FRISCO, Texas (Sept. 24, 2018) — The US Youth Soccer National League Desert Conference kicked off its season Sept. 14-16 with 12U-14U Boys and Girls teams in action in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Sixty teams competed, as the event marked the first of three weekends of National League Desert Conference play for the 12U-14U age groups. The teams will resume play Nov. 1-18 in Phoenix, Ariz., before wrapping up their season March 1-3 in Las Vegas, Nev. The 14U-19U Boys and Girls teams will kick off their season in Phoenix alongside the younger age groups.
Team Performance Highlights:
12U Boys
FBSL Tuzos Academy 07 (AZ) are at the top of the table after winning all three matches. They also scored a group high six goals against Rio Rapids SC 07 in their opening match on Friday. Right on their heels is Utah Rangers FC 07 (UT) who wrapped up the weekend with two wins and a draw. Sitting in third is La Roca 07 (UT) who finished the weekend with two wins and a loss. Looking ahead, FBSL Tuzos 07 and Utah Rangers 07 won't face each other until the final Conference Event in Las Vegas on March 1, 2019.
13U Boys
It must feel good to be playing at home as three Utah teams are locked in a three-way tie for first. Earning a victory in all three matches is La Roca 06 (UT), Forza FC 06 (UT), and Utah Soccer Alliance 06 (UT). La Roca has the slight edge over their two in-state rivals thanks to a potent attack that produced fourteen goals and a stellar defense that conceded zero goals. The success of these three teams shouldn't overshadow the rest of the group as both Phoenix Rising FC Youth Soccer 06 (AZ) and LVSA 06 (NV) earned six points.
14U Boys
La Roca South 05 (UT) kept up the winning ways for their club as they lead the group with nine points. Sitting just two points behind them is LVSA 05 (NV) and NM Rush Premier 05 (NM). Both teams turned in great performances after playing each other to a 2-2 draw on Friday. Forza FC 05 (UT) turned in one of the best performances from the weekend for all teams defeating Classic West 05 (AZ) 7-1 on Sunday. Heading into that match, Classic was second in the group after conceding zero goals in a win and draw. The loss, however, bounced them down to sixth.
12U Girls
The most dominating performance of all teams competing in this Conference Event came from Albion SCLV 07 (NV). They scored twenty goals in three matches, including ten in their opening match against Guadalajara CO Elevation FC 07 (CO). As Albion continued to light up the scoreboard another team in their group, Wasatch SC 07 (UT), had a great weekend as well. They won all three of their matches and they were the only girl's team to record a shutout in all three matches. SC del Sol 07 (AZ) and Impact PB 07 (UT) are both tied for third place with seven points. The next Conference Event in Phoenix from November 16-18 will keep this group interesting as Albion SCLV will face Wasatch SC 07 and SC del Sol 07.
13U Girls
Last season's 12U Champions, Albion SCLV 06 (NV), picked up right where they left off winning all three matches in convincing fashion. They weren't the only team in their age group to perform well as La Roca 06 (UT) also won all three of their matches. Sitting third in the group is Real Henderson FC 06 (NV) who won their first two matches before suffering a 3-2 loss to La Roca 06 on Sunday.
14U Girls
It's looking crowded at the top with four teams recording two wins each. The only thing separating these teams is just one point. That one point may come in handy down the road as group leaders Broomfield Blast SC 05 (CO) and Rio Rapids SC 05 (NM) played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday after winning their first two matches. Those two teams have seven points each while Albion SCLV 05 (NV) and Forza FC 05 (UT) earned six points.