TAMPA, FL -- The 10 Super Y-League 2005 North American Champions for the U13-U17 Boys and Girls were crowned Tuesday in Tampa, Florida at the Ed Radice Sports Complex with teams from nine different clubs raising the cup after three were decided via penalty kicks and one in overtime. Match Fit Academy was the lone club with two teams capturing titles.

 

Match Fit Academy was the lone club to capture two Super Y-League titles this season in the 14 leagues with the U14 Girls downing the Cleveland Internationals 5-4 in penalty kicks after a scoreless draw and the U17 Girls topping Charlotte Soccer Club 1-0 on a goal from Brooke Keany in the second half. Sarah Frylak got the shutout for the U17s while Lianne Maldonado recorded the clean sheet for the U14s. Nicole Wood earned the shutout for Cleveland.

Both Match Fit Academy teams also accomplished a remarkable feat in finishing unbeaten on the year and winning a championship. They were two of four to do so, joining the U14 Boys De Anza SC and the U13 Boys Michigan Wolves, who were perfect through the tournament with zero goals allowed in five games.

The Match Fit Academy U14 Girls came in at 11-0-0 and 3-0-0 in group play before downing Mid Atlantic Soccer Academy 2-0 in the semifinals and drawing Cleveland in the final before winning the title on the penalty kick tiebreaker for a final record of 15-0-1.

The U17 Girls Match Fit Academy side went 12-0-0 in the regular season before posting a 1-0-2 group play record to advance to the semifinals. They then topped Reston FC in penalties 3-2 after a scoreless match before winning the title against Charlotte Soccer Club 1-0 for a final overall mark of 14-0-3.

De Anza SC finished 14-0-2 with a 10-0-1 regular season record and a mark of 2-0-1 in group play. They advanced to the final with a 2-0 win over the Michigan Wolves and won the championship with a 1-0 decision against fellow unbeaten Chicago Magic (14-0-0 overall) on a goal from Justin Fitzgerald in the second half. Larry Jackson posted the shutout.

The U13 Michigan Wolves' 15-0-0 overall unbeaten run was capped off in fantastic fashion with their shutout run at the finals to finish as the only team with a perfect record that also did not include any draws. They went 10-0-0 in the regular season, swept their group and downed the Washington Crossfire 1-0 in the semifinals to reach the championship match. In the final, they continued their dominating ways, downing the SCC Breakers by a stunning 6-0 scoreline, giving them a aggregate score of 19-0 for the finals in addition to their 47-3 total during the season.

Hassan Saad scored twice in the win for the Wolves, tallying in the ninth and 37th minutes. He also had an assist on Douglas Beason's 22nd minute strike. Also scoring were Adam Bedell (28th minute), Joseph D'Agostino (55th) and Ryan Barrett (64th). Beason had an assist as well as Joshua Gatt and Cody Henderson.

Schulz Academy also made headlines for their repeat championship performance. The defending U14 Boys champions from last year downed the Reading Rage 2-1 for the U15 Boys championship on goals from Karol Chorak and Edvin Worley. Chris Harmon scored for Reading. Schulz opened the tournament with a 2-1-0 run in group play before dominating the New Hampshire Phantoms 5-2 in the semifinals.

A bit of history was also made with the U16 Boys claiming the first-ever championship for the MetroStars organization, which celebrated its 10th season in MLS this past year and saw the U19 Boys finish unbeaten on the year at 12-0-4 overall, falling in the championship earlier this year in penalties 6-5 after a 1-1 draw against HC United. The MetroStars downed Santa Clara Sporting Ruckus 2-1 in overtime for the title. 

In the 22nd minute the MetroStars struck first through team captain Gabriel Ferrari. Ferrari was able to break through the Santa Clara defense, and he struck a strong shot with his right foot 15 yards out. Santa Clara was finally able to capitalize on their counterattack in the 64th minute when they caught the MetroStars' defense off guard. The offense flew up the right side of the field and Andrew Cota was able to get off a hard shot with his right foot that went in just inside the far post.

The second overtime started similar to the first overtime, and it seemed as if the championship would be decided with penalty kicks. However in the final minutes of the second overtime, Ferrari received a pass from the middle of the field and passed the ball to Johnny Exantus. Exantus broke through the middle of the field, slipped by a defender, and poked the ball past the 'keeper to the far post.

For more on the MetroStars games >>  (photo: L-R Andrew Cuevas, Anthony Vasquez, Gabe Ferrari, and Johnny Exantus - MetroStars.com)

The Chicago Magic, who were the top overall club on the inaugural First 11 club rankings for the Super Y-League in early October, saw just one of three finalists capture a title Tuesday. The U15 Girls claimed the championship in penalties 3-0 against the Spokane Shadow after a scoreless draw. In addition to the U14 Boys loss to De Anza, the U17 Boys were downed by Storm Academy 2-0.

Storm Academy went up 1-0 in the 47th minute on a goal from Kwame Holder and ensured themselves of the championship in the 78th with a strik from Sean Campbell. Ilir Durankovic shutout the Magic, who came into the championship with an overall record of 14-0-0 looking to finish unbeaten for a repeat championship after claiming the U16 championship last year. The Magic had allowed just one goal to five scored in the previous four tournament matches while Storm Academy entered the game with a 2-0-1 group record, a 3-1 semifinal win over Cleveland Soccer Academy and a tournament aggregate score of 8-2.

While the Cleveland Internationals were unable to repeat in the U14 Girls age group with their penalty kick loss to Match Fit Academy, they did win the U13 Girls championship with a 2-1 victory over Cavitt Academy in a rematch of their second day group play fixture, a 3-1 Cavitt win. Cleveland got to the final by earning the wild card out of group play with a 2-1-0 record before knocking off the Atlanta Silverbacks 1-0 in the semifinal. Michael-Lauren Kisha scored both goals for the Internationals in the second half to rally from a 1-0 deficit on a first half Rachel Mercik tally for Cavitt.

Another Cleveland side also came up just shy of winning a title as the Cleveland Soccer Academy U16 Girls were edged out in the sixth round of penalty kicks by Parsippany SC 4-3 after a 1-1 draw. Parsippany's Cory Bildstein and Cleveland's Julia Victor each scored in the second half.

Check back for more stories from group play, semifinals and finals from TopDrawerSoccer.com at the SYL Finals News section here >>

 

 

The Super Y-League Finals broadcast will be Saturday, December 3 at 8:00 pm ET on Fox Soccer Channel. The show will feature the U16 Boys Vancouver Whitecaps-Chicago Magic showcase match from the second day of group play along with interviews from MLS Director of Player Development Alfonso Mondelo, MetroStars Director of Youth Development and former USL star Giovanni Savarese, Atlanta Silverbacks President Stephen Pratten among others.

 

In the showcase match, the Whitecaps U16 Boys pulled off one of the biggest wins in club history by knocking off a team from a club ranked third in the Super Y-League boys club rankings, downing the defending U16 Boys champion Chicago Magic 1-0.

 

In a game played before a large and enthusiastic crowd in Florida, the Whitecaps and Magic went toe-to-toe in an entertaining match. It was the Magic who had a slight territorial advantage in the first half, but the Whitecaps looked organized and poised. The second half brought more of the same with both the Magic and Whitecaps enjoying good spells of ball possession.

 

The Whitecaps brought the capacity crowd to its feet just minutes from full time when Scott Barling swung in a cross that Ricardo Teixeira powered passed the Magic keeper. Despite some tense final moments the goal stood as the winner, giving the 'Caps the win and group lead.