Less than a day after The Football Academy Black 13U Boys won the US Youth Soccer National Championship for their age group, two additional New Jersey Youth Soccer teams have advanced to the finals at the national tournament. The Football Academy Black 14U Boys and Cedar Stars North 19U Boys were both victorious in semifinal matches on Saturday to book one more reservation at the USYS National Championships, which are being hosted at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
The Football Academy Black 14U Boys resumed tournament action on Saturday morning against Yardley Makefield Soccer 2010 Boys Premier United, battling the Pennsylvania East team in a highly competitive contest that ended at 1-1 following regulation. The two teams then progressed to a penalty kick shootout that eventually concluded when The Football Academy Black had outscored Yardley Makefield in extended kicks, 9-8. Prior to the semifinals, the New Jersey representative went unbeaten in group play, earning seven points on a cumulative 2-0-1 record to claim the top spot in their bracket.
Next up for The Football Academy Black is a 10:00 AM pairing with Ponys FC 2010 of Illinois to determine the USYS 14U Boys National Champions.
Also moving onto the USYS National Championship Finals is the Cedar Stars North 19U Boys, who continued their incredible postseason winning streak by defeating Indiana Fire 2005B NL in a thrilling semifinal match-up that eventually resulted in a 5-4 final score. Prior to the semifinals, Cedar Stars North opened up the national tournament by going undefeated in group play, pairing nine points and a 3-0 record with a 7-1 goal differential. The journey for Cedar Stars North began with a NJYS State Cup Championship this past spring before they won six consecutive matches to claim the USYS Eastern Regional Championship for their age group. Over the course of the Eastern Regional Championships and National Championships, Cedar Stars North has gone undefeated and won 10 straight games.
Cedar Stars North will now look to complete a perfect regional and national run when they play Libertyville FC 1974 Elite of Illinois for the 19U Boys National Championship on Sunday morning at 7:30 AM. That match will be televised to a national audience via a live broadcast on ESPNU.
The USYS National Championships Presented by New York Life are the final stage of the USYS National Championships, which begin at the state level before progressing to the regional and then national stages. The event is a culmination of a year-long series of competitions, providing approximately 185,000 players on 10,000 teams from US Youth Soccer’s 54 State Associations with the opportunity to showcase their soccer skills against the best competition in the nation.
