First champion crowned at USYS Eastern Regional Championships

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WEST VIRGINIA (July 2, 2019) — The second day of knockout round games took place as the 19U Girls champion was crowned and final matches were set for the 12U, 14U, 15U, 17U, and 18U Boys and Girls and the 19U Boys at the 2019 US Youth Soccer Eastern Regional Championships on Tuesday in West Virginia.

The seven-day event, which takes place June 28-July 4, features 12U through 19U Boys and Girls teams at the Shawnee Sports Complex and Barboursville Soccer Complex.

Final matches for the 12U, 14U, 17U, and 18U Boys and Girls and 19U Boys will take place tomorrow, July 3, along with semifinals for the 13U and 16U Boys and Girls. Finals for the 13U and 16U Boys and Girls will be played on Thursday, July 4. All remaining games will take place at the Shawnee Sports Complex.

West Virginia Youth Soccer Association is hosting the event alongside 14 other East Region State Associations including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Eastern New York, New York West, Eastern Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania West, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.

See how the teams advanced to the Eastern Regional Championships finals:

12U Girls
Penn Fusion Pre-Academy (PA-E) and Loudoun 07 Red (VA) will face-off in the 12U Girls final after both teams made it to the semifinals undefeated and with first-place finishes in their respective groups. Penn Fusion outscored its opponents, 9-1, in group play, including two shutout performances. Loudoun opened group play with a, 1-0, shutout over Maryland United FC 2007 Red (MD) and closed preliminary play by registering a, 2-0, shutout against Century V 2007 Gold (PA-W). In the semifinals, Loudoun and Penn Fusion each allowed only one goal as Loudoun topped SAC Premier Blue (MD), 3-1, and Penn Fusion won, 2-1, against Baltimore Celtic 07 Fury (MD).

12U Boys
Alexandria Red (VA) is moving on to the 12U Boys Regional Championship final following an exciting semifinal match against 1776 Centurion (PA-E). The two teams battled in a high scoring match, drawing 3-3, after 60 minutes of play. After neither team was able to score in overtime, the game went to kicks from the mark where Alexandria prevailed, 3-2. EUSAB (NY-W) went 2-0-1 in group play with wins over Ironbound Soccer Club 2007 Raiders (NJ) and Shoreline FC Atletico (CT). It was an all New York semifinal as EUSAB faced NY Stars Premier Gravity (NY-E), recording a, 3-0, shutout to put the New York West side in the final.

14U Girls
An undefeated Pipeline Spirit Pre-Academy 05 (MD) will take the field in the 14U Girls final against DEFC 05 (DE). Pipeline topped Group A, with an undefeated preliminary play record, which set it up for a semifinal match against Beadling 2005 South Red (PA-W). Pipeline flexed its defensive and offensive abilities in a, 4-1, victory to send it into the final. After winning the 2018 13U Girls Eastern Regional Championship, Pipeline now has a chance to defend its Regional crown. After recording two shutouts and allowing just one goal in group play, DEFC took on PSC Coppa Rage (PA-E) in the semifinals where it won, 1-0, with its third shutout of the tournament to advance to the final match.

14U Boys
The 14U Boys Eastern Regional final will feature Group C winners Virginia Legacy CCL (VA) and Group D winners STA 2005 (NJ) who each advance to the semifinals after finishing group play with a 2-0-1 record. STA capped off group play with a, 2-0, shutout over Syracuse Development Academy (NY-W) and then needed kicks from the mark to defeat reigning Regional champions, Ukrainian Nationals 2005 Black (PA-E), in the semifinals. The STA kickers scored on the first three kicks to win, 3-0, over the reigning Regional Champions in order to move on. In the second semifinal match of the day, Virginia Legacy and Washington Capital FC 05 Blue (MD) each scored in regulation and then went scoreless in extra time. The game went to kicks from the mark with Virginia Legacy advancing after winning, 4-2.

15U Girls
FC Revolution Dynamo (PA-E) bested reigning Regional Champion Philadelphia SC Coppa Swarm 04 (PA-E), 3-1, in an all Eastern Pennsylvania semifinal match. FC Revolution was the Group D winner, earning a 2-1-0 record in group play after opening the tournament with a, 5-3, victory over SJEB Rush 04 (NJ). Match Fit 2004 (NJ) will fight for the 15U Girls crown against FC Revolution in the final match. Match Fit opened and closed group play with a shutout, recording a, 2-0, victory against Arsenal FC of PA Gold (PA-W) on day one and a convincing, 5-0, shutout on day three of competition against South Central Premier Storm (CT). In the semifinals, it recorded a, 4-2, win over Pipeline SC 04 Pre-Academy (MD) with goals from four different players to advance.

15U Boys
PA Dominion 04 (PA-E) has advanced and earned the right to compete for the 15U Boys crown in the 15U Boys finals on the back of a four-goal performance from Michael Michalak in the semifinals against PSA National 04 (NJ) in a, 4-0, shutout. PA Dominion posted a, 5-0, shutout over Far Post 2004 Premier (VT) on the second day of play and closed group play against SUSA 04 (NY-E) with a, 1-0, shutout. The Eastern Pennsylvania side went undefeated through group play to advance to the knockout stage and win Group A. NY Stars Premier Galaxy (NY-E) finished first in Group C to advance to the semifinals with a record of 2-0-1. In the semifinals, NY Stars advanced to the finals with a convincing, 7-2, win against CT Rush Elite (CT). The NY Stars started the tournament with a, 2-0, shutout against 2004 PDA Hibernian Modric (NJ). After posting back-to-back wins to open play, it drew, 1-1, with Potomac Blue 2004 (MD) on the final day of group play. NY Stars will square off with PA Dominion in the 15U Boys Eastern Regional Championship.

17U Girls
Beach FC 02 Red (VA) went undefeated in preliminary play to earn a spot in the semifinals. On day one of play, Beach FC shutout DEFC 02 (DE), 1-0, to begin the four-game winning streak. In a thrilling semifinal game against Lehigh Valley United Black (PA-E) that went scoreless for 89 minutes, both teams scored in the 90th minute to send the game to extra time. After neither team was able to grab a winning goal, the game went to kicks from the mark where Beach FC advanced to the finals after a, 3-0, advantage from the spot. HMMS Eagle FC Impact (PA-E) will also be moving on to the 17U Girls Regional Championship final. The Group C winners opened the tournament with a convincing, 4-1, win over Century V 2002 Gold (PA-W). A, 2-1, win over New Jersey Rush 02 Grey (NJ) in the semifinals earned HMMS a spot in the finals.

17U Boys
The 17U Boys Eastern Regional Championship match will be an all Maryland contest as Brausa 02 Blue (MD) and Baltimore Celtic Nesbitt 2002 (MD) will battle for the crown. Each team advances to the final coming off a, 3-0, shutout performance in the semifinals and finishing in first place in group play. Brausa averaged four goals per game in group play with wins over BC United 02 Boys (NY-W) and PDA Hibernian Vardar (NJ), and a, 4-4, draw with CT Rush Shoreline (CT). Once in the semifinals, Brausa kept PSA Elite (NJ) off the scoreboard with a, 3-0, victory. Baltimore is undefeated heading into the final match coming off two shutout performances. On the final day of group play, it shutout BWP VT 02 (VT), 6-0, and recorded a, 3-0, shutout in the semifinals over Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals 02 Black (PA-E) to advance to the final.

18U Girls
The 18U Girls Eastern Regional Championship will be a battle of Pennsylvania as 1776 United FC 01 Xtreme (PA-E) and Beadling 2001 South Red (PA-W) play for the crown. 1776 United won its group with an undefeated record to advance to the semifinals. Group play for 1776 United included three straight shutouts for 1776 United against South Central Premier Spirit (CT), Burke Athletic Club Blitz (VA), and GPS Mass Elite White 01 (MA), outscoring them, 17-0. Once in the semifinals, it faced BC United 01 (NY-W), where it won, 3-2. After going 1-0-2 in group play, Beadling earned the wildcard spot in the semifinals. Its lone win of group play came over Empire FC (WV) by way of a, 2-0, shutout on the second day. The two draws for Beadling came against BC United 01 (NY-W) and FC Frederick 01 (MD) In the knockout group stage, Beadling advanced to the semifinals off a, 4-2, victory over FC Alliance Athletica in extra time.

18U Boys
As the lone non-Maryland team in the semifinals, Future Player Academy (PA-E) pulled out a narrow, 2-1, win over reigning Regional Champion OBGC Rangers Blue 2001 (MD) to move on to the final. In group play, Future Player recorded three straight shutouts against WVFC 2001 Black (WV), FC Buffalo Academy (NY-W), and TSF Academy 01 Blue (NJ). Future Player went undefeated through group play as it outscored opponents, 6-0, to reach the semifinals. The win puts Future Player in the championship game against Baltimore Celtic 2001 (MD). Baltimore Celtic also went undefeated in group play to win Group B. The win streak began with a, 4-1, win against Beadling 2001 South Red (PA-W) on day one. In an all Maryland semifinal match against in-state foe Bethesda Blue 01 (MD), Baltimore recorded a, 1-0, shutout in order to advance for its shot at the title.

19U Boys
Two-time defending Eastern Regional and USYS National Champion Baltimore Celtic SC 00 (MD) is back in the championship game, going for its third straight title. Baltimore’s path to the final match included topping Group B with an undefeated record while recording a, 4-0, shutout against Arsenal FC (PA-W) to begin preliminary play. Its semifinal match included going up against Hartford Hellions (CT) as it won, 3-1, to advance to the finals. McLean Hotspur (VA) will be tasked with knocking off the reigning champions in the title game following a 3-0-0 group play record that was capped off with a Group A first-place finish. McLean allowed just one goal per game in group play as it bested Lehigh Valley United 2000 Black (PA-E), LMSC Rats (PA-E), and FSC Eagles United 00 (MD). Once in the semifinals, McLean posted its first shutout of the tournament, 2-0, over GPS Hammer (MA) and sealed its spot in the finals.

19U Girls Final
Princeton SA (NJ) claimed the first title of the 2019 Eastern Regional Championships and a trip to Overland Park, Kan., with a, 4-1, victory over LMSC Storm (PA-E) in the 19U Girls Eastern Regional Championship game. After the teams went back and forth early in the first half to find the first goal of the game, Princeton got on the board with a goal from Mary Clare Langan in the 36th minute. That lead was quickly extended to two just four minutes later with a goal from Jazlyn Oviedo to send the teams to halftime with Princeton up by two goals. Gabrielle Perrotto cut the LMSC deficit to one goal nine minutes into the second half to give them a chance at the equalizer. As LMSC fought for the game-tying goal, Caroline Caputo put Princeton back up by two in the 83rd minute and followed it with her second score of the day just three minutes later to cap off the regional title for Princeton.

Regional winners of the 13U through 19U age groups earn a berth to the 2019 US Youth Soccer National Championships, which will be played July 22-28 at the Overland Park Soccer Complex in Overland Park, Kan.

The US Youth Soccer National Championships will consist of US Youth Soccer Regional Champions in the 13U through 19U Boys and Girls age groups, as well as the US Youth Soccer National League qualifiers in the 14U through 19U Boys and Girls age groups to complete the field of 104 teams.