Region IV ODP Championships Begin Play in Phoenix
The second day of the Region IV US Youth Soccer ODP Championships prepares to kick off as youth teams 2000-2004 put their skills to the test against top competition on the west coast. The four-day tournament will decide who represents the region in the 2017 US Youth Soccer ODP Championships in the 2000 and 2001 age groups.
Youth Soccer News: The 2017 Region IV US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (US Youth Soccer ODP) Championships, began Jan. 5 at Reach 11 Sports Complex in Phoenix.
The four-day tournament features teams in the 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 age groups from Region IV.
The tournament will ultimately determine who represents Region IV in the 2017 US Youth Soccer ODP Championships in the 2000 and 2001 age groups. Washington 99 Boys won its Region IV title last year while the California South 99 Girls and 2000 Boys and Girls won their respective Region IV and ODP National championships.
Some match highlights from today’s games:
2000 Boys
Washington and Cal South played in a close Group B versus Group C matchup to open play on Thursday. Kevin Soltys opened up the scoring for Washington in the third minute. At the start of the second half, Diego Rivera from Cal South brought the match level at 1-1. In Group A, Nevada won both its first matches with clean sheets to earn 6 points and sits alone atop Group A. In Group B, Washington, Oregon and Cal North all sit tied with three points after two games.
2000 Girls
Arizona and Cal South find themselves level at the top of Group A after edging Eastern Washington and Alaska. Washington sits alone on top of Group B after a victory over Nevada. Cal North and Idaho tied and both pick up an important point heading into the second day of competition. In group C, Utah leads after a 5-0 win over Oregon.
2001 Boys
Utah was the only Group A team to record six points through both its two matches as Arizona and Oregon sit right behind with three points each. Cal South and Arizona are tied with four points in Group B after sides picked up a win follow a tie between each other in game one. In Group C, Nevada defeated Colorado 6-0 in its first match. The first goal came from George Preciado in the 7th minute, and just one minute later, Blake Malone extended Nevada’s scoreline. Lincoln Aquino netted two, along with Jimi Villasenor and Jesus Ubario to finish the match with 6-0 victory. Nevada lost its second game and now sits in second place behind Washington who has six points.
2001 Girls
After the first day of competition, Utah and Cal North sit on top of Group A with a 5-0 and 2-0 win on the day. Arizona leads Group B after defeating Idaho, while Cal South leads Group C after a 5-0 win against Nevada. The 2001 Girls age group had three girls score four goals on the first day.
2002 Boys
Day Two will be huge for Group A. Utah and Idaho are tied for first in Group B with Utah recording two wins while allowing allowing one goal and Idaho allowing none. In Group C, Eastern Washington notched a 4-0 victory over Alaska in its opening game. Gage Smith scored for Eastern Washington in the first half. In the 35th minute, Carter Giles extended the scoreline to a two-goal advantage. An unfortunate own goal was added in the 43rd minute and to close out the second half, Caiden Fickenscher found the back of the net to finalize the score. Eastern Washington tied its second match and now faces group-leaders Arizona on the final day of preliminary play.
2002 Girls
All three groups in the 2002 girls bracket have two teams tied at the top of the table. Idaho and Colorado both recorded 2-0 wins to lead Group A. In Group B, Cal South defeated Alaska, while Washington held off a Arizona comeback to win, 2-1. With the wins, both lead their group with 3 points each. Also scoring three points on the day were Cal North and Utah in Group C. Cal North defeated New Mexico 6-0 and Utah defeated Oregon 5-1. Sharay James leads the 2002 Girls age group in scoring with four goals.
2003 Boys
In Group A, Cal South and Oregon WC sit atop the table with four points, while Alaska is sits in second with three points. Nevada and Washington sit tied in points in Group B after winning their first two matches. Both teams play on Friday in a game that will decide who goes to the semifinals. In Group C, Oregon is sitting alone in first place with six points, while Utah and Cal North are tied for second with three points. In Group D, Hawaii and Arizona sit tied with three points after two matches with both teams facing off tomorrow in the final preliminary game.
2003 Girls
Colorado recorded a 2-0 win over Eastern Washington to tally 3 points in Group A, while Nevada sits tied with Colorado after defeating Alaska. Cal South sits alone on top of Group B after a close match with Hawaii that finished 2-0. Idaho and Utah played out a scoreless draw as both teams recorded an important point on Day 1. In Group C, Washington and Oregon sit tied with three points after both posting shutouts. Cal North edged New Mexico 4-0 and sits alone on top of Group D.
2004 Boys
In Group A, Cal North has only allowed one goal in two matches and holds a two-point lead over Eastern Washington. Utah was a perfect 2-0 in its first two Group B games, scoring five goals and allowing none. Colorado is the only team in Group C with a win at the end of Day 1, securing six points with two victories. In Group D, Cal South earned six points with Nevada and Montana just behind with three points each heading into the second day of competition.
2004 Girls
In Group A, Oregon and Arizona 2004 Girls played to a 4-0 final. Morgan Caslin opened up the scoring for Arizona just three minutes into the second half and Jessica Haynes added another in the 48th minute. Kate Fasse and Ava Motley also added second half goals. Cal South sits tied with Arizona after its win against New Mexico. In Group B, Cal North leads after posting a shutout against Montana. Elsewhere in the group, Eastern Washington and Alaska played to a 1-1 draw. Group C is anyone’s game after day one, with Nevada and Hawaii tying 1-1 and Idaho losing their cross group game 3-0 game to Colorado to keep all the teams within a point of each other. Colorado and Washington lead Group D, with Washington earning a 2-0 win over Utah.
Photo Credit: US Youth Soccer
