US Youth Soccer crowns 2023 Eastern Regional Champions in Northern Virginia

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LOUDOUN COUNTY, Virginia – More than 250 teams competed June 23-29 at the Eastern Regional Championships in Loudoun County, Virginia. Games were played at the the Hanson Regional Park in Aldie and Bolen Memorial Park in Leesburg with a trip to the National Championships on the line.

New York East and Eastern Pennsylvania had the strongest showing of USYS’ 15 Eastern State Associations, with each having five champions crowned. Maryland (2), New Jersey (1), Virginia (1), Massachusetts (1), and New York West (1) also had winning teams.

Matthew Mannina, head coach of Stony Brook LGN – Wildlings Blue B2008 (NY-E), reflected on his team winning a second consecutive Eastern Regional Championship title.

“We have veterans on the team that were able to experience winning this last year, but we’re even more excited for the new guys that were not able to experience it but did get to partake in winning the championship this year.”

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Check out some photos of the USYS Regional Championships » https://t.co/WyoVXAPsa0 ⁠⁠ ?⁠#ROADtoFL | #FORitALL | #NCS23 | #USYS | #WeAreYouthSoccer pic.twitter.com/YYLL7LIddb

— US Youth Soccer Cups (@usyscups) June 30, 2023

Dylan Lopez and James Schneider, two standout players for Wildlings, shared what they had to do to reach these heights again this year.

“For the past week, we’ve been training under the heat, for three hours a day,” Lopez said. “Just preparing, running, sprinting, doing drills to prepare us for this week.”

Schneider cited his team’s bond as a big reason for their success.

“Our team chemistry was tight and our defense throughout the entire tournament was lock down.” Wildings only gave up one goal throughout its six-game run to the championship.

Look back at the Eastern Regional Championship Winners…

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