Results for Minnesota’s Teams Competing in US Youth Soccer National Championships
Minnesota had two teams that made it through the US Youth Soccer Region II Midwest Regionals and qualify for the Nationals in Phoenix, Arizona. Both the boys U-16 Minnesota Thunder Elite Academy and the girls U-19 Woodbury Inferno competed in that tournament last week but neither team qualified for the final.
U-16 Minnesota Thunder Elite Academy
The U-16 Boys MTA team showed very well in their first two games. On Wednesday they defeated Region III champions, Carolina Elite Soccer Academy, in their first match by a score of 2-0. (Watch highlights) Nathaniel Thao scored in the first half and Matthew Gweh scored an assurance goal in the 86th minute of play.
The MTA boys also won their second game over Eastside FC on Thursday morning. Tyler Anderson scored the only goal of the game in the first half assisted by Getenet Worku. The Thunder Academy’s chances of getting into the final were looking good with a 2-0-0 and a +3 goal differential going into Friday’s 3rd game.
Unfortunately the wheels came off the bus for the MTA team for Friday’s match against the Concorde Fire Elite from Atlanta, GA. While possession was very even with both teams having chances, it was Cameron Moseley of the Fire who scored in the 19th minute to put the Georgia team ahead. The Thunder Academy continued pushing and the teams went into halftime with the Fire ahead by only a goal. But the MTA defense seemed to come unglued in the second half of play allowing 4 more unanswered goals. The final was 5-0 Concorde Fire Elite who moved on to the final and defeated Albion White 2-1 for the national championship.
The U-16 boys MTA team ended up a very respectable 3rd place in the national competition.
U-19 Woodbury Inferno
The Woodbury Inferno made their way into the Nationals in what would be this group of players’ last chance at the youth level to bring home some silverware to Minnesota.
The team started out on the right foot with a 1-0 win on Wednesday evening against the Dallas Texans 92 Red team out of Region III. On Thursday the Inferno women took on Real Colorado and lost 2-0. The team was hoping for a comeback on Friday which could still land them in a good spot with only 4 teams in the age group. But the Inferno got burned and were hammered by PDA Tsunami of New Jersey in their final game, 5-1. The Woodbury team ended the competition at the bottom of the 4-team bracket.
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Nice to hear about the MN teams at the USYS Nationals. How about an article on the MN teams that competed in the US Club Soccer Nationals July 29-August 1 in Boise, ID (St. Croix U14 Boys and U17 Girls).