Club CHAMPIONS
The Colorado Rush U-19 girls became the second team to win three consecutive youth titles, earning their triple crown at the annual U.S. Youth Soccer national championships in Lawrence, Ind.
The Central Valley Mercury (San Jose, Calif.) was the first to threepeat, starting its streak as U-16s in 1996.
The Rush was one of two clubs to win two titles. The Rush captured the first U-15 girls title, but its U-18 boys fell one win short of a national title for the second time in three years, losing to the Houston Texans.
Philadelphia-area FC Delco also won two boys titles, capturing the McGuire Cup (under-19 boys) for the second year in a row and winning the first U-15 boys title. A third Delco finalist lost in overtime to the Chicago Sockers in the U-16 boys final.
Maryland was the only other state to claim two titles. The Potomac Cougars become the first U-14 boys champions, and the Bethesda Fury upended reigning champion Southern California Blues in the U-17 girls final.
The Michigan Hawks beat the 2000 U-16 national champion San Diego Surf to win the U-18 girls title, the HawksÆ first national title in a decade.
Team Dayton ending the SC Baltimore BaysÆ remarkable campaign in the U-17 boys division. The Bays advanced through the state and regional finals to the championship game despite losing star Santino Quaranta to MLSÆs D.C. United.
GSA Æ85 Phoenix Red gave Georgia its first girls national champion in the U-16 category, edging the Southern California Blues on penalty kicks.
The KC Dynamos captured the initial U-14 girls title ù and the first national youth championship for Kansas.
by Youth Soccer Letter editor Dan Woog