USL Feature

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

GROUP A
Westchester Flames
Westchester Flames began their youth program last year. This team was there from the beginning. A lot of training and commitment from the families and players have been given by this team to serve as a stepping stone and a beginning of a program.

“We have a lot of talent on the team,” said Head Coach Joao de Souza. “There is a lot of passion and energy from this team. No individual player stands out, but when you put them together as a team on the field, they shine. We prepared all winter for the 2009 Super-Y season. Through their dedication, the team had an unprecedented season of 14-0-2.”

Northern Virginia Royals
The Northern Virginia Royals finished the 2009 regular season with an unbeaten 8-0-2 record. Both their offense (35GF) and defense (6GA) had the best totals in the South Atlantic Division. The team’s two draws came on back-to-back Fridays, 1-1 with Triangle FC and 0-0 to the Richmond Kickers. Against fellow South Atlantic Division qualifier Alpharetta, Northern Virginia dispatched their long-distance rivals 3-1 in their only meeting of the season.

Black Watch SC
Black Watch SC finished the regular season with the exact record as New England Group A champion, MPS Crusaders (7-2-2). Head-to-head the teams traded 4-1 decisions five days apart. The team had the top defense in New England, allowing just 1.36 goals per game. Black Watch is coached by Jeff Rockmore.

Ironbound SC
Coached by Alex Velazquez and David Teixeira, Ironbound SC finished sixth in the 17-team Mid Atlantic Division with a record of 10-3-3 and 33 points, four points ahead of Real Maryland. All three of Ironbound’s losses came in the last three matches of the season, revealing a team that took their foot off the pedal after starting the year on a 14-game unbeaten streak. The team’s 13 goals allowed this season tied for the second-best total in the region this summer.

GROUP B
Mountain WFC
Mountain WFC started the Northwest Division with the goal to repeat the same results of the previous year, to be first in the league and to not lose any games. From the outset, the players wanted to make a difference in the league and knew they had to stay focused and prepare themselves in the days preceding the game. In the end, the goals set at the beginning of the season were realized as the team won the division and did not lose any games. Their record was 8-0-2, with 30 goals scored and five goals against, recording the best goal differential of the division as well. The success of the team was due to hard work, dedication, ambition and positive group dynamics, which all contributed to overcome difficult situations. The team is excited to compete with the best North American Clubs and will try to improve their result of last year where they lost in the semifinal to Cal Odyssey, the team that went on to win the Championship.

Brooklyn Knights
The Brooklyn Knights persevered and finished second in the Mid Atlantic Division with 38 points due to their disciplined play and winning mentality. The team is extremely proud of their hard work and commitment. Every player that wears a Brooklyn Knights jersey takes great pride in the accomplishments of their teammates, which has a direct impact on the team’s success.

“The Brooklyn Knights are pleased with sending the U15 team to the finals, thanks to their determination and continued effort throughout the season,” said Giovanni Savarese. “We wish them the best and hope they go as far as they can because they deserve it. We hope they get to enjoy this experience.”

Alpharetta United
The U15 Alpharetta United team is a collection of players from the metro Atlanta soccer community. Represented, are players from four separate clubs that united over the summer to participate and win Group A in the South Atlantic Region (7-1-2) outscoring our opponents by a plus-20 goal differential. This team expects to play well at the 2009 Super-Y League North American Finals. They are looking forward to a great soccer experience in November.

MPS Portland Phoenix
The MPS Portland Phoenix is a first-year club in the Super Y-League. In their inaugural season, both their U15 and U17 boy’s teams qualified for the North American Finals. The U15 boys are coached by Alistair Bain. They performed extremely well, qualifying with a record of 6-2-4. The team’s defense allowed 17 goals this season, tying two other New England squads for the third-best total in the region.

GROUP C
MPS Crusaders
MPS Crusaders took the Group A championship based on goal differential, six goals ahead of the runner-up, Black Watch SC. Both clubs had a 7-2-2 record this summer, but the Crusaders offense carried them to the divisional title by averaging 2.54 goals per match. Coached by Craig Smillie, the team finished the season on a six-game unbeaten streak in which they outscored their opponents 12-3.

Alliance Academy
“This was the first year Alliance competed in the Super Y-League,” said Head Coach Mark Christensen. “It was a very good experience for all the boys. The team was led by our key players: Derek Granum, Mike Leone, Tariq Akeel and goalkeeper Landon Collier. We were very balanced and continued to overachieve throughout the season. Our team highlights this summer include a game against the storied Chicago Magic, which resulted in a 3-2 victory for Alliance. Also, our 1-0 victory over the Kalamazoo Kingdom was memorable.”

RSL Florida
RSL Florida’s U15 is making their second consecutive appearance in the USL Super Y-League finals. Led by Head Coach Steve Wolf and Assistant Coach Maurice Lorgenard, the team compiled a 7-1-3 record to finish first in the Southeast. The team started the SYL season after finishing as a Florida State Cup finalist for the third straight year.

TSF Academy
TSF Academy completed a 12-4-0 season in the Super Y-League this year. John Saunders coached the team to that record by completing a seven-match unbeaten streak at the conclusion of the season. During that run, TSF outscored their opponents 31-4. TSF had the top offense in the division, netting 3.5 goals per game.

GROUP D
Kalamazoo Kingdom
“We are extremely excited to be headed down to the North American Finals for a third consecutive year,” Kalamazoo Head Coach Chad Wiseman. “Playing in the Midwest Division was again, extremely competitive. I hope our past experiences in the finals will prepare us to compete for the championship this year. We have a very solid group of young men that strive to compete against the very best. We all understand that the teams we will face will be top level teams from each division, leaving us very little room for error. We welcome the challenge and could not be more excited about competing for a North American Championship.”

Schulz Academy
“The Super Y-League North American Finals offers players the chance to face the toughest competition in the country,” said Dr. Josef Schulz. “Consistency is the key. One bad result and you are out. Managing the energy of the key players in the group games without losing a match is also a key aspect of the later stages of the tournament. In general, the roster of this team is strong, but I am sure we will face several quality teams which also think they can win the title. We hope to have the necessary luck we will need to compete successfully on this level.”

Abbotsford Mariners
Coached by Ian Knight, Jayson Noftle and Kurt Thiessen, the Abbotsford Mariners completed a 6-0-4 season in the Super Y-League’s Northwest Division this season. The team’s four draws were tops in the division, but the team’s perseverance allowed them to remain unbeaten and retain a point from Surrey WFC, Thompson-Okanagan and Mountain WFC. Mountain finished as the top club in the division due to Abbotsford abundant ties, but the Mariners were the only squad able to equal the top team in the division in head-to-head competition. The club’s drew 2-2 and 0-0 just ten days apart.

New Jersey Stallions
The New Jersey Stallions U15 boys has proven to be a very strong team. They will be making their third straight appearance in the Super Y-League Finals. They qualified this year with an impressive 11-3-2 record, posting a plus-29 goal differential. They are in a position to make a run at the knockout round at the North American Finals.