Capital Area Soccer League teams made another strong push in U.S. Soccer Development Academy play toward clinching the top regional seeds, easing their potential roads to July's national finals in Carson City, Calif.
CASL's Chelsea FC Academy U15/16 and U17/18 teams finished a combined 3-1-1 over the weekend in a Spring Showcase event that drew elite teams, as well as college coaches, from across the country to Sarasota, Fla. The U15/16 squad finished with two wins and a tie, and CASL's U17/18 Academy team went 1-1-1 in three matches.
"We started off the season strong, and now we are preparing for the playoffs, where we need to come together and be at our best. We are a close team and feel that if we are playing our best soccer, we will make it to nationals again," said Alex Givens, co-captain of the U17/18 Academy.
U15/16: CASL's U15/16 squad entered the Showcase with first place clinched in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy's South Conference Atlantic Division. The weekend tournament served, however, as the last showcase event of the spring for a team full of high school sophomores and juniors looking to impress college recruiters.
In their opening match, the team tied 2-2 against the L.A. Galaxy youth academy team affiliated with the Los Angeles Major League Soccer team of the same name. Both goals came from striker Monbo Bokar in a hard-fought battle. The CASL squad followed that draw with a dominating, 3-0 shutout of the Academy Select All-Star team. Two of the CASL Academy goals came from forward Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler, and center midfielder Andrew Morales scored the other.
The CASL players' final match was a 4-1 victory against the New Jersey Soccer Association's team, with Monbo Bokar scoring three goals and Vandermaas-Peeler adding the fourth.
Overall, the U15/16s earned seven points in the standings during the weekend, boosting their overall record to 20-1-7.
U17/18: CASL's U17/18 Chelsea Academy added four points in its overall standings, improving its position to second overall at 14-4-10 (52 points). In its first Showcase match, CASL tied the L.A. Galaxy Academy 2-2, with goals by Kyle Peterson and Chipper Root.
Sunday, the U17/18s lost a 3-1 match to FC Dallas, another Academy team affiliated with an MLS franchise. Down 1-0, CASL tied the score on a goal by John Pace before FC Dallas added two goals by striker Ruben Luna, who recently signed with the MLS' FC Dallas.
CASL bounced back with a 3-0 victory against NJSA, with goals from Chipper Root, Matthew Frongello and Matthew Wescoe.
"We came out of the showcase as one of the top clubs in the league," said Rusty Scarborough, coach of the U17/18 Chelsea Academy team and CASL's director of coaching. "We came through, played great competition and handled ourselves well on and off the field. Day in and day out, the competition in this league to play MLS teams is tremendous."
All-Stars: Two players from CASL's Chelsea Academy teams also played in the All-Star Game. Goalkeeper Spencer LaCivita, who has committed to the University of Virginia, played in the '92 game, and midfielder Fernando Castalano played in the '94 game.
U.S. Youth Soccer
Nine Triangle teams have qualified for the U.S. Youth Soccer Region III (South) Championships to be played June 17-24 in Baton Rouge, La.
Girls teams: On the girls' side of the draw, four CASL teams advanced: U15 CASL Spartan Elite Black, U17 CASL Spartan Elite, U18 CASL Spartan Elite and the U19 CASL Chelsea Ladies.
Boys teams: Five boys teams also made the regional championship: the U15 (94) CASL Elite, the U17 (92) CASL Elite, the U17 Triangle Futbol Club Navy, the U18 (91) Triangle United Gold team (for the third straight year) and the U19 (90) TFC Navy squad.
The goal: Regional winners will earn places in the U.S. Youth National Championships, scheduled for July 20-25 in Overland Park, Kan.
