Salt Lake City -
The fledgling
Real Salt Lake Youth Development Program
recently finished a successful four days of play at the
2007 United Soccer Leagues (USL) Super Y-League North American Finals
in Tampa, Fla., as Utah's Major League Soccer side was represented by five squads in the nation's premiere youth soccer event. The always strong
RSL-Florida
club out of Tampa fielded two boys and girls teams at the event being held in its backyard, while the new
RSL-Arizona
program out of Phoenix was represented by its U-16 Boys squad, the combined five squads giving Real Salt Lake the most representation of any MLS Youth Development system at the 140-team tournament.
Pool play for the top 16 Boys teams and 12 Girls sides in each Super Y-League age group took place from Friday through Sunday, and a pair of RSL teams - the RSL-Arizona U-16 Boys and RSL-Florida U-17 Girls - won their respective groups to advance to yesterday's semifinal round.
The RSL-Florida Under-17 Girls squad rolled through its Group A opposition over the weekend on its way to a spot in the semifinals, racking up a +12 goal differential in victories over the Ottawa Fury (Ont.) (4-1), Triangle FC (N.C.) (3-2), and Schulz Academy (Fla.) (8-0). Those wins set up the RSL-Florida side in yesterday's semifinal against Wolfpack Blue (Calif.), but the Floridians would fall just short of the final, falling 2-1 in overtime.
The RSL-Arizona U-16 Boys continued their impressive debut season by advancing out of Group B play at the North American Finals with a 2-0-1 mark and seven points. The RSL-Arizona squad started slowly with a 0-0 draw against Kendall FC (Fla.), but used a 3-2 win over the Players Development Academy (N.J.) and a 2-1 triumph over San Juan FC (Calif.) to finish atop the group and advance to the semifinals. In a close contest, a first half goal by Los Angeles Futbol Club would provide all the scoring in a 1-0 win over RSL-Arizona, a result that left the U-16 Boys team with an outstanding 8-1-1 mark against SYL competition in its inaugural season.
RSL-Florida's two Boys entries fell short in their chase for the knockout phase, as the Under-17s went 1-1-1 to finish tied for second place in Group B play, while the Under-14 squad went 1-2-0 to claim three points out of its three games. The RSL-Florida U-17s had a chance to advance after opening with a 1-1 draw against Black Watch SC (Fla.) and defeating Parsippany SC (N.J.) 2-1, but the squad finished up group play on the wrong end of a 2-1 result against Orlando FC that eliminated its semifinal hopes. The RSL-Florida U-14 Boys saw their tournament start with a pair of one-goal losses to Mequon United (Wisc.) (1-2) and Seacoast United (N.H.) (2-3), but rebounded nicely to crush the Northern Virginia Royals 5-1 in the final group stage game.
The RSL-Florida U-14 Girls effort over the weekend was not reflected its 0-3-0 record in pool play, as the squad fell 1-0 in all three matches against the Carolina Dynamo (N.C.), BW Rhode Island, and De Anza Force (Calif.).
2007 Super Y-League North American Finals
The Super Y-League North American Finals is a five-day assembly of the best 140 youth soccer clubs in North America. Boys and girls soccer clubs, ages 13 through 17, compete throughout the year in the U.S. and Canada for the right to compete in this event. Teams qualify from their respective regions (New England, Mid Atlantic, South Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Rocky Mountain, Northwest, Northern California and Southern California). Regional representatives face the best from around North America in a quest to become league champions. 2007 marks the third year that the USL's biggest competitive event has been hosted in Tampa.
The Super Y-League is foremost, a professionalized system serving as the first step for developing youth soccer players in North America. Affiliated with U.S. Soccer, the league is designed for talented youth players destined for professional or international careers while through Olympic Development Program status events such as the SYL ODP Camps, the nation's top players are also selected for National Team programs.
About the USL Super Y-League
The future of soccer lives in the USL Super Y-League, a professionalized system that is the first step for developing elite youth soccer players in North America. Affiliated with US Soccer and partnered with US Club Soccer, the league is designed for talented youth players destined for professional or international careers. The league contains the youth academies of several Major League Soccer, USL First Division, USL Second Division, Premier Development League, and W-League clubs, as well as many of the established premier youth clubs. The 2006 campaign featured over 800 teams within the U13 - U17 boys and girls age groups competing within 10 geographic divisions of the U.S. and Canada.
