National League Play Resumes for SLSG and Sporting JB Marine

The US Youth Soccer National League boys teams complete play this weekend in Las Vegas where Missouri will be represented by six area teams. Sporting JB Marine 2002 Mann joins five SLSG Missouri Elite teams, who all experienced playing in the Region II Tournament last Summer as State Cup Champions (with the 2004 boys advancing as the Wildcard). The 2002 SLSG Amlong boys reached the semifinal of the National Championship.

Below you will find daily updates that provide information on how all of the teams did as well as individual and team updates, along with their respective schedules. I’ve included the information from the first weekend of play in December. Terrible weather there led to the cancellation of at least one game, meaning that the teams will have two games in one day at least once.

UPDATE SATURDAY – Congratulationsto the 2001 Elite boys who with their win top the Blue Division and wrote their return ticket to the National Championship series this Summer!

National League State Summary

MAR SAT RESULTS – WLLLWWD (3-3-1) The Elite 2001 boys won, clinching their Division and qualifying them for the USYSA National Championship in Dallas in July. The Elite 2002 boys can advance to the USYSA NCS as well with a win on Sunday, assuming they maintain the goal differential over Boca OC who are four goals behind.
MAR FRIDAY RESULTS – DWLWDWL (3-2-2) The Elite 2001 boys remain undefeated and can seal the division win and a trip to Nationals on Saturday. Elite 2002 drew with Boca, their closest competitor. Their advancement will likely come via GD on Sunday.
DEC SUNDAY RESULTS – PPPPWP (1-0-0, 5 DNP) weather conditions have canceled all games except for the 2001 boys
DEC SATURDAY RESULTS – DPLWPW (2-1-1, 2 DNP) weather conditions have canceled games for the 2004 Grady and 2001 Burke squads
DEC FRIDAY RESULTS – LLLWWL (2-4-0)
The Gallagher 2001 and 2002 boys earned the wins while there were five own goals scored in the six matches. Three by a pair of teams while the 02 boys benefited by a pair.
DEC THURSDAY RESULTS – WLLWWW (4-2-0)
The two youngest age groups opened with losses while the U16-U18 boys all won, including an strong effort by the 01’s to come back from 0-1 to defeat the PHI Ukranians 2-1 who came in with some good press.

Sporting JBM 2002 Mann

All of the groups are tough at National League due to the select nature of the league. The schedule can make a key difference. For Sporting, an opening match against last year’s Region II champion will be challenge that is immediately followed by a game against the National Champions. Only one team advances from the group so points will be necessary to stay in the race. TEAM LINK

The team went 1-1-1, opening with a win before losing to the defending champions on Friday and coming back in terrible conditions for a draw on Saturday. Sunday’s game canceled due to the snow storm hitting the East Coast.

DEC Thu – Sporting opened a 3-0 lead on first half goals by Arthur DeCampos (Chaminade), Cole Pardo (CBC) and Jim Sanchez ( ) enroute to their opening win. Note that NFC Blue won the Region II title last year.
DEC Fri – Sporting opened the scoring in the 3rd minute via John Gates but eventually surrendered five to the defending National Champions
DEC Sat – after giving up a goal 40 seconds into the match, Sporting maintained their composure and kept the ball on the ground in terrible conditions that included rain, win and cold. Winning a goal kick in the center circle, a run down the right will shrugging off a challenge led to a strong shot parried by the keeper but finished by Sporting as they got two attackers into the box to earn the draw. video
MAR Fri – a pair of goals by Seth Anderson, in the 1st and 6th minute, got Sporting off to a hot start that was cooled by a pair of goals by Lo Roca, in the 33rd and 66th minute. The team remains mid-table with a 1-1-2 record.
MAR Sat – Arthur DeCampos scored a brace, both in the first half, for the team’s second win of the competition.

SLSG 2004 Elite Grady

The big news on the National League website for the U14’s is Gallagher’s status as the defending National Champions. The only problem is that team is now participating in the SLSG Missouri Academy program (they were pre-Academy) last year for their one season in the USYSA fold. Thus a brand new team of seventh and eight graders will represent this season.

The Sporting Blue Valley squad they face on Sunday is the only one getting a shout out from the USYSA site so we’ll wait to see how things play out this week. The Roster can be found below these reviews or visit the TEAM LINK

Dec Thu – a goal two minutes into the second half proved the difference as the team opened their first season in National League
Dec Fri – SLSG saw Bethesday score a pair of goals in each half. Will Raftery scored in the 56th minute to avoid the shutout.
MAR Fri – the team scored their first goal of the weekend, by Aaron Rapp in the 6th minute, to get their first points.
MAR Fri – a goal early in the second half (38th) was the difference for KSA
MAR Sat – a pair of losses, the first on a second half goal and then the afternoon game saw Rush score a pair in each half

SLSG 2003 Elite Cuddy

The SLSG Elite boys navigated a very tight group in US Youth Soccer Midwest Regional League play to qualify for the National League. Both could make some noise in the Blue Division. The Blue group includes the defending National Champions, United SA Mt. Pleasant (SC), who SLSG will face on Sunday in their final match of this round. The Roster can be found below these reviews or visit the TEAM LINK

Tough weekend for the boys as they go 0-3 with a -12 GD (2 Goals, 14 allowed)

Dec Thu – Sean Green scored for SLSG in the 28th min but by then it was already 1-3 as the boys gave up two more in the second half, including one in the final minute.
Dec Fri – Takoma scored four goals in the final 17 minutes of the match
Dec Sat – Despite allowing an early goal, CFJ City 2003 Pre-Academy (IL) defeated SLSG 2003 Elite (MO) by a significant margin for its second win in the 15U Blue Division. While Evan Browne scored for SLSG in the fourth minute, CFJ immediately responded with an Abel Aldape goal. CFJ took the lead 10 minutes later thanks to Christian Munoz, who placed the ball in the net. Munoz increased the lead when a ball was slotted through for him to tap into the goal. Later, a crossed ball landed at Jaden Rice, and he kept his shot low to add to CFJ’s goals. To finish off the win, CFJ found Munoz once again on a through ball, allowing him to beat the goalkeeper and earn a hat trick.
MAR Fri – decisive win as the team scores four before giving up a late goal. Jack Winter had the hat trick with goals in the 8th, 15th and 38th minute. Saladin Stephen also scored in the 26th. First points of the tournament.
MAR Sat – a 0-1 deficit in the first half grew by three in the second half

SLSG 2002 Elite Amlong

The National semifinalists as U5’s, losing to Solar Chelseas (who were playing at home on the Frisco fields), ended the remarkable season the boys had. Coming together for the first time in late October 2016 as the Calendar Year change took place in conjunction with SLSG Tryouts. I met with Coach Amlong last November to discuss the upcoming League. It would be the first ‘tournament’ action for the team and they took the bull by the horns so to speak.

A pair of players – Adam Lucas and Theo Ruppert – were named to the Best XI at the National Championships last July. They advanced to the National Championship series by finishing second in their National League group last season, as well as going on to win the Missouri State Cup (picture above following that win over Sporting JB Marine Mann).

SC Waukesha should be the toughest match this week, as they finished second in their MRL division. The team needs to earn maximum points this week as they’ll face Boca OC (CA-S) and Excel Soccer Academy in March, both teams who are considered top contenders. TEAM LINK

Best result of the opening weekend by the U16’s, building off of their NCS semifinal appearance last Summer to go 3-0, scoring by Livingstone in the first two matches and Adam Lucas and Kyle Weinhold in games 2 and 3 respectively (three own goals to their advantage).

DEC Thu – An own goal and a score by Devin Livingstone (FZS) in the 13th propelled the boys to the opening win

Slsg 02 elite 2…tocoma park Maryland 0…. Livingstone from weinhold 17' Riley Dubbs from Kalish 78'. Job well done pic.twitter.com/lBpJJvtqop

— tim amlong (@batman2617) December 7, 2017

DEC Fri – after giving up a goal in the 12th minute on a 50 yard run/counter, the SLSG boys settled down, getting what was later determined to be an own goal in the 33rd and a goal by Adam Lucas in the 36th that was the eventual game-winner. Devin Livingstone scored in the 52nd and a second own goal was credited in the 75th for the final margin.
DEC Sat – An own goal in the 49th minute gave the boys a positive start to the second half and Kyle Weinhold scored three minutes later for the final margin
DEC Sun – games canceled due to field/weather conditions
MAR Fri – Goals by Cole Hutson (17th) and Devin Livingstone (38th) gave Elite the lead, only to see Boca score in the 54th and 80th minute. The draw was the first dropped points for the team after starting 3-0 in Carolina in December. The draw keeps the two teams tied with 10 points and the next two games against the bottom two teams for each will be the difference. GD tie-breaker likely.
MAR Sat – Riley Dubbs opened the scoring in the 10th minute, joined by Donald Ross in the 40th. Ben MacInnes scored in the 50th and Devin Livingstone in the 69th. The win extended their GD over Boca OC to +4 going into the final game Sunday against SCUFC Elite who lost 1-2 to Boca.

Our 2002 Elite went 3-0 in @NationalLeague with victories over Tokoma Park, Loudoun and Waukesha. 8 goals for, 1 goal against.

— SLSG Missouri Boys (@SLSGMOBoys) December 10, 2017

Season ends 2-1 loss to solar TX. In the last 2 minutes to play In semifinals heartbreaker! Slsg 02 elite will be back! pic.twitter.com/DvBQr8dvB7

— tim amlong (@batman2617) July 29, 2017

SLSG 2001 Elite Burke

The boys season ended last Summer in the Regional Final following a strong MRL season. They open against one of the top two teams in the group, Philadelphia Ukranian Nationals and will face CUP in March, who were Semifinalists at the NCS. Pipeline were Eastern Regional winners and a example of why this competition is so challenging. TEAM LINK

DEC Thu – After giving up a counter attack goal in the 21st, the boys got goals from left back Brady Glon (Howell) in the 58th and the game winner by lone striker (in a 4-2-3-1) Trent Dolson (Marquette) in the 80th for the comeback win. They lost center back and captain Jack Douglas in the 83rd minute to a second yellow card, so the played short for 7+2 minutes.
DEC Fri – SLSG game out strong in their second match with Trent Dolson scoring what proved to be the game-winner in the 19th minute. Cristopher Sewing added a brace, in the 56th and 83rd minute, and Camden Dunne also scored in the 68th minute.
DEC Sat – postponed due to weather/field conditions
DEC Sun – excellent finish to the weekend with a one goal shutout to send the boys home undefeated and prepared for the final weekend in Vegas
MAR Fri – excellent opener for the second weekend, a decisive 4-0 win that solidifies their possibilities of advancing. Goals by Nick Grewe, Brady Glon, Camden Dunne and Trent Dolson put the team within one point of the current leaders with two games in hand.
MAR Sat – the boys continued their win streak and won the Division, advancing to the National Championship series in Dallas this July! Goals were scored by Trent Dolson (2), Camden Dunne and Ethan Garamella.

SLSG 2000 Elite Cooper

The top team in this weeks action are the FC Dallas side that finished 2nd in their National League group last year. SLSG finished middle of the table last year with a -2 goal differential. A slow start, opening with a pair of losses, was more than they could overcome as they bounced back with a pair of ties and then went 2-0-1 the final weekend. They’ll look to build on that result with a key quartet of SLUH players (Meissner, Verzino, Rudder, Goedeker) and Parkway Central’s attacking phenom Adam Burnett. TEAM LINK

DEC Thu – goals by Justin Gleason (Christian O’Fallon) in the 32nd and Ray Goedeker (SLUH) in the 38th got the team started well. They gave up one in the 48th min but Adam Burnett (Parkway Central/MO Academy pick up) sealed it in the 57th minute.
DEC Fri – After dropping its opening 18U Blue Division game, FC Dallas 00 Che (TX-N) picked an important three points on Friday with a 1-0 win over St. Louis Scott Gallagher Elite 2000 (MO). The Missouri side controlled possession early, while FC Dallas looked to strike on the counter attack. After withstanding a good amount of pressure from SLSG, FC Dallas nearly took a 35th-minute lead when Issomalia Dosso hit a right-footed blast from a tight angle that rattled the crossbar. Dosso didn’t miss when he got a second chance a breakthrough in the second half. The St. Louis keeper couldn’t handle a driven pass across the box, and Dosso pounced on the loose ball and squeezed a shot over the goal line — giving FC Dallas a 1-0 lead. St. Louis produced some late looks at goal, but the North Texas side hung on to earn the 1-0 win.
DEC Sat – big win with Thomas Naumann scoring the hat-trick, including the eventual game-winner only 2 minutes into the match. Collin McDonough and Mitchell Vaughn also scored.
DEC Sun – postponed due to the snow storm hitting the East Coast (from Texas up to East)
MAR Fri – a tough loss on a 90th minute goal after the team fought back to tie the score 1-1 in the 73rd minute on Jordan Andrews goal. The team is six points out with two games remaining, likely ending their chance to win the group.
MAR Sat – the boys fought back twice to earn the point. Ray Goedeker scored in the 46th minute to draw even 1-1 and after giving up a second in the 68th, Jordan Andrews scored in the 92nd for the 2-2 draw.

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The US Youth Soccer National League competition is for the nation’s top teams in the 14U, 15U, 16U, 17U and 18U boys and girls age groups. The 14U and 15U divisions consist of a total of 16 teams per gender age group, while the 16U through 18U gender age groups feature 32 teams each. The National League offers additional exposure to collegiate, professional and U.S. National Team coaches and offers the highest level of competition in the country as each team must earn their place in the league. National League teams continue play in their respective US Youth Soccer Regional Leagues and State Championships to complete their competitive calendar.

Teams play a seven-game schedule over two weekends, facing each team within its age group division one time. The League consists of three weekends of play per gender, with each team playing two of the three weekends.

The top teams from each division advance to the US Youth Soccer National Championships, the oldest and most prestigious youth soccer national championship in the country. The four National League representatives will join the four Regional Champions in the 14U through 18U age groups to play for the National Championship. The top teams in each 14U through 17U division also secure a spot to return to National League play the following season.

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With the combination of the SLSG Missouri and Illinois Academy programs, a number of boys joined the High School ranks this Fall as well as the Elite squads. I’ve noted new additions to the rosters with Academy experience under the High School column.