RALEIGH, N.C. (July 18, 2009) – Round robin play wrapped up today at the 2009 US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup Finals at the WRAL Soccer Complex in Raleigh, N.C., featuring teams in the Under-14 through Under-17 Boys and Girls age groups.

Teams were looking for a wins in today's matches as the results determined their placement in the championship and consolation matches to be played tomorrow morning beginning at 8 a.m. 

In the morning match-up between the Under-14 Girls Premier FC (WA) and FC Stars of Massachusetts (MA), Premier had one win under their belt and the Stars were looking for their first of the tournament. Halle Burns netted an 8^th minute goal for the Stars' early lead, which they held through the half. Teammate Heather Kings scored in the 45^th minute and Sarah Kate Matthews solidified the Stars 3-0 victory in the 51^st minute. Premier will play Little Illini (IL) in the championship match.

Los Alamitos Titans (CA-S) Under-14 Boys marked their second win of the day in the afternoon game against Rolla Knights (MO). The Knights looked to have an early upper-hand with a 5^th minute Caleb Florence goal and by holding off the Titans offense until the 35^th minute when Jose Garcia found the back of the net. Tied 1-1, the Titans were looking to solidify their win when Mario Cruz gave the Titans a 2-1 lead with his 56^th minute goal. Titans' Alberto Filorio finalized the 3-1 victory with a shot late in the 70^th minute. The Titans are set to play Hurst United FC (N-TX), a team that went undefeated in preliminary games, in the championship match tomorrow.

The Under-15 Girls game between Albion Hurricane (S-TX) and Kosmos Fire (E-NY) was evenly matched as the game was held at 0-0 until the 60^th minute when Caroline Veliz netted one for the Kosmos. This marked the second win for the Kosmos at the Presidents Cup Finals, to put them into the championship match where they will face Rush (CA-S).

Coming off of a 2-0 win over Scott Gallagher (MO) Under-15 Boys, Thunder United (S-TX) was looking for their second win of the day as they played Lake Grove Vipers (E-NY). Thunder kicked the game off with an early goal in the 5^th minute by Alan Cortinas and extended their lead to 2-0 when Cortinas netted a second goal in the 34^th minute. Vipers fought back in the 57^th minute with a shot from David Stroh, but it wasn't enough to mark one in the win column. Thunder got their second win of the day, 2-1 and a seat in the championship game facing Santa Barbara SC (CA-S).

In their final game of round robin play against Scott Gallagher (MO), Santa Barbara SC (CA-S) Under-15 Boys were looking to continue their undefeated streak at the Presidents Cup Finals. Gallagher's defense held off the Santa Barbara offense until the 34^th minute when Ricky Lopez put one on the board in the 43^rd minute, Troy Ritter extended the Santa Barbara lead to 2-0. Erick Cordova secured the 4-0 Santa Barbara lead with goals in the 60^th and 68^th minutes. Santa Barbara has only had one goal scored against them in round robin play and will play Thunder United (S-TX) in the Under-15 Boys championship game.

The Under-16 Girls Snohomish United Black (WA) and Wall Inferno (NJ) were each looking for their first win of the tournament in this morning's game. Snohomish opened with an early 8^th minute Rachel Rinke goal, but Inferno hit the equalizer in the 31^st minute thanks to a Mariah McKevitt goal. After the half, Rinke hit her second of the game to put Snohomish on top 2-1. Not long after, Inferno's Kelly Mitchell tied the game 2-2 in the 57^th minute were it remained until the final whistle blew. The two teams will meet again in the consolation match.

The Under-16 Boys Mako United (FL) slotted their second win of the tournament in this morning's game against NWI United (IN). Dondre Manning hit Mako's sole goal in the 38^th minute for the 1-0 win.

In the afternoon game, Mako tied Crusaders FC (MA) 2-2. Crusaders' Robert Lynch hit the first goal of the game in the 30^th minute and Mako's Jacob Silverman nailed the 55^th minute equalizer. Teammate Jermaine Hibbert gave Mako the 2-1 lead in the 58^th minute, but Crusaders' Tyler Savonen tied it up in the 65^th minute. The two teams will meet again in tomorrow's championship match. 

Coming off of an 8-0 victory in day one of play at the Presidents Cup Finals, Sachem FC (MA) Under-17 Girls was put to test in this morning's game against CFC United (CA-S). Karly Weeks opened the CFC scoring the 8^th minute and Allyn Roberts continued to give CFC the 2-0 lead with a 20^th minute goal. Sachem was able to come back with a 52^nd minute goal for a 2-1 score, but Courtney Garrity secured the CFC 3-1 win with an 85^th minute goal. This was not the final meeting for CFC and Sachem as they will meet in the championship match tomorrow at 10:15 a.m., and New Bern SC (NC) and FC Dallas 92 (N-TS) will play the consolation match.

Indiana Magic (IN) and Conquist America (CA-S) Under-17 Boys played a game of back and forth scoring in their afternoon meeting. Efren Cordova put Conquist on the boards in the 12^th minute, followed by an Indiana goal in the 18^th minute by Kenny Kollasch. Efren Cordova hit his second in the 27^th minute for Conquist to go up 2-1 over Indiana. Nathan Williams hit the Indiana equalizer in the 45^th minute, and then Conquist took the lead again with an Adrian Esparza 48^th minute goal. Once again, Indiana found the equalizer with a Dobb Peterson 61^st minute shot. Conquist took the 4-3 lead with Esparza's second goal in the 63^rd minute. Sammy Cordova solidified the Conquist win in 72^nd minute to take the 5-3 win.

Championship and consolation games begin at 8 a.m. tomorrow to name champions of the 2009 US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup Finals.

 

 

 

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About the US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup - The US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup provides a progressive, competitive experience to US Youth Soccer teams from the state to regional to national level.  The Presidents Cup gives players an additional opportunity to compete against teams from across the country at a high level for the joy and the challenge of the game.  It provides the chance to experience a unique US Youth Soccer event with camaraderie, community and competition through sport. 

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 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.

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