Championship matches are complete in six divisions Sunday at the Super Y-League North American Finals at Sportscore II in Rockford, IL.

U14 Boys

Chicago Magic 3, FC DELCO 2

Eric Lichaj’s brilliant goal just minutes from full time put an end to a stirring final, which saw DELCO storm back from a 2-0 deficit.

With DELCO pressing for a late winner, Andrew Duran won the ball for Magic and sent a long pass ahead and to his left. Lichaj ran onto the ball, fended off a challenge and hit a low hard shot that found the lower far corner of the net despite DELCO keeper Matthew Brutto getting a hand on the ball.

”I just wanted to get it upfield and I saw space,” Duran said of his breakout pass. Lichaj said he didn’t try anything fancy on the shot.

”I wasjust trying to get it on net,” Lichaj said. “I know he’s a good goalie. (When Brutto touched it) I still thought it was going to go in.”

Lichaj’s strike canceled out a strong DELCO comeback in the second half. Down 2-0 at the intermission, DELCO managed to get back into the match via the midfield trio of Dan Shannon Larry Silvi and Alex Verdi, all who stepped up their presence and gave the Philadelphia-area side more possession of the ball. This paid off in the form of a goal when striker Colin Baker was brought down in the box and Jordan Griffith ripped the spot kick into the back of the net to make it 2-1. Minutes later Verdi won a ball just outside the Magic penalty area, dribbled to his right and sent a crisp shot into the net from 25 yards out to tie the game.

Both teams had some chances in the early part of the game. Mike Brennan’s clever lob found Lichaj in the box but the residency-bound striker was uncharacteristically off target with his effort. Nick De Masters of DELCO tested Magic keeper Jordan Kadlec from long range but Kadlec held on to the ball well. Griffith nearly broke through after that but Magic’s Cory Herrick did well to get the ball away from him.

With Magic beginning to dominate possession, Perry Marosevic worked hard to earn a corner kick. Duran sent the ball into the box and it was surprisingly allowed to bounce. Lichaj was in position for the finish and his header made it 1-0 for Magic (the striker later explained he had failed to follow up on a similar situation in an earlier match and wanted to make sure he was there should a ball make it through again).

Lichaj almost broke through for a second minutes later but James Shupp did well to clear the danger. Marosevic set up Herrick for an opportunity but DELCO keeper Mike Arnold came off his line well to break up the chance.

There was no stopping Marosevic on his next effort however. After being fed a short pass by Herrick, Marosevic turned his marker and struck a beautiful drive into the upper far corner of the net to give Magic a 2-0 lead.

Griffith and Baker combined well to create a chance that Kadlec saved, and another Magic through ball threatened to make it 3-0 but Arnold was off his line quickly to keep DELCO in the match.

Magic Coach Mike Matkovich noted the team has now won national titles in both the U.S. Club Soccer National Cup and the Y-League.

”I think it’s the first time ever that a team has won the double, so we’re happy,” Matkovich said. “That was unbelieveable. We just battled and battled. We have all the respect in the world for DELCO. We knew they were going to get one and we tried to keep them from getting another, but I think they spent a lot of energy and we had more of the game at the end. What a great goal by Lichaj though.“

U14 Girls

Mustang SC 2, Michigan Hawks 1

Keelin Winters and Shannon Lacy scored to lead the California side to the championship. Stephanie Crawford scored for Michigan.

 

 

U15 Boys

Chicago Magic 1, Concorde Fire 0

Quavas Kirk’s golden goal gave the Magic their second Y-League championship of the day.

After a nervous regulation period, Magic managed to break through when Kirk ran onto a cross from outside back Mark Zeman and sent a looping header over the keeper and into the net.

Kirk, a tall striker who will leave in a week for the national residency program in Florida along with teammates Taylor Waspi, Cameron Jordan and Ofori Sarkodie, said he wanted to avoid the match being decided on penalties.

”I was waiting for a really good chance. I knew we only had one overtime and then we would go to PKs, and I don’t really like PKs so I was going all out for an overtime goal,” Kirk said. “It was a very good placement (for Zeman). I’ll give him props on that one. This team will be coming back and we are looking forward to being part of it.”

U15 Girls

Parsippany Mischief 1, Intense Soccer Academy 0

Christine Gomez scored a golden goal on an assist from Brittani Bartok to give Parsippany the national crown.

Lara Kaminski for Parsippany and CJ Ludemann of ISA played especially well.

 

U16 Boys

Santa Rosa United 0, Chicago Magic 0 (Santa Rosa win on penalties, 4-1

Santa Rosa goalkeeper Derek Shaffer continued his strong performance by saving two of four efforts in the shootout, with another attempt fired wide. Santa Rosa penalty takers made all of their shots

The first half was played largely in midfield but the second half was much livelier, with good chances on both sides. Shaffer and Magic keeper Pat Sperry each came up big in stopping shots.

Zac Lambo for Chicago and Miguel Santoyo for Santa Rosa played strong matches in the field.

U16 Girls

Cape Cod Crusaders 2, FC DELCO 1

Beleagured by obstruction from their state high school association, Cape Cod battled through and managed to win the national title via the round robin format, clinching it with a 2-1 victory of FC DELCO.

Margaret Gonsalves scored the winning goal for Cape Cod in the 71st minute. Molly Byrnes had equalized late in the first half, and Becky Edwards had scored for DELCO.

U17 Boys

West Kendall 2, MetroStars 1

The Miami team came from behind to take a scintillating conclusion to this year’s Y-League championships.

Heber Hernandez scored the winner for West Kendall with 10 minutes remaining, and then helped his team hold off a furious onslaught by the MetroStars to preserve the win.

In the closing minutes Christian Gonzalez made a monster save and Marcelo Aguirre blocked what look like a sure goal from close range.

Joseph Tubito had put the Metros up early in the second half with a crisp finish off some good combination play. Timothy McRae’s header off a long pass from Richard Perdomo put West Kendall back in the match, before Hernandez’s heroics.

Team captain Perdomo, a tireless worker throughout the match, said his team patiently withstood the Metros attack and took the opportunities as they came.

”They put full pressure on us so we just had to drop back until the second half, then we could play our real game,” Perdomo said. “We were more calm then and we had the wind. We were down 1-0 but our team has never let down this whole tournament. We’ve come back from 2-0 and 1-0 and we never gave up. It was crazy (at the end). I can hardly talk right now, but we worked very hard in practice at recovery training and speed and physical fitness. Thanks to our coaches and the work the guys did, we really came prepared."

U17 Girls

Intense Soccer Academy 1, DC United 0

Aria Tanzi’s 55th minute strike gave the Long Island club the national title.