Category: Soccer America Daily

[REGION II SEMIFINAL RESULTS] Only four defending champions advanced to Wednesday’s finals at the US Youth Soccer Region II Championships, and they are all on the boys’ side: U-15 Michigan Wolves, U-16 and U-18 Chicago Magic and U-17 FC Milwaukee. Eclipse Select of Illinois sent four teams to last year’s US Youth Soccer National Championships and looked to do the same this year, all four teams advancing to the semifinals lost. Michigan’s Bloomfield Force picked up the biggest win with a 4-0 victory over FC Milwaukee on a pair of goals each by Laura Heyboer and Amanda Bowery. For complete Region II semifinal results …

With more than a month to go before the deadline to apply to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, 21 clubs have already been accepted to field boys U-16 and U-18 teams in the program that launches next fall. The Academy, an extension of the U.S. national team program, was unveiled June 4. On Tuesday, U.S. Soccer named 10 clubs that are joining the 11 clubs that were accepted June 15. So far, clubs from 12 states are represented. The 10 newest clubs are Chicago Magic & Chicago Sockers (Ill.), IMG Soccer Academy, Kendall Soccer Coalition (Florida) & Clearwater Chargers (Fla.), Crossfire Premier (Wash.), Greensboro Youth SC (N.C.), Mustang FC (Calif.), Oakwood (Conn.) and Vardar (Michigan). U.S. Soccer coaches will select qualified applicants on a rolling basis until Aug. 1.

[CLUB PROFILE]. Nomads SC of Southern California, a pioneer in American youth soccer, was one of the first clubs accepted by the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. In the first of a Soccer America series profiling the clubs that will field teams, we look at Nomads, which were founded in 1976 and by the mid-1980s became of the one of the first fully staffed, multi-team elite youth clubs that soon proliferated throughout the nation.

[REGION II YOUTH SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS] FC Milwaukee led all clubs with seven teams advancing to the semifinals of the U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championships on Monday in Des Moines, Iowa. Six teams from the Michigan Wolves-Hawks and four from Eclipse Select — including the defending national champion girls teams in the U-16 and U-16 divisions — also reached the final four. Cedar Rapids Soccer Association’s U-18 boys, winners of all three group games, represent the host state of Iowa. For the complete semifinal pairings to take place Tuesday at James W. Cownie Soccer Park …

[REGION IV YOUTH CHAMPIONS] Arsenal FC, winner of three straight national championships in its age group, won its fourth straight US Youth Soccer Region IV Championship by beating Colorado Rush Nike, 2-0, in Sunday’s U-18 boys final. Two other former national champions will return to the US Youth Soccer National Championships July 24-29 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas: U-16 boys Real So Cal and the U-17 girls Eagles. Cal South won 10 titles. FC Slammers won two girls titles and lost to the Eagles on penalties in the U-17 girls division. Arizona power Sereno White won one boys and one girls title. A new addition to the US Youth Soccer Region IV Championships is the first girls team from Nevada to ever win a regional championship, the U-12 Neusport FC Green. For results and goalscorers of the Region IV finals …