FRISCO, Texas (March 20, 2009) - The 2009 US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (US Youth Soccer ODP) Championships kicked off today at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas.

 

Teams in the 1992 and 1993 age groups (Under-16 and Under-15) played their semifinal matches today and the championship pairings are set for Sunday, March 22. A complete schedule is available on USYouthSoccer.org or by clicking here.

 

State US Youth Soccer ODP teams, boys and girls, have earned their way to the 2009 US Youth Soccer ODP Championships by way of winning their US Youth Soccer ODP Regional Championships. The format, similar to the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, provides state teams the opportunity to compete against teams from other regions in a championship tournament.

 

Returning champions Indiana 1992 Boys and California South 1992 Girls are poised to repeat on Sunday after winning their games today. In 2008, Indiana won their State Association's first US Youth Soccer ODP Championship title.

 

US Youth Soccer Girls 1992
Kelley Mongue scored first for North Texas in the 32^nd minute. Five minutes later, Carly Cassady answered for Kansas. Madelyn Buckner put Kansas up in the 42^nd minute and Kansas looked like they were going to hold the lead. This is the first time Kansas has sent a team to the US Youth Soccer ODP Championships. Monogue scored her second goal in the 78^th minute to send the game into overtime, tied 2:2. North Texas dominated overtime scoring an additional three goals by Chioma Ubogagu (95:00), Brooklyn Kviz (99:00) and Amanda Frisbie (120:00). North Texas beat Kansas, 5:2.

 

Returning champions, California South beat Maryland, 2:0.  After a scoreless first half, Allie Harrison put California South on the board with a goal in the 54^th minute. In the final minutes, Tawni Martino (90:00) secured the win for California South.

US Youth Soccer Boys 1992
Indiana and North Carolina played a hard game that wasn't reflected in the 3:0 final score. Fabian Urquiza finished in the 2^nd minute giving Indiana a quick lead. Bryce Rockwell-Ashton also put one away in the first half (18:00). Despite many opportunities in the second half, North Carolina was unable to score. Aaron White had a header off the crossbar and Lassiter Tollison's free kick just outside the 18^th also hit the post.

 

Austin Bravo made two big plays to give California North the win over Eastern Pennsylvania. After Dalton Carroll scored in the 58^th minute for Eastern Pennsylvania, the Region I team held the lead. In the 80^th minute Bravo scored his first goal to tie the match. Bravo finished off a quick play in the 110^th minute to win the game and send California North to the championship match on Sunday.

US Youth Soccer Girls 1993
California South went 4:0 over Virginia. California South sent three teams to the US Youth Soccer ODP Championships and all three advanced to the finals. Jamia Fields scored the only goal of the first half in the 14^th minute. Early in the second, she put California South up by two (48:00). Marie MacKenzie found the back of the net in the 58^th minute. Rounding out the score to 4:0, Vania Robles finished it out 67^th minute.

North Texas and Minnesota faced off this evening. Taylor Smith scored the lone goal in the 37^th minute sending North Texas to the championship game on Sunday.

 

US Youth Soccer Boys 1993
Oklahoma put on a good show during their first trip to the US Youth Soccer ODP Championships, winning 4:0 over Indiana. Jack Coleman scored in the 13^th and 65^th minutes and Cristian Mata scored in the 17^th and 34^th minutes.

 

California South came out strong against Virginia this evening. In fact, the first goal was in record speed. Cesar Monterroza's quick finish came in the first minute of play. Only five minutes later, California South was up by two with a Juan Gutierrez goal. California South won, 2:0.

 

Check the links below for schedules, scores and results and check back to www.USYouthSoccer.org for more information on this weekend's event.

 

1992 Girls
North Texas 2, Kansas 2
Goal Scorers: North Texas – Kelley Monogue - (32:00) (78:00), Chioma Ubogagu (95:00) OT, Brooklyn Kviz (99:00) OT, Amanda Frisbie (120:00) OT

Kansas – Carly Cassady (37:00), Madelyn Buckner (42:00) 

California South 2, Maryland 0
Goal Scorers: California South - Allie Harrison - (54:00), Tawni Martino - (90:00) 
 

1993 Girls
California South 4, Virginia 0
Goal Scorers: California South – Jamia Fields (14:00) (48:00), Marie Mackenzie (58:00), Vania Robles (67:00)

 

North Texas 1, Minnesota 0
Goal Scorer:North Texas – Taylor Smith (37:00)

 

1992 Boys
California North 2, Eastern Pennsylvania 1
Goal Scorer: California North – Austin Bravo (80:00) (110:00) OT
Eastern Pennsylvania – Dalton Carroll (58:00) 

Indiana 3, North Carolina 0
Goal Scorers: Indiana – Fabian Urquiza (2:00), Bryce Rockwell-Ashton (18:00), Charles Leonhard (90:00) 

 

1993 Boys
California South 2, Virginia 0
Goal Scorer:California South – Cesar Monterroza (1:00), Juan Gutierrez (6:00)

 

Oklahoma 4, Indiana 0
Goal Scorers: Oklahoma –Jack Coleman (13:00) (65:00), Cristian Mata (17:00) (34:00) 

 

Initially created in 1977 as the US Youth Soccer Select Team Program, US Youth Soccer ODP was formed to identify a pool of players in each age group from which a National Team could be selected for international competition. A girls program was added in 1985.

 

The players must try out to qualify for the program's high-level training from carefully selected and licensed coaches through a series of trials at their local, State Association and then Regional levels. Those selected are exposed to the nation's best coaches, trainers and facilities.

 

US Youth Soccer ODP is the original Olympic development program and the only elite player development program that can claim members of Major League Soccer as well as a majority of current and past national and youth team members, as alumni. And, with programs in all 55 State Associations as well as regional and national championships and participation in international tournaments, US Youth Soccer ODP continues to lead the way.

 

For more information regarding US Youth Soccer ODP and the US Youth Soccer ODP Championships visit USYouthSoccer.org.

 

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About the United States Youth Soccer Association (US Youth Soccer) – US Youth Soccer -The Game for ALL Kids!^® is the largest youth sports organization in the country and largest member of the United States Soccer Federation, the governing body of soccer in the United States. US Youth Soccer registers more than 3.2 million players annually, ages 5 to 19, and over 900,000 administrators, coaches and volunteers in 55 member state associations. US Youth Soccer programs provide a fun, safe and healthy environment for players at every level of the game. For more information, visit www.USYouthSoccer.org.

Media Request: When referring to the United States Youth Soccer Association, the largest youth sports organization in the United States, please refer to the association only as US Youth Soccer, and never as USYS or USYSA. We appreciate your cooperation.

About US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (US Youth Soccer ODP) - US Youth Soccer ODP, established in 1977, is the original Olympic development program in the United States. Formed to identify a pool of players in each age group from which a National Team could be selected for international competition, selected players are exposed to the nation's top coaches from collegiate institutions, U.S. Soccer and the professional leagues. Programs exist in each state and with competitions such as the US Youth Soccer ODP Championships, Interregional Training/Competition, Regional Camps and International play. US Youth Soccer ODP continues to lead the way in elite player identification and development. US Youth Soccer ODP is an approved program of the U.S. Soccer Federation.

Media Request: When referring to the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program, the original elite player program in the United States, please refer to the program only as the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program or US Youth Soccer ODP, and never as USYSODP or simply ODP. We appreciate your cooperation.