Opening day of the Snickers U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships featured two games between former champions.
In the under-19 girls competition, the San Diego Surf White, the 2000 U-17 champion, gained revenge for its loss to the Michigan Hawks in last yearÆs U-18 final with a 4-1 victory.
In a repeat of the 2000 U-17 boys final, the Stony Brook (N.Y.) Panthers and Chicago Magic tied, 1-1, on the first day of action in the under-19 boys category. The former West Babylon Panthers won the 2000 title; the Magic was U-16 champion in 1999.
Two other defending champions opened with wins. The Houston Texans, last year's U-18 boys champions, beat the San Bernardino (Calif.) Blast, 2-0, in the other U-19 boys opener. The Bethesda (Md.) Fury, last year's U-17 girls winner, crushed St. Louis club Busch, 4-0, in U-18 play. FC Delco Dynamo II (Pa.), last year's U-15 boys champion, opened U-16 play with a 1-1 tie with the Michigan Wolves.
The Fury's Ali Wean was one of four players to have hat tricks on opening day. The others were Caroline Smith (U-16 girls) for the Tsunami Sota (Minn.) in a 4-3 win over Gwinnett (Ga.) Phoenix Red; Tracy Lansing (U-16 girls) for the West Valley Samba (Calif.) in a 4-0 win over Busch; and Brian Usinger (U-15 boys) for the Rochester (N.Y.) Junior Rhinos in a 6-2 win over the Aiken (S.C.) Fire.
Three clubs opened with a pair of wins: Houston Texans in the U-19 and U-18 boys, Huntington in U-19 and U-17 girls and Atlanta Lightning in U-18 and U-14 girls.
One of the young stars on display was Mike Bradley, who had two goals for the U-15 Chicago Sockers in a 3-1 win over the Palos Verdes (Calif.) Raiders. Bradley is the son of Chicago Fire coach Bob Bradley.