualifiers, Long Island fell, 6-0 to Ironbound SC, tied PDA, 2-2, lost 4-1 to New Jersey and got nipped, 2-1 by Match Fit.
GROUP B
MPS Knights
MPS Knights finished the year with a record of 6-1-3 to claim the New England Division’s Group B title over fellow MPS affiliate, MPS Bulldogs, who ended their year with a 5-3-1 record. Head-to-head with the Group A champion, the New Hampshire Phantoms, MPS Knights lost their only meeting of the season, 3-0. Zack LaCava carried the Knights this season, scoring 10 of the team’s 38 goals and adding an assist.
PDA
PDA finished second only to Ironbound SC with a final record of 11-1-2. This team is coached by Sam Nellins and Todd Moser. They tied the New Jersey Stallions 0-0 and the Long Island Rough Riders, 2-2 this season. Michael Moshier and Ryan Kaplan provided a strong scoring spark for PDA this season. The duo combined for 17 goals and seven assists this season.
Northern Virginia Royals
The Northern Virginia Royals were the only team to defeat the South Atlantic Division Champion NOVA FC, 4-1 in July. The win propelled the 7-1-4 Royals past division rival, Alpharetta United in the standings, as the Royals ended the year a single point ahead of Alpharetta. Head-to-head with Alpharetta, the Royals tied 2-2 in June and lost 1-0 in July. Coached by Rody Vargas, the Royals got a huge boost from Divine Koni, who netted 16 goals and three assists this season.
Chicago Fire
The Chicago Fire completed a 3-1-2 season in the Midwest Division this season, losing only to the unbeaten Indiana Invaders, 6-1 on July 24th. Outside of that game, the Fire outscored their opponents 16-9. Mauricio Pineda and Christian Henock-Berhanu were the Fire’s top scorers this season. The duo combined for six of Chicago’s 17 goals. The Fire had the second-best offense in the division. They scored an average of 2.83 goals per game.
GROUP C
Mountain WFC
Mountain WFC U13 boys finished on the top of the Pacific Northwest Division with a record 11-1-0. The side had fifteen goal scorers that netted 55 goals in 12 games and conceded eight goals to finish with an impressive plus-47 goal difference. Great competition in Tampa, Florida will be a very good test for this well-balanced squad. All the players are looking forward to the challenge.
Fort Wayne Fever
The Fort Wayne Fever U13 Super Y-League team is comprised of a solid core of players from the Fort Wayne Fever Academy ‘96 boy’s squad. They are joined by premier players from travel clubs around the state of Indiana. This summer, the Fort Wayne Fever U13 Super Y-League team competed in the Midwest Division of Super Y-League finishing second of seven teams with a record of 4-2-0. They are pleased to qualify for the North American Finals and are looking forward to competing against some of the best youth teams from around North America.
Florida Soccer Alliance
Florida Soccer Alliance completed a 9-1-0 season in the SYL’s Southeast Division. The team won Group A, beating second-place HC United by six points in the standings. Against Group B Champion, West Pines United, FSA lost a 4-0 match in June. This Michael McAvoy coached side enjoyed a 11-goal, one assist season from Philip Lieb and a nine-goal, five assist campaign from defender Johnathon Bentham.
New Jersey Stallions
The U13 boys from New Jersey advance to the North American Finals after finishing third in the Mid Atlantic region in their first year of Super Y-League competition. They had a strong season, scoring 54 goals and only giving up seven during their 14 games. They are ready to see how they fare against some of the strongest teams in the country. The U13 boy’s team is one of three New Jersey Stallions teams heading to Tampa this year, with the U15B and U17B teams also qualifying.
GROUP D
Indiana Invaders
The Indiana Invaders went 5-0-1 this season, scoring 18 times while allowing just six against. The team’s stiffest competition came from Alliance Academy, who tied Indiana 1-1 on July 18th. Juan Gonzalez netted six of the team’s 18 goals to push the top offense in the Midwest ahead of the Chicago Fire. The team is coached by Saidi Isaac and Mario Manta.
West Pines
“Our U13 season has been filled with success, winning the Florida State Cup, participating in the Dallas Cup and having some of our players being selected into the US National Team Pool,” said Richard Jobson, Head Coach of the U13 boys. “Having some positive results at the North American Finals would be the final icing on our cake and a great way to end our season.”
Surprisingly, the 5-4-0 Florida Rush gave the U13 boys from West Pines United their toughest match of the season. They played to a 2-1 final on Saturday, August 22. That was the only match all season decided by a single goal.
Coastal WFC
Coached by Michael Perucho (CSA B License and Technical Director for the Tsawwassen Soccer Club) and assisted by John Mantei, these boys went 11-1-0 this season, recording 28 goals for and 11 against. Coastal WFC finished tied for first place in their group with 33 points. The team has a balanced attack that saw eight different players enjoy multiple-goal seasons. Coastal got four goals out of Andrew Lipton and four goals and two assists from Parker Coventry.
Match Fit Chelsea Academy
Match Fit Chelsea finished fourth in the 15-team Mid Atlantic Division with a 10-3-1 record. Coached by Rob Leather, Charles Rowan and Chris Leahey, they outscored their opponents 46-10. After falling to Quickstrike SC, 1-0 in June, this team finished off the season on an eight-game unbeaten stretch in which they outscored their opponents, 26-3.
