USL Feature Article

Friday, November 6, 2009

GROUP A
Quickstrike SC
Coached by Jesse Kolmel, Quickstrike SC completed an unbeaten regular season with a record of 12-0-3. The team scored an average of 3.3 goals per match while allowing just 0.86 against. Quickstrike tied the Perugia Grifos, 3-3 in May, Ironbound SC, 2-2 in June and Princeton, 1-1 in July. In head-to head- competition with fellow North American Finals qualifiers, Quickstrike SC posted a 2-0-1 record. They did not play the Long Island Rough Riders.

MPS Bulldogs
MPS Bulldogs completed their 12-game campaign with a 1-0 win over fellow North American Finals qualifier, Seacoast United. The win pushed the squad’s record to a region-best mark of 10-1-1. The Bulldogs finished tied with Seacoast with 31 goals scored on the season, but led the division outright with the best defensive numbers (0.75GAA). Coached by Andrew Moir and Andrew Kay, the team opened the season with a six-game unbeaten streak before falling, 3-0 to MPS Crusaders. The team rebounded with another five-game winning streak they carry into the North American Finals.

Thompson-Okanagan
The Okanagan Whitecaps U14 boys recovered from an injury-ridden start to the season to secure the club’s second-ever birth at the Super Y-League North American Finals. The last Okanagan team to travel to Florida was back in 2004, when a U17 boy’s team managed to qualify. Qualifying for finals came down to an intense final game Okanagan needed to win or tie in order to finish second in the Pacific Northwest division. They delivered, with a 1-0 win over Mountain FC – the team’s fourth straight victory on a road trip that saw them climb the table with back-to-back 3-1 wins against the West Coast Capitals and a solid 3-0 win over Surrey WFC.

“We definitely qualified for the finals on merit and had it not been for injuries early in the season I think we’d have qualified much earlier on,” said Coach Andy Stevenson.

Long Island Rough Riders
The Long Island Rough Riders remain undefeated despite falling as far as fifth in the Mid Atlantic table due to their division-high six draws on the year. Their final record of 9-0-6 was enough to qualify the squad for the North American Finals thanks to another league-best – the fewest goals allowed per game (0.66GAA). The team is coached by Tim Graham, Ted Tsiokas and Chris Bacon. They scored the second-most goals in the division, 39 through 15 matches.

GROUP B
Coquitlam Metro-Ford
The Coquitlam Metro-Ford U14 boys are a first year team that took to the task of qualifying for the North American finals with great determination combined with hard work and camaraderie. With a mix of players that boasts a player who stared at the U16 Canadian National Championships and seven additional players who competed at the U14 Canadian National Championships, the team will not be inexperienced. With strong defense and a potent attack, the Coquitlam Metro-Ford team will be one to watch in Florida.

Ironbound
With five straight wins, four of which were shutouts, to start the season, Ironbound SC took to the top of the table from the beginning of the season. In the end, the team had a strong second place finish in the tough Mid Atlantic Division, finishing with a 12-1-3 record. The season took a twist midway through the season with players missing games due to injuries. This was a true test for the whole roster and the whole squad rallied together to show well against some very competitive teams who were pushing each other to take the top spots. The whole season was a team effort, as 14 different players earned ODP votes from the opposing coaches.

Alpharetta United
Alpharetta United topped the Group A South Atlantic Division standings with a record of 7-1-2. The club’s only loss came on Saturday, July 25 at the hands of Triangle FC. Coached by Ben Parks, the team held the distinction of being the top scoring squad in the South Atlantic by six goals over NOVA FC. Alpharetta averaged 3.6 goals per match this season.

Ottawa Fury
Ottawa completed an 8-3-2 season in the New England Division this season, matching Seacoast United’s point output of 26 on the season. Coached by Klaus LinnenBruegger and Chris Giannou the Fury tied with Nordic SC for the third-best offensive numbers in the region. The team’s defense also ranked third in the division, allowing just 0.92 goals per game.

GROUP C
Northern Virginia Royals
The Royals ended the regular season unbeaten at 7-0-3, winning the South Atlantic’s Group B title. Against the Group A Champion, Alpharetta United, the Royals tied 1-1 on June 28th. This team’s other draws were to the Atlanta Fire and Richmond Kickers. The Royals posted five shutouts on the season to finish with the best defensive numbers in the South Atlantic. They limited opponents to just 0.60 goals per match.

Alliance Academy
Alliance Academy ended their Super Y-League regular season in second place of the Midwest Division with a record of 5-2-0. A very balanced team led offensively by Andrew Lewis and Scott Dunwell, who combined to net seven goals and two assists in seven matches, the squad produced 13 goals. Strong defensively, Alliance allowed less than a goal per game to qualify for the North American Finals.

West Pines United
West Pines United and Sunrise SC ran parallel paths during their Super Y-League Southeast Division seasons. Both teams ended with 8-2-2 records but West Pines corralled their success via defense as opposed to their counterparts from Sunrise. Unable to match the near perfect defensive performance of Schulz Academy, West Pines did very well to allow just 0.60 goals per game to finish second in the division. Coached by Henry Pedraza and Brandon Collins, West Pines comes into the North American Finals on a two-game unbeaten streak after trading 1-0 results with Schulz Academy.

TSF Academy
TSF Academy is coached by the five-man contingent of Zico Nunes, Andy Meaney, Anthony Coyne, John Saunders and Leigh Cullip. The team placed second in the Mid Atlantic with a record of 11-3-2 by allowing less than a goal per game against stiff competition. A balanced side, TSF also netted just under two goals per game. Despite falling to two of the four other Mid Atlantic qualifiers TSF fared better against the remainder of the 17-team Mid Atlantic region.

GROUP D
Chicago Magic
The U14 boys return to the North American Finals after making the semifinals in 2008. They continued to get impressive results in the 2009 Midwest SYL Season and have not suffered a loss in two seasons. The Magic were 6-0-1 in SYL competition this season, drawing Mequon United 1-1 to open the season. Coached by Ian Dunbar, Karl Smith, Nathan Pitcock and Todd Bailey the team led the Midwest in scoring production by seven goals. Their defense also ranked first, edging out Alliance Academy by a single goal to finish with five goals allowed in seven matches.

Schulz Academy
Schulz Academy's U14 boys won the Southeast Division with an impressive 10-1-0 record. The squad's potent offense struck 35 goals, while the stingy defense allowed only just two goals. Most of the players are from the reigning Florida State Cup Champion South Florida Elite and have been together for years. The team advanced to the semifinals at last year's North American Finals. “Last year, we reached the semifinals but our players were disappointed and have returned hungrier,” said Coach Pitu Alvarez. “We know we will face top-level teams, but, if we stay injury free, I like our chances.”

Seacoast United
Seacoast finished the Super Y-League regular season with an 8-3-2 record, winning Group B of the New England Division by tying Group A Champion MPS Bulldogs for the best offense in the region. Both clubs scored 31 goals in 13 matches – a goals per game average of 2.38. Seacoast fell 1-0 in head-to-head competition with the Bulldogs but topped the third place team in the division, the Ottawa Fury by a score of 2-1 on Sunday, August 9.

New Jersey Rangers
The New Jersey Rangers are coached by executive board member, Bobby Spiropoulos, who had a vision of developing players and knew he would be able to take the game to the next level. Over the years, the team has become very successful, participating and winning tournaments and matches both in the United States, Greece and England. The team currently trains for 10 months of the year.

During the Super Y-League season the Rangers posted a record of 10-2-5. The team is currently ranked No. 2 in New Jersey, No. 9 in Region I and ranked No. 23 in the nation. The team has two players that represent New Jersey at the ODP level and one player who represents Region I at the ODP level. Over one third of the players are currently starting high school varsity as freshmen.