The next step in achieving National Championship dreams started Monday for teams in the Under-14 through Under-16 age groups at 2015 US Youth Soccer Region III (South) Championships in North Little Rock, Ark.
Monday saw those age groups narrow the field from eight teams to four, as the sides took part in exciting quarterfinal matchups. The advancing teams are now preparing for the upcoming semifinal matches and a chance to get one step closer to a spot in the 2015 US Youth Soccer National Championships, held July 21-26 at the Mohawk Soccer Complex in Tulsa, OK.
For the second straight year, Under-16 Boys Oklahoma FC 99 has played its way into the semifinal round.
“To advance, it’s going to take a lot of quality on the ball because our opponents will be a top team again,” Phillips said. “This year, we have the ability — if everyone works like we did in the second half — to achieve the goal we set at the beginning of the season, which is to win the National Championship.”
Some highlights from Monday’s quarterfinal action…
In other Under-16 Boys quarterfinal action, Oklahoma FC 99 (OK) overcame an early two-goal deficit to win, 5-3, in a back-and-forth game with FC Florida 98 Elite White (FL). The Florida side jumped in front when Alexander Turner scored twice in a two minutes to put it up, 2-0. OFC’s Dante Brigida matched Turner’s tallies with two goals of his own 10 minutes later to level the score. Each side found the back of the net in the 27th minute, as Florida’s Filip Guhr and OFC’s Austin Needham netted goals. Oklahoma’s Daryl Dike capped the wild first half with a 34th-minute goal to put his side in front. The defenses settled in after the break, as Oklahoma clung to its one-goal lead. OFC got some breathing room in the 70th minute when Kelvin Chandler converted a penalty kick, and the Oklahoma side went on to win, 5-3 — advancing to the Region III semifinals for a second straight year.
Daily reports and complete results from the US Youth Soccer Region III Championships are available on www.championships.usyouthsoccer.org.
Monday’s quarterfinal results…
| Under-14 Girls | ||||||
| OFC 01 Phillips | OK | 3 | Challenge 02 | TX-S | 2 | |
| Under-16 Girls | ||||||
| Tennessee SC 17 | TN | 1 | Oklahoma FC 99 | OK | 2 | |
| Under-16 Boys | ||||||
| Oklahoma FC 99 | OK | 5 | FC Florida 98 Elite White | FL | 3 |
