Illinois teams finished the Snickers Youth Soccer Midwest Regional Championship tournament with a flourish at the Lawrence Soccer Park Complex, winning three age-group titles to qualify three teams for the upcoming Snickers US Youth Soccer National Championship July 25-30 at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Both Michigan and Missouri qualified two teams, while host Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio each grabbed one. The Chicago Magic Sockers, a team used to the limelight, are on pace to another national title with a 4-2 overtime victory against Vardar III (Rochester, Mich.) in the Under-17 division. Last year, they claimed the national championship in the boys Under-16 division. Chicago’s Windy City Pride, girls Under-l9, held off the Dayton Galaxies (Ohio) for a 2- 1 victory. The Pride held Dayton University’s All-American Missy Gregg to only one goal. Gregg had scored seven in yesterday’s semifinal match. Illinois’ third team, the Sockers FC from Palatine, edged Cleveland, Ohio’s Internationals in a close match, 1-0. Indiana’s lone representative, Carmel Cosmos II, used a 2-1 victory to claim the Under-17 girls championship over the Michigan Hawks. Trailing late in the second half, this come-from-behind victory was sweet redemption for the Cosmos, who suffered a 1-0 loss in last year’s Under- 16 division finals. In the Under-18 girls division, last year’s Under-17 national finalist, the Michigan Hawks (Livonia), won another chance for a title by holding off the Milwaukee Kickers (Wis.) in a tough battle that was decided by penalty kicks (5-4).
