CASL awarded Top-10 national rankings

For the first time, the Capital Area Soccer League's boys' and girls' programs are both ranked among Soccer America magazine's top 10 youth clubs in the nation.

CASL placed both programs on Soccer America's 2011 Top 30 lists, with the boys and girls each ranked seventh nationally.

For the fourth straight year, the Baltimore Bays were named the top boys' club in Soccer America's rankings. New Jersey's Players Development Academy ranked first in Soccer America's annual girls' rankings.

The CASL boys' program has ranked in the top 20 the past seven years, according to Rusty Scarborough, the club's director of coaching. Three times in a seven-year span, Scarborough added, the CASL boys' program was ranked in the top 10.

Last year, the boys' program ranked No. 2.

The girls' program ranked in the top 20 each year since 2009, but this year is the first time they broke into the top 10.

"We have a committed staff that works together in all facets of the club," Scarborough said.

Academy teams in the boys' program qualified for seven out of eight national championships, said Scarborough.

"The success of the 16(-year-old) and 18(-year-old) United States Soccer Federation Development Academy teams over the last four years has been tremendous," he said in an email.

Scarborough noted the longtime depth of CASL's female player pool, especially among younger players, has been responsible for player development in the older age groups.

Over the past three years, he said, CASL girls' teams have won nine state championships, regional premier league championships, and the U16 Elite Clubs National League Championship (July 2011).

"Currently we are at the top of the table in two out of five age groups in the ECNL Conference league," Scarborough wrote.

Soccer America selects its top 30 clubs each year based on their teams' success in national youth competitions, the selection of players to national youth teams, and other achievements.

Local player joins U17 National program

Cary High sophomore Caleb Duvernay has been selected to join the U17 National Team Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla.

He will join the program in early January.

Duvernay, who plays left defense, left midfielder and forward, is a member of the CASL Chelsea FC U16 Academy team, which won the North Carolina Youth Soccer Association State Cup championship this year.

"We are extremely proud and excited for Caleb," said John Bradford, CASL's director of boys' Classic soccer. "He has worked hard to earn this opportunity, and I know he will make the most of it."

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