The U.S. Youth Soccer national tournament ended Sunday with championsh crowned in the under-14 through under-19 age groups.
GERMANTOWN, Md. Here are highlights from Sundays championship matches:
THE TEAMS
Under-16 Boys: Southern Cal United, considered a long shot after a slow start in the tournament, won the title, defeating Albertson (N.Y.), 2-0. Diego Barrera and Joshua Levy scored the goals.
Under-16 Girls: San Diego Surf used an own goal to help reach the shootout, then stunned the Bethesda (Md.) Excel on PKs after a 1-1 draw.
Under-17 Boys: The Chicago Magic emerged as champion in a strong tournament field, defeating Sereno (Ariz.) Golden Eagles, 2-0. Jack Smithson and Eric Ortega scored the goals.
Under-17 Girls: Carmel (Ind.) Commotion came close, but couldnt pulled off the tournaments greatest comeback, falling 3-0 to Sereno (Ariz.) Golden Eagles in the final. The match was scoreless at halftime.
THE PLAYERS
Boys
* Christopher Seitz, U16 Southern California United. Seitz allowed only three goals in four matches, the best of the four starting keepers in the U16 field.
* Diego Barrera, U16 Southern California United. Barerra ended up with the Golden Boot with only two goals.
* Robert Findley, U17 Sereno (Ariz.) Golden Eagles. Very athletic front-runner emerged with the Golden Boot following the teams runner-up finish.
* Chay Cain, U17 Chicago Magic (Illinois). Cain is the next outstanding keeper coming through the Magic program. He allowed only one goal after the teams first-day loss.
Girls
* Susan Gamble, U16 San Diego Surf. Gamble saved the day for the Surf, as the team won a national title on PKs.
* Amanda Poach, U16 Bethesda Excel. Poach scored in each of the Excels three round-robin matches, helping the team reach the final.
* Joslyn Slovek, U17 Sereno (Ariz.) Golden Eagles. Slovek was seldom challenged during the tournament, but came up big when she was. Slovek snuffed out a breakaway in Sundays final a total momentum-turner and the Golden Eagles responded with a goal at the other end.
* Levise Robertson, U17 Sereno (Ariz.) Golden Eagles. Robertson, a state track champion, used her speed to set up the Golden Eagles second goal in Sundays title win over Carmel. Robertson recovered nicely from a first-day stomach flu to finish with three goals. Oddly, Robertson got the Golden Boot over teammate Alissa Oldenkamp, who scored four goals during the event.
THE STORIES
* Update to an earlier note on Snickers involvement in the U.S. Youth Nationals. Snickers and U.S. Youth Soccer signed a 20-year contract in 1993, but a source confirmed Sunday that U.S. Youth Soccer is terminating the contract.