Category: Story

[UNDER-19 BOYS] The Baltimore Casa Mia Bays, who won the U.S. Youth Soccer national title three years ago as under-16s and captured last year’s U.S. Soccer Development Academy under-17/18 national crown last year, open play Wednesday at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Lancaster, Mass.

[UNDER-18 BOYS] The under-18 boys division features two of the most heralded players in this fall’s college freshman class. For both Enzo Martinez (Discoveries SC and North Carolina) and Erik Hurtado (Westside Metros Internationals and Santa Clara), who will meet Wednesday, the road to stardom has been long and windy.

[UNDER-17 BOYS] Four of last year’s six finalists at the under-16 level return to the National Championships for the under-17 finals, though the teams that finished first and second — the Dallas Texans Red and Real So Cal Blue — are the two teams that aren’t back.

[UNDER-16 BOYS] The Dallas Texans Red, the 2009 National League U-16 champions, are the lone holdovers in the Larry Harmon Cup.

[UNDER-15 BOYS] The South Charlotte SA Gold and Grand Rapids Crew Juniors, who meet Wednesday on the first day of group play, return to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships for the second year in a row.

[UNDER-14 BOYS] St. Louis Scott Gallagher, whose Busch and Gallagher teams have won 10 U.S. Youth Soccer boys championships but none at the under-14 level, and CASL Elite, the 2003 under-14 national championship, headline the field at the 2009 National Championships.

[UNDER-19 GIRLS] Led by University of Portland star Danielle Foxhoven, the Colorado Rush Nike seeks to defend its U.S. Youth Soccer national title when it competes in the Stewart Cup at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Lancaster, Mass.

[UNDER-18 GIRLS] The Edmond SC Black, which eliminated the defending national champion Dallas Texans Red in regional play, aims to become the first girls team from Oklahoma to win a national title when it competes at the Kelly Cup.

[UNDER-17 GIRLS] The Dallas Texans, PDA Fire and Eclipse Select return to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships for the fourth, third and second year in a row, respectively.

[UNDER-16 GIRLS] For the second year in a row, the Dallas Texans Red Dallas and So Cal Blues finished 1-2 in the U.S. Youth Soccer National League and qualified for the National Championships.

[UNDER-15 GIRLS] None of last year’s under-14 national finalists qualified for the under-15 division at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships, but all six finalists have sent teams to the national stage.