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Four local youth clubs closed out their US Youth Soccer National League 2016-17 campaign with games over the weekend in Las Vegas. Boys teams from Delaware Rush, Lower Merion SC, Lehigh Valley United and FC Montco each played three matches over the weekend.
Delaware Rush’s 17U team came in second in their division behind unbeaten Illinois club Raiders FC after a 2-0 win over Lower Merion SC and losses to Raiders and Fullerton Rangers.
Lower Merion SC’s Sabertooth Rats had a 1-0 lead on Raiders FC in a rematch of a game they lost last summer at nationals, but conceded three goals in the final five minutes to fall 3-1. Jared Dillon opened the scoring for the Rats in the 23rd minute, but it was prolific scorer Evangelo Spartiatis with the equalizer in the 85th minute and the winner four minutes later before Christian Crespo tacked on another goal.
Raiders FC beat Delaware Rush 4-0. The Delaware team got two first-half goals from Hunter Firment and Thomas McGrail in their 2-0 win over the Rats while both teams fell to California club Fullerton Rangers by identical 2-1 score lines. Matthew Mendoza had the goal in Delaware’s loss while Sean Touey scored the goal in the Rats’ loss.
The Rats finished the season with a 1-4-2 record while Delaware Rush finished with a 5-2-0 record. Lehigh Valley United’s 17U team went 1-1-1 in the final weekend to finish with a 2-4-1 mark.
LVU 2000 Black blew a one-goal lead - a sixth minute strike from Patrick Adams - on Friday to West Coast FC, played to a scoreless draw against Washington Premier on Saturday and capped things with a 2-1 win over Toledo Celtics on Sunday behind goals from Darryl Longdon and Euan Forrest.
FC Montco was the only other local boys team in action in Las Vegas. The 18U Die Mannschaft team lost all three games to finish 1-5-1 for the season.
Logan Schwartz had the team’s lone goal over the weekend in a 2-1 loss to Fullerton Rangers White. They lost 2-0 to Washington club WPFC and 1-0 to Illinois club Libertyville FC 1974.
Twenty boys division winners from the National League all clinched berths into the US Youth Soccer National Championships. Penn Fusion’s 19/20U team was the only local team that finished a division winner, a feat they accomplished back in December.
Local Teams in 2016-17 US Youth Soccer National League
| Team | Wins | Losses | Draws | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Wins | Losses | Draws | Points | Place |
| Penn Fusion Elite 15U | 3 | 0 | 4 | 13 | Second in Blue Division |
| Delaware Rush 15U | 3 | 4 | 0 | 9 | Fifth in Red Division |
| Penn Fusion 01 Elite 16U | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | Eighth in Red Division |
| Lehigh Valley United 2000 Black 17U | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | Fifth in Blue Division |
| Delaware Rush 17U | 5 | 2 | 0 | 15 | Second in Red Division |
| LMSC Sabertooth Rats 17U | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | Sixth in Red Division |
| HMMS Eagle FC 00 17U | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | Sixth in White Division |
| FC Montco Die Mannschaft 18U | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | Seventh in Red Division |
| Delaware Rush 99 18U | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | Eighth in White Division |
| Penn Fusion 98 19/20U | 6 | 1 | 0 | 18 | First in Red Division |