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Bays U-19s aim for second US Youth Soccer title
[UNDER-19 BOYS] The Baltimore Casa Mia Bays, who won the US Youth Soccer national title three years ago as under-16s and look to captured the storied James P. McGuire Cup as Under-19 US Youth Soccer National Champions this year.  As U-19s this marks the last shot at a title as youth. 

Star Chris Agorsor and a nucleus of players, now in college, return. Agorsor is back in action after being injured midway through his freshman season at Virginia.

The Casa Mia Bays are part of the Bays program is ranked No. 1 in Soccer America's boys rankings.

Colorado Rush Nike is making its second straight appearance in the McGuire Cup finals, though no players return from last year's team that finished third.

The Pike Indy Burn Eagles, coached by Isang Jacob, the 2009 U.S. Youth Soccer Competitive Coach of the Year) and North Atlanta SA Elute are making their fist appearances at the U.S. Youth nationals.

Star attractions meet on Day 1
[UNDER-18 BOYS] The under-18 boys division features two of the most heralded players in this fall's college freshman class. For both Enzo Martinez (Discoveries SC and North Carolina) and Erik Hurtado (Westside Metros Internationals and Santa Clara), who will meet Wednesday, the road to stardom has been long and windy.

Martinez, considered by many to be the best prep player to ever come out of South Carolina, was born in Uruguay -- yes, he was named after the great Enzo Francescoli -- and moved to Rock Hill, S.C., when he was 10.

Martinez and his brother Alex shared a pair of cleats -- baseball cleats -- for the first month until it became apparent to their coach that they both needed to be on the field at the same time.

Martinez followed up on his 2009 national high school spring title with Northwestern High School by leading Discoveries SC to the Region III under-18 boys championship, scoring twice in both the semifinals and final.

Martinez, one of seven Northwestern players on DSC, scored 182 goals in four years at Northwestern -- sixth all-time in U.S. prep history.

Hurtado is one of the most talented players ever to come out of Oregon.

He was born in Richmond, Va., spent part of his youth in Beaverton, Ore., then moved to Mexico, where his stepfather was born, and then returned to Beaverton, where he starred for Westview High School.

He was only 4-foot-11 when he entered high school but has since grown 10 inches.

Seasoned field in Greer Cup
[UNDER-17 BOYS] Four of last year's six finalists at the under-16 level return to the National Championships for the under-17 finals, though the teams that finished first and second -- the Dallas Texans Red and Real So Cal Blue -- are the two teams that aren't back.

Javanon (Farsi for "youth") is Louisville's - and Kentucky's - most successful club, having won two US Youth Soccer national championships in 1997 and 2006. It is the only club with two teams entered in the upper boys divisions at the National Championships.

Eastern Pennsylvania rivals YMS Explosion and Lower Merion Velez (the 2009 U-17 National League champion) return, as does Triangle United, coached by North Carolina men's head coach Elmer Bolowich.

The other two finalists are CZ Elite, led by UCLA rising sophomore Eder Arreola, and the Dallas Texans-Houston Red.

National League Champion Texans return
[UNDER-16 BOYS] The Dallas Texans Red, the 2009 National League U-16 champions, are the lone holdovers in the Larry Harmon Cup.

Two former U-16 champions are entered. The Texans won last year's title, while Arsenal FC won in 2005.

They are one of three Region III teams in the final six along with CESA of South Carolina and GSA Phoenix Red of Georgia.

The Hicksville Strikers, the Region 1 Premier League champs, are part of the Hicksville American Soccer Club -- a Long Island national powerhouse as far back as the 1970s.

Campton United Navy of Illinois completes the field.

Rematch for SCSA and Grand Rapids
[UNDER-15 BOYS] The South Charlotte SA Gold and Grand Rapids Crew Juniors, who meet Wednesday on the first day of group play, return to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships for the second year in a row.

Grand Rapids, which beat SCSA, 3-0, last year, finished second behind the Baltimore Casa Mia Bays in the 2009 National League.

Arizona's Sereno White, who won the Region IV title, are the only Arizona team in the tournament.

Ohio's Blast FC is coached by former NASL player Lesh Shkreli.

Spirit United Celtic, one of six Philadelphia area teams in Lancaster, complete the under-15 field.

St. Louis Scott Gallagher goes first
[UNDER-14 BOYS] St. Louis Scott Gallagher, whose Busch and Gallagher teams have won 10 U.S. Youth Soccer boys championships but none at the under-14 level, and CASL Elite, the 2003 under-14 national championship, headline the field at the 2009 National Championships.

West Coast FC returns to the U-14 finals for the second time in three years, while the Dix Hills Thunder is winner of four straight Eastern New York and back-to-back Region I titles.

Colorado Rush begins defense
[UNDER-19 GIRLS] Led by University of Portland star Danielle Foxhoven, the Colorado Rush Nike seeks to defend its U.S. Youth Soccer national title when it competes in the Stewart Cup at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Lancaster, Mass.

North Carolina's Emmalie Pfankuch, who scored a hat trick in the regional final, also returns for the Rush, winner of eight girls national titles -- three at the U-19 level.

Eclipse Select has won four previous national championships but none in the under-19 age group.

BUSA Elite, which has enlisted Virginia star Lauren Alwine, is the first Alabama team to make the finals.

FC Delco, better known for its success at the boys level, repeated as the Region I champion in its age group.

Edmond SC Black looks to make history
[UNDER-18 GIRLS] The Edmond SC Black, which eliminated the defending national champion Dallas Texans Red in regional play, aims to become the first girls team from Oklahoma to win a national title when it competes at the Kelly Cup.

Pleasanton Rage, the 2007 U-16 Region IV champion, and the FC Bucks Vipers, last year's Region I champion, return to the National Championships in the same age group.

Rage is led by U.S. U-18 players Ahsha Smith and Olivia Klei, who started for the USA at the 2007 Under-17 Women's World Cup.

Ohio Elite Soccer Academy completes the four-team field.

Dallas Texans out to defend championship
[UNDER-17 GIRLS] The Dallas Texans, PDA Fire and Eclipse Select return to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships for the fourth, third and second year in a row, respectively.

The Texans, who won last year's under-16 title with a 4-2 win over the Eclipse Select in the final, are led by U.S. under-18 national team defender Courtney Smith and midfielder Juliann Jeffrey.

Texans and Blues back again
[UNDER-16 GIRLS] For the second year in a row, the Dallas Texans Red Dallas and So Cal Blues finished 1-2 in the U.S. Youth Soccer National League and qualified for the National Championships.

The Texans beat the Blues, 2-1, in last year's

The Masotto Cup features five players who be headed to the under-17 girls national team camp next week -- Morgan Brian, Kailli Torres and Kathlene Bobbitt of the Ponte Vedra Storm and Abby Smith and Clarissa Wedemeyer of the Texans.

Wedemeyer scored five goals in leading the Texans to last year's U-15 title.

Shawn Medved, best remembered for his tying goal for D.C. United in MLS Cup 1996, leads the De Anza Force to the finals for the first time.

The Syosset Rough Riders Elite team, represented by players from across the New York metropolitan area, is the lone Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association Girls team to reach the U.S. Youth Soccer.

Cleveland FC, another first-time finalist, completes the six-team field.

Traditional powers meet in Lilly Cup
[UNDER-15 GIRLS] None of last year's under-14 national finalists qualified for the under-15 division at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships, but all six finalists have sent teams to the national stage.

The San Diego Surf White and FC Pennsylvania Strikers finished 1-2 in the National League, while the Dallas Texans Red-Dallas is the only one of three Texans teams in Lancaster to win a 2009 regional title.

Top programs square off in Under-14 Girls
[UNDER-14 GIRLS] Four of the country's top girls programs -- Scorpions of Massachusetts, CASL of North Carolina, Eclipse Select of Illinois and Mustang of Northern California -- compete for the under-14 title at the U.S. Youth National Championships.