FRISCO, Texas (Jan. 22, 2018) - North Texas teams combined to go earn 17 wins, four draws and nine losses as 10 teams finished US Youth Soccer National League play in Florida over the last couple of weekends.
Defending US Youth Soccer National Champions 16-Under Solar 02 Stricker (TX-N), 17-Under Solar 01 Stricker and 18U FC Dallas 00 Che (TX-N) sit at the top of the their divisions, while 17-Under Solar 01 Sawyer (TX-N) currently sits second in its division. Both 16-Under Odyssey 02 (TX-N) and 18-Under FC Dallas 00 Premier (TX-N) are currently in third place in their respective divisions.
The National League is designed to reward teams for developing elite talent and earning success in US Youth Soccer Regional Leagues and Regional Championships, as the top finishing teams in these competitions directly qualify for the National League. Once in the National League, the top teams from each age group division qualify to the National Championships, and secure a spot to return to National League play the following season.
Scores & Standings
16U Boys
Solar 02 Stricker put itself in solid position to win its first National League division after going a perfect 3-0 in Orlando, Fla. The defending South Region and National Champions defeated Arlington SA 2002 Red (VA) 3-0 to begin the weekend as North Texas and South Region Olympic Development Program (ODP) player Ethan Orozco began the scoring before a pair of 2017 National Championships Best XI players, Richard Garcia and Riley O’Donnell, found the back of the net. Solar would score six goals in a 6-1 victory over NFC 02 Blue (NE) as O’Donnell netted a hat trick to go with Bleon Salihu’s brace and a goal from Harvey Castro. O’Donnell would finish with seven goals in the competition, which was just one less than the most in the age group. O’Donnell received the 2017 National Championships Golden Ball award after leading the age group in scoring with five goals. Solar finished the year with a 3-1 win against USA MP 02 Premier (SC) thanks to goals from Castro, Garcia and Salihu. Solar currently leads the National League White division with a 6-1 record with four teams still having to play their final three games.
Odyssey 02 climbed up to third place in the National League Black Division thanks to an undefeated weekend in Orlando, Fla. Odyssey drew VOB 02 Cosmos (NY-E) 1-1 on the first day thanks to goal from John Lisenbee. Odyssey would then defeat current group leaders Baltimore Celtic 2002 (MD) 1-0 on the next day as Brock Pope scored the only goal of the match. The 2016 US Youth Soccer Southern Regional Premier League (SRPL West) runners-up would then defeat CUP 02 Gold (OH-S) 2-1 as Pope and Luke Major found the back of the net.
16U Girls
Solar 02 Naizer (TX-N) will finish in seventh place of the National League Blue Division after earning its first National League win in addition to a pair of draws in Florida. Solar fought back from a an early 2-0 deficit as Kaylee Mosley and Tori Sorrels found the back of the net in a 2-2 draw vs Nationals Union 02 Black (MI) on the first day of play. Brooklyn Davis scored five minutes into Solar’s match against FC United 02 (IL), but a late equalizer would lead the match to end in a 1-1 draw. Mosley, Sorrels, Kaleigh Naizer and Hannah Dorsey all scored for Solar on the final day of National League play in a 4-0 win against 02 CSA North Predator (NC), which was a rematch of the 2017 Southern Regional Championships semifinals.
Solar 02 (TX-N) moved to sixth place in the National League White Division after going 2-1 on the last three days of their debut National League season. Solar fell to Beach FC 02 Red (VA) 2-1 on the first day of play as Wimberley Wright scored for the North Texas side. Wright would add a pair of goals in the next match as her brace combined with a goal from Miranda Cairns would give Solar a 3-1 win over Eclipse Black 02 (IL). Solar finished the National League season on a strong note with a 2-1 victory over NCFC 02 Elite (NC) courtesy of goals from Lauren Miller and Landrey Krodel.
17U Boys
Solar 01 Sawyer continued its impressive form from earlier in the month on the first day of play in Orlando, Fla with a 3-1 win against USA/MP 01 Premier (SC) as William Hitchcock’s brace and Anthony Jimenez’s goal would be the difference. Solar would then fall to defending National Champions Tampa Bay United (FL) in a rematch of the 2017 South Region Championships finals 3-1 as Pablo Velazquez put Solar on the board. The defending North Texas State Cup champions would draw ARL 2001 Red (VA) 1-1 thanks to a Johnny Koponen goal to move to second in the National League Black Division.
Solar 01 Stricker currently sits at the top of the National League Blue Division with a 4-1-1 record. Solar began the weekend with a 3-0 win over Philadelphia Ukranian Nationals (PA-E) as Robert Pino, Christian Naizer and Alexandre Swetnam all scored. Solar would then edge out Pipeline Pre Academy (MD) with a 1-0 win thanks to Naizer’s free-kick goal. Solar would fall 2-0 on the final day of play to NCFC 01 Elite (NC), but remains in first place with four teams still to play their final three games.
17U Girls
Fever United 01 Guerra (TX-N) currently sits in fifth place of the National League Red Division after giving the top-two teams in the division all they could handle before landing a win on the final day of play. Nationals Union 01 Red (MI) needed a 90th minute goal to break a scoreless stalemate against Fever on the first day of play, while eventual National League Red Division winner BC United 01 (NY-W) had to hold off a strong comeback attempt from Fever on the second day of play. BC United went up 2-0, but Chloey Seltzer would cut the lead in half in the 75th minute. However, the division champs would hold on for the 2-1 win. Fever took care of business on the final day of play in a 2-0 win against 01 CSA Charlotte Predator (NC) as Molly Lowe and Victoria Margiotta scored for Fever. Sting East Dunstan (TX-N) currently sits in fourth place of the Blue Division with a 2-1-1 record and will continue play March 4-6 in Las Vegas.
18U Boys
FC Dallas 00 Che was the second North Texas side to go a perfect 3-0 on the weekend to move up into first place of the National League Blue Division. FC Dallas earned a 3-0 win against BRYC Elite Academy (VA) thanks to goals from Dayton Crocker, Angel Medel and Yaya Dosso. Dosso would net a hat trick in FC Dallas’s next game, a 3-1 win against SC Waukesha 00 Blue (WI). The 2017 SRPL West champions finished the National League style with a 3-0 win over Team Boca 2000 White (FL) as Dosso would add his seventh and eighth National League goals.
2017 National Championships runners-up FC Dallas 00 Premier moved up to third in the National League while going 1-2 in Orlando, Fla. FC Dallas fell to group leaders LVU 2000 Black 2-0 (PA-E) on the first day of play before being on the wrong side of a 2-1 result against CUP Gold 00 (OH-S). However, FC Dallas would finish strong with a 5-1 win against USA/Mt Pleasant 00 Premier (SC) as Roman DeLeon, David Ortiz, Marcos Puga, Caleb Meyer and Jared Cox all found the back of the net.
18U Girls
Solar 00 is currently in seventh place of the National League Black Division after going 1-2 in the final three National League games. Solar fell to group winners Campton United (IL) 3-0 before being defeated 5-1 by second-place LMSC Storm (PA-E). Emily Hanna scored the goal for Solar in the defeat and would net the game-winner in a 1-0 win over CDA Premier (OH-S) on the final day of play. D’Feeters Kicks will join Sting in Las Vegas as the two-time Southern Regional Championships winners will need to go 3-0 to clinch a second National League title and return to the National Championships for a fourth time.