FRISCO, Texas (Jan. 3, 2018) – Six North Texas Soccer boys teams finished the 2017-18 US Youth Soccer National League season in Orlando, Fla., with a strong performance, as they combined for 12 wins, two draws and four losses.
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.
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.
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.