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USYS Jul 17, 2019

Referees selected for 2019 US Youth Soccer National Championships

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FRISCO, Texas (July 17, 2019) — US Youth Soccer has announced the 104 referees who, based on their performance at the state and regional level, will be officiating the games at the 2019 US Youth Soccer National Championships, July 23-28 in Overland Park, Kan.

The selection process for referees for the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series is based on performance throughout the Series. Just as the teams advance from the state to regional to national level, so do the referees.

The United States Soccer Federation is sending referee assessors to Frisco, in addition to several US Youth Soccer assessors. The referees are an integral part of the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, and they play a key role in its success and advancement to the next level. Being invited to the national level is a great honor for these referees who are dedicated to promoting fair play and furthering their development.

This year, 17 top referees will be returning to work at their second consecutive US Youth Soccer National Championships based on their performance at last year’s tournament.

Referees participating in the 55 US Youth Soccer State Association State Cup events are considered for advancement to participate in one of the four US Youth Soccer Regional Championship events. The top referees from each regional event are then considered for advancement to the National Championships. Once selected to the National Championships, the top referees are identified and invited to return to the event the following year.

East Region Referees

First Name Last Name State Association Grade
Lucia Allen MD 6
Jose Martin Arana NY-E 6
Zachary Baker VT 7
Brian Becker NJ 6
Victor Borges** CT 5
Adam Brzozowiec NY-W 6
Balvir Cabrera Garcia MD 6
Cedric Cook NJ 7
Joshua Encarnacion** PA-E 6
William Ferris CT 6
Stephen Foster** MD 6
Joe Franks** PA-E 6
Julie Granger NY-E 7
Andrew Grenier RI 6
Scarlet Keane MD 6
Otto Leon VA 6
Sean Lyons NY-E 7
Pedro Manata NJ 7
Joel Marshall NJ 8
Hayley Morway CT 6
Meghan Mullen** VA 6
Ryan Nee MD 6
Ariel Raban MD 6
Charles Raney VA 5
Adam Rice CT 5
Alla Stepanov MD 6

Midwest Region Referees

First Name Last Name State Association Grade
Joshua Abts** MI 6
Kyle Armstrong MO 6
Gracie Baker OH-N 7
Corey Beecher WI 6
Nabil Bensalah** IN 6
Josh Braunstein OH-S 7
Eric Burton IN 6
Samantha Cary MO 7
Jordan Castillejo IL 6
Emily DeVaux IL 8
Youssef Elmessoussi** IN 6
Noah Hartman OH-N 6
Ryan Homik MI 7
Joseph Knoff MI 7
Michael Koziara MI 6
Shane Labenz NE 6
Sarah Most MN 7
Esad Omanovic IA 6
Vincent Ragone** OH-N 6
Zachary Richter IL 6
Laszlo Sandler IL 6
Chris Schurfranz KY 6
Brad Snow** OH-N 6
Daniel Tibbitts OH-N 7
Jacob Urban NE 7
Cristian Vorovenci MI 6

South Region Referees

First Name Last Name State Association Grade
Seth Barton** OK 6
Joshua Belk GA 6
Alexandra Billeter FL 6
Alejo Calume** FL 5
Jessus Cancino TX-S 7
Juan Pablo Casas** FL 6
Fevzi Demirhan TX-N 5
Amanda DiBiasio TX-S 6
Chana Forstall AR 7
Brandon Gardner TX-N 5
Emily Gomez MS 6
Jalen Gray LA 6
Sydney Halliday TN 6
Hector Hernandez TX-S 6
Lorenzo Hernandez TX-N 5
Lauryn Hill TN 7
Kyle Johnston** GA 5
Domenick Marotta GA 6
John Matto NC 6
Benjamin Meyer TN 5
Michael Mysiewicz** TN 6
Ricardo Ocampo TX-S 6
Carlos Pielago** TN 6
Killian Richardson TX-S 6
Melvin Rivas TX-S 6
Gabriel Rivera NC 6

West Region Referees

First Name Last Name State Association Grade
James Abi-Abdallah CA-S 6
Sergio Armendariz NM 7
Elorm Atisu WA 6
Oscar Benavidez OR 7
Jordann Brown MT 7
Karen Callado** CA-S 5
Jordan Downs UT 6
Ricardo Fierro CA-S 5
Hector Gutiérrez NM 7
Jason Hampton CO 6
Robert Kosinski UT 7
Liam Leonard WA 5
Alan Martinez AZ 6
Kassidy Mashiyama HI 8
Mariano Mendez UT 7
James Mikko MT 7
Joshua Moorhead AZ 6
Bryant Perez AZ 6
Jordan Price WA 7
Jose B Rosales Chavez AZ 6
Samantha Rosenkranz WA 7
Charles Rupert CO 6
Andres Tercero OR 7
Marcelo Soto CO 6
Jason Ulrich AZ 6
Jordan Vlad AZ 6

** Top returning referee from 2018 National Championships

Each summer, the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series crowns the boys and girls National Champion in seven age groups (13U through 19U). The finals are a culmination of a year-long series of competitions at the state and regional levels which provides approximately 185,000 players on over 10,000 teams from 55 US Youth Soccer State Associations the opportunity to showcase their soccer skills against the best competition in the nation.

Annually, the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series provides the nation’s top collegiate and professional coaches with the premier stage to identify and scout the most coveted players in the country.

One of the 14 national crowns awarded is the 19-and-Under James P. McGuire Cup, the oldest trophy in youth sports, dating back to 1935 with the inaugural youth championships, and played annually except during World War II. Officially known as the United States Soccer Federation National Junior Challenge Cup, the competition was renamed the James P. McGuire Junior Champion Cup in 1975, after the late United States Soccer Federation President.