U17 Boys National Final 4 includes Top 3 rated
teams in USA, including Diablo FC 90
Wednesday, July 2
The
top 3 ranked U17 boys teams in the country
are slated for the USYSA National Final 4 later
this month in Little Rock, Ark. Three-time
National tournament entry
FC Delco Hammerheads of Pennsylvania
is ranked just ahead of
Andromeda 91 of Plano, Texas and
Diablo FC 90. Filling out the Final 4 in Little
Rock is 10th ranked
Everest SC of Hudson, Ohio. The top three
teams are separated by less than 100 points in
the latest gotsoccer.com listings.
The Nationals begin in less than three weeks,
running July 22-27 in the Arkansas capital city.
In the U17 boys age group there is no defending
champion as
Real So Cal , which won the tournament the
three previous years as U14, U15 and U16, did
not qualify for Far West Regionals to try for
their 4th straight National title. This leaves
FC Delco as the favorite since the Eastern
Pennsylvania team has been to Regionals six
consecutive times and to Nationals the past two
years, finishing second at U15 and third as U16.
Keep up with latest
National Championship Information.
FC Delco Hammerheads claim
three-peat as Region 1 Champions to complete U17
Nationals Final 4 Field
Tuesday, July
1
Portland
Maine - Memories were
made and champions were crowned at
the US Youth Soccer Region I
Championships today. The top teams
in Region I came together this week
with one goal, and that was to take
their crown at the US Youth Soccer
Region I Championship and advance to
Little Rock, Arkansas for the US
Youth Soccer National Championships.
Just playing the game is part of the
quest to the capturing the coveted
title of US Youth Soccer National
Champions. One team that has been on
the quest many times are the
Under-17 boys
FC Delco Hammerheads. After
today's game against FC Blazers
(MA), Delco chanted "Three-peat" as
they walked off the field to
take cover from the blazing heat.
This year marks Delco's 6th
appearance at the US Youth Soccer
Region I Championships and their 3rd
consecutive title as the US Youth
Soccer Region I Champions. Adding to
the history, they played the same
team, FC Blazers, in the finals all
three years and ended with the same
score each time, 2-1.
"Before the tournament even started,
I told them it would be a `one game
at a time` approach. We had the
toughest bracket and each game was a
championship game," said Delco head
coach Adrian Cox. "We executed our
game plan. They are all great
players, but when you play as a
team, special things happen. That`s
why this team is so great – because
they play for each other. The core
group of this team has been together
for six or seven years."
The score was 0-0 until the 63rd
minute when Charlie Rugg put it in
the back of the net for an FC Blazer
lead. But, just like 2006 and 2007,
Delco came back from behind. Daniel
DiLullo evened the score in the 79th
and Wayne Maminski followed up on a
missed shot to put one past the
Blazers keeper in the 81st minute to
break the tie and raise the score to
2-1.
2 teams added to U17 National Final 4 at
Regionals in Illinois and North Carolina
Wednesday, June 25
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 III
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.
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. Alejandro Garcia
put Everest out front in the 27th but before the
half Jared Gain evened the match in the 45th for
Scott Gallagher. 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."
North Texas to advance 8 teams to Little
Rock
RALEIGH (June 25, 2008) – Teams and sidelines
erupted after today`s victories. Winners were
crowned US Youth Soccer Region III Champions and
have earned a berth to the US Youth Soccer
National Championship in Little Rock, Arkansas,
on July 22-27.
The US Youth Soccer Regional Championships
always displays the highest level of competition
and in today`s matches, that competition was
evenly matched. Several games went into overtime
and some went beyond that to penalty kicks and
even sudden death elimination.
With targets on their back in the Under-18 boys
division, the 2007 US Youth Soccer National
Champions, Andromeda 90, held their opponent
scoreless and put up two goals to continue in
their trek to defending their title.
The Under-17 boys from Andromeda 91 are
following the lead of Andromeda 90. By playing
strong defense and working together, they too,
held their opponent, CASL Elite, scoreless with
a 2:0 win.
Diablo FC 90 Ranked #1 in
the USA among U17 Boys Teams
Tuesday, June 24
Fresh off their victory in the USYSA
Far West Regionals in Honolulu, the
Diablo FC 90 boys are ranked #1 in
the USA in the latest gotsoccer.com
national poll of U17 boys teams.
The rankings list the top 1172 U17
boys teams from the 50 states.
Needless to say, the team coached by
John Badger is also #1 in Region IV
and Northern California. This is the
highest national ranking ever
achieved by our club. DVSC Nightmare
girls were ranked in the Top 10
Nationally for several years but
never got to #1.
The team is continuing on a busy
summer schedule of major tournaments
around the country, including the
USYSA National Championship Final
Four in Little Rock, Ark July 22-27,
where they will compete against the
other three Regional champions.
Diablo FC earned its #1 ranking
based on the Regional title plus
three straight CYSA North State Cup
championships, the prestigious 2007
NHB Cup title and other strong
performances in invitational
tournaments. They are currently in
first place in the 2008 Super
Y-League Pacific Division.
See complete U17 boys national
rankings.
Move over Bill & Hillary, Diablo FC 90 is Coming
to Little Rock!
Sunday,
June 22
Little Rock, Arkansas is the capital city of
Arkansas and the home to Bill and Hillary
Clinton during his 12 years as governor. Now it
will be the temporary home of Diablo FC 90 when
the U17 boys team coached by John Badger takes
part in the USYSA National Championships July
22-27.
Diablo FC 90, known as DVSC Black Pearl 90
during their three-year run as 2006-2008 State
Cup champions, are now Far West Regional
champions after defeating OSC Rage of Southern
California 2-1 in the finals Sunday in Honolulu.
Jose Cabeza and Jaysen Dyal scored goals to give
Diablo FC a 2-0 halftime advantage. OSC
possessed the ball through large parts of the
game but was unable to get behind the Diablo FC
defense to threaten goalie Anthony Ahedo. Off a
corner kick in the 89th minute OSC finally broke
through for a goal but Diablo FC then held on to
the ball through 4 minutes of added time to
claim the first-ever Regional title for the
Concord-based youth soccer club.
Badger credited his defensive back four of Alex
Lopez, Edwin Velasquez, Ryan Quigley and Jose
Gonzalez for the team`s strong showing
throughout the tournament. The back four played
every minute of the team`s six games in
Honolulu. Overall, Diablo FC scored 14 goals
while surrendering four at Regionals. Counting
the six games in Regionals and seven in CYSA
North State Cup earlier this spring as they won
their third straight title, the Diablo FC 90
boys scored 38 goals and gave up just six. They
never gave up more than one goal in any of those
13 games.
All 15 players making the trip to Hawaii
contributed to the team`s success, according to
Badger. Ahedo, Garrett Biel, Cabeza, Harjan
Cheema, Dyal, Omar Ortiz, Quigley, Adrian
Rincon, Andrew Shapiro, Gonzalez, Velasquez,
Miguel Perez, Edgar Villagrana, Lopez, Scott
White and their injured teammate George Valente
will forever be 2008 USYSA Far West Regional
Champions.
The National Championships in Little Rock will
feature four U17 boys teams. The Region 1
tournament begins Friday in Maine. Region 2
started yesterday Illinois while Region 3
concludes this Wednesday in North Carolina. The
four Regional champions will play a round robin
in Arkansas with the top two finishers then
playing for the championship in a single game.
The Diablo FC 90 boys success places a real
exclamation point on the history of the Diablo
Valley Soccer Club and an auspicious debut for
the brand new Diablo FC, which came about
earlier this year with the merger of Concord
clubs DVSC and Mt. Diablo Soccer League. DVSC
teams had participated in Far West Regionals in
10 of the past 14 years since 1995 without
winning a championship. The DVSC Nightmare girls
twice reached the Regional finals and another
time were in the semifinals. Badger was taking
part in his 5th Regional as a head coach with
his four previous efforts all ending at the
quarterfinal stage, including the past two years
when the 90 boys feel at that hurdle.
Diablo FC had an impressive debut this year in
CYSA North State Cup play with teams reaching
the finals and semifinals in several age groups.
Coaching Director Brian Voltattorni and
Technical Director Marquis White expect the
nearly 50 teams representing Diablo FC in the
2008-2009 season to enjoy similar results.
Diablo FC 90 was the only CYSA North boys team
to get as far as the semifinals at Regionals
this year. Two Cal North girls teams are playing
for Regional championships today in Honolulu. By
comparison, 39 of 42 Cal South teams made it to
the Regional quarterfinals and 20 are in the
finals.
Complete U17 Regional
results.
Diablo FC Wins PK Shootout to Reach Regional
Finals
Saturday,
June 21
Diablo FC 90 scored the tying goal in the
last minute of regulation play to stun an
overflow crowd of local supporters for Honolulu
Bulls SC 91 Ka`ula and Coach John Badger`s team
went on to take the penalty kick shootout 5-4 to
advance to Sunday`s U17 boys championship game
of the Far West Regionals in Honolulu.
The Hawaiian team, making its 6th straight
appearance in the Regionals and rooted on by
nearly 500 partisan fans (there were exactly 5
Diablo FC parents in attendance to counter the
home crowd), had the better run of play in the
first half but Diablo FC (aka DVSC Black Pearl
90 as the team was known while winning the last
3 Cal North State Cup championships) had the
better scoring opportunities.
HSC Bulls countered off a corner kick by Diablo
FC during the second half and scored, although
CYSA North officials on site thought the scorer
was clearly offsides. In the final minute of the
90 Diablo FC got a corner kick, it came out to
Miguel Perez, who put a left-footed volley into
the net to disappoint the home crowd and send
the game to OT. Neither team scored in the 30
extra minutes.
Diablo FC 90 was reduced to 12 healthy field
players when Adrian Rincon pulled a hamstring in
the first few minutes of the game. The iron crew
lasted 120 minutes of play before Andrew
Shapiro, Edwin Velasquez, Jaysen Dyal, Garrett
Biel and Jose Cabeza all put their penalty kicks
in the goal while HSC missed its second attempt.
Backup goalkeeper Scott White was the only team
member not to play Saturday although he has
played in the Regionals. Starting keeper Anthony
Ahedo and White have only allowed 5 goals in 12
State Cup and Regional games while their
teammates have scored 37.
The other U17 boys semifinal game also went to
overtime with Far West Regional League spring
champs OSC Rage of Orange County winning 3-2
over WSM Internationals of Oregon, a Regional
finalist last year. The winner of the Diablo FC
90-OSC Rage game Sunday advances to the USYSA
National
Final Four in Little Rock, Ark. July 22-27.
Diablo FC is the first boys team from our club
to reach the Regional finals. DVSC Nightmare
girls twice reached the Far West Regional title
game, which determines the champion from the 13
Western States, including both the Northern and
Southern State Cup winners from California.
Making the tournament even more difficult is
that the new Far West Regional League has its
fall and spring champs also in the competition.
This allowed 42 teams from powerful Cal South to
take part in the Regionals, compared with 21
from CYSA North. 39 of the 42 Cal South teams
reached the quarterfinals.
Diablo FC 90 was the only Cal North boys team to
reach the semifinals.
From earlier in the tournament here`s a Far West
Regional press release about the Bulls:
The Honolulu Bulls Under-17 Boys are playing on
their home field this week. They have been to
every US Youth Soccer Region IV tournament since
they were Under-12. Their first year they made
it to the semifinals and they have been in the
quarterfinals ever since. With their many
friends and family supporting them from the
sidelines, they hope this year they will advance
to the US Youth Soccer National Championships.
"Size is a big challenge this week, we are
smaller than many of the teams," said Lucas Lam,
"But we are used to the pressure and used to
college coaches watching our tournaments on the
mainland."
"It is great to have support with more families
and friends watching. We don`t often get to
compete against such high caliber teams, so this
is a great opportunity," said Iain McCoy.
Diablo FC 90 Boys Storm into Semifinals of Far
West Regionals
Friday, June 20
Coach John Badger`s Diablo FC 90 (aka Black
Pearl 90) thrashed 5-time Far West Regional
quarterfinalists and the only undefeated, untied
team in the U17 boys bracket, Classic FC Red
Star of New Mexico, 3-0 in today`s quarterfinals
to reach the semis on Saturday.
Finding themselves at this stage of the
Regionals for the third year in a row, Diablo FC
finally advanced into the final four with a
comprehensive victory over Classic FC Red Star,
which had outscored its three opponents 12-1 and
had never scored less than 3 goals in a game.
Diablo FC meets host HSC Bulls 91 in the semis
on Saturday. The Bulls blanked powerful Cal
South champions South Coast Bayern 2-0 in their
quarterfinal match. Ironically, in 2001 when
Coach Badger`s U13 DVSC Cosmos United team was
eliminated in the Regional quarterfinals it was
by the HSC Bulls 88 Red.
The other semi on Saturday pairs Oregon champs
WSM Internationals, who drew with Diablo FC
during round robin play, with OSC Rage, the Far
West Regional Spring League champs. Saturday`s
quarterfinals are at 8 a.m. Hawaiian time (10
a.m. Pacific time) and the finals Sunday are at
7:30 a.m. The winner of the Regionals in each
boys and girls age bracket for U14 and older
advances to the USYSA National Final Four July
22-27 in Little Rock, Ark.
This is the farthest a boys team from our club
has advanced in Regional play. The DVSC
Nightmare girls made it to the Regional finals
twice and the semifinals another time.
To give their accomplishment a little more
perspective, the Diablo FC 90 U17 team is the
only CYSA North boys team to reach the
semifinals of the Far West Regionals in any of
the 8 age groups being contested this week in
Honolulu.
Of the 9 CYSA North boys teams participating in
Regionals, 6 made it to the quarterfinals but 5
of those 6 were defeated Friday. Coach John
Badger is making his 5th trip to the Far West
Regional quarterfinals with a CYSA North State
Cup championship team for our club since 2000.
This is the first time his team was able to
advance to the final 4 of the Regionals with its
3-0 shutout of previously undefeated and untied
Classic FC Red Star of New Mexico.
On the girls side, CYSA North had one team each
in U12-U13-U14-U15 age groups reach the semis.
In all, there were 12 CYSA North girls teams at
Regionals with 9 of them making it to the
quarterfinals and 4 of those advancing to
Saturday`s semifinals.
Diablo FC 90 Draw Tough Assignment in Regional
Quarterfinals
Wednesday,
June 18
Diablo FC 90 U17 boys remained unbeaten in Far
West Regional play in Honolulu finishing up
round-robin action with a 4-1 victory over
Alaska Rush 91 today. Coach John Badger`s team
tied with WSM Internationals of Oregon with 7
points apiece in the final Bracket C standings.
WSM, rated 14th in the nation, drew with Diablo
FC in the opening game 1-1 but won the first
seed out of the bracket based on better goal
difference +8 to the local club`s +6.
That seeding means Diablo FC faces the only U17
boys team in the tournament to win all three
games in the round-robin, Classic FC Red Star of
New Mexico, in Friday`s quarterfinals. Classic
Red Star of Albuquerque has represented New
Mexico in the Regionals as U12, U13, U15, U16
and now U17. They reached the quarterfinals
every year but U15 when they made the
semi-finals. Diablo FC 90 is making its third
straight appearance in the Regional
quarterfinals looking to advance past the final
8 for the first time.
The U17 boys bracket is stacked with 3 Southern
California teams making the quarterfinals,
including two from Far West Regional League,
plus powerful Nike Rush of Colorado, Diablo FC,
last year`s finalists WSM Internationals, Red
Star Classic and host HSC Bulls 91. Semifinals
area Saturday and championship games Sunday when
a berth in the USYSA National Final Four is at
stake.
All teams have Thursday off.
In boys U18 the Turlock Tornadoes, who edged
Diablo FC 89 in the State Cup championship game,
also made it into the quarterfinals where they
meet the WSM Gunners of Oregon.
Diablo FC Boys Near Regional
Quarterfinals
Tuesday, June 16
Diablo FC 90 U17 boys shut out Impact Black 91,
the Utah state champions, 3-0 today to move
closer to their third straight spot in the USYSA
Far West Regional quarterfinals Friday in
Honolulu.
The win today moved the local club team coach by
John Badger into a tie with WSM Internationals
of Oregon with 4 points each in their bracket.
Diablo FC plays winless Alaska Rush 91 Wednesday
to finish round-robin play. WSM meets Impact
Black in the other game. If WSM defeats Utah,
Diablo FC will automatically advance to the
quarterfinals, regardless of the outcome of
their game with Alaska.
Should both WSM and Diablo FC win they will need
to go to at least the 4th tie breaker to
determine who is first and who is second in the
bracket. This is important in terms of setting
up quarterfinal opponents. Diablo FC is in
Bracket C, which meets Bracket B teams in the
quarterfinals. New Mexico`s Classic FC Red Star
is undefeated in Bracket B while Surf White of
San Diego and Columbia Timbers 90 Red of
Washington meet Wednesday to determine the
second team to move on from Bracket B.
Diablo FC 90 open with a draw
Monday, June 16
The U17 Diablo FC 90 boys opened play Monday in
the Far West Regionals with a 1-1 draw against
last year`s Regional finalists WSM
Internationals, the Oregon champions. WSM
eliminated coach John Badger`s team in the
quarterfinals of last year`s Regionals. On
Tuesday Diablo FC faces a critical game in
Honolulu against Impact Black 91 of Utah, which
won its first game today and thus leads the
bracket with 3 points while Diablo FC and WSM
got a point apiece in the opening round. The top
two teams from the bracket advance to Friday`s
quarterfinals.
Teams have Thursday off before resuming with
quarterfinals Friday, semifinals Saturday and
championship games Sunday. The winner from each
age group at the Far West Regionals goes to the
USYSA Final Four July 22-27 in Little Rock, Ark.
this is what we have now and should keep but
move down in the order:
Black Pearl 90 Boys in Far West
Regionals
Sunday, June 15
The Diablo FC under 17 boys team coached by John
Badger is making its third straight appearance
in the
Far West Regional championships this week in
Hawaii. They are facing a star-studded field of
16 teams which includes three squads from
Southern California as they compete for the
coveted spot in the National Final Four next
month in Little Rock, Ark.
Black Pearl 90 won its third straight State Cup
championship last month in Morgan Hill with a
2-0 victory over San Juan Lightning. They jump
right into the fire at the Regionals facing 2007
Regional finalist WSM International, the Oregon
champions in their opening game Monday. WSM
eliminated Black Pearl 90 in last year`s
quarterfinals with a 2-0 decision. This Tuesday
Diablo FC will square off with Impact Black 91
of Utah and then conclude round-robin play on
Wednesday vs. Alaska Rush 91.
The top 2 teams in each of the 4 brackets
advance to Friday`s U17 boys quarterfinals.
Black Pearl 90 made it to the quarter-final in
both 2006 and 2007. They hope this time they
will be able to move even further and reach
Saturday`s semi-finals and Sunday`s finale.
The most successful team in our club`s history,
DVSC Nightmare girls, reached the Regional
finals in 2000 and 2001 and the semi-finals in
2002.
Coach John Badger (in hat) prepares U17 Boys
team for Far West Regional Game in Honolulu
