Women’s World Cup champions are not the only soccer players who can say, “We’re going to Disney World.” The country’s top boys and girls club teams are preparing for the 1999 US Youth Soccer National Championship finals at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The country’s most prestigious youth soccer tournament features 32 boys and girls teams competing for national cups in four age groups — Under-16, Under-17, Under-18 and Under-19 — from July 20-25. The teams qualified in their respective age groups by winning titles at the state-association and regional levels. In all, teams representing 20 US Youth Soccer-member state associations will participate. Four teams representing California-South lead the qualifiers, followed by three each from Eastern Pennsylvania, Michigan and South Texas. Besides top club teams, US Youth Soccer’s annual tournament also showcases many rising young talents. No fewer than eight members of the U.S. Women’s World Cup team competed in the National Championship during their youth careers, including Carla Overbeck (1985, 1987), Julie Foudy (1986), Shannon MacMillan (1991) and Cindy Parlow (1995). On the men’s side, three-time World Cup veteran Marcelo Balboa (1986) and U.S. national team newcomer Ben Olsen (1996) are among those with National Championship appearances to their credit. Three past national champions return looking to repeat this year. The FC Delco Dynamo (Eastern Pa.) Under-18 boys are making their third consecutive National Championship appearance and won the Under-17 Greer Cup in 1998. The La Jolla (Calif.) Nomads Under-19 boys seek their third title in four years following triumphs in 1996 (Under-16) and 1997 (Under-17). The Northport/Cow Harbor (N.Y.) Piranha Under-18 girls will try to match their successful run for Under-16 Masotto Cup in 1997. Those returning champions and the rest face a longer road to a national cup than in past years. A round-robin format replaces the previous single-elimination schedule, meaning it will take four games instead of two to win a national title. Teams will play a round-robin schedule against the other three regional champions in their age group from July 20-23. The top two teams in each group as determined by points advance to the winner-take-all championship finals July 25. The finals culminate this season’s US Youth Soccer National Championship, which began with more than 7,200 teams with 124,000 players ages 11-19 participating in all 50 states. Here’s a look at the competing teams: Under-19 Boys — Princeton (N.J.) Union, Carpathia Kickers (Sterling Heights, Mich.), Tulsa (Okla.) Pride, La Jolla (Calif.) Nomads. Under-18 Boys — FC Delco Dynamo (West Chester, Pa.), Vardar III (Livonia, Mich.), Tulsa (Okla.) Thunder, FC United 80 (Tacoma, Wash.). Under-17 Boys — Braddock Road Warhawks (Annandale, Va.), Kansas City (Kan.) Legends, PSA Red Stars (Jamestown, N.C.), Claremont (Calif.) Stars. Under-16 Boys — Torresdale (Pa.) Futbol Coppa, Chicago Magic SC, Texas Longhorns (Richardson), Colorado Rush (Littleton, CO). Under-19 Girls — Windsor (Conn.) World Class, Cardinal Premier (Cincinnati), Challenge 79/80 (Spring, Texas), Devastation (Bountiful, Utah). Under-18 Girls — Northport/Cow Harbor (N.Y.) Piranha, Milwaukee Kickers, Tophatters 99 Gold (Atlanta), Mission Viejo (Calif.) Elite Mirage. Under-17 Girls — FC Delco Fear (West Chester, Pa.), Michigan Hawks (Livonia), Challenge 81/82 (Spring, Texas), Colorado Rush Nike (Lakewood). Under-16 Girls — Windsor (Conn.) World Class, Busch SC (St. Louis), Challenge 82/83 (Spring, Tex.), San Dieguito Surf (San Diego).
