Youth Soccer News: Orange Junior Soccer Club provides Summer Soccer

It’s summertime and the livin’ is easy, unless you’re a dedicated soccer player. Then summer becomes a time of tournaments and summer leagues to keep in shape between the spring and fall seasons. In Orange County, one organization that provides a summer alternative to letting skills go soft is the Orange Junior Soccer Club (OJSC). The club’s Lancers Soccer program has been providing summer soccer to area youth players ages 5-15 for 30 years. Two teams in particular have been providing an exciting and successful summer for their players: the U6 Co-ed Piranhas and the U8 Boys Aftershock. 

The Piranhas, coached by David Yost, play in a competitive U6 league and have a record of 5-2 with one game left. Although the league is competitive, the Piranhas are a clinic team, so the goal is for players to have the chance to experience as many positions as possible and to work on fundamentals. The team’s lead scorers are Evan Ursua and Brooklynn Macicek and they are supported in the middle by Jenna Yost (David’s daughter), Aiden Banuelos, Hailey Aldana, Zachary Morris, Stephen Salmassian, and Gavin Gerhardt. In goal, Cash Kempf and Nathan Aldana have shown great skills protecting the net from the opposition, with strong support from their defense. Coach Yost is very proud of how well this team has played together and looks forward to working with some of them in the future.

The second team, Aftershock, is also coached by David Yost and assistant coach Rob Choi. This U8 team has a 5-2 record and has gone on a goal-scoring tear over the summer.

Top scorer Daniel Yost has 12 on the summer, with 6 goals coming in the team’s most recent game. Close behind him is penalty kick specialist Oscar Hernandez who recently netted 4 goals in one game. E.J. Choi adds to the scoring with an average of 2-3 goals per game, and Ryan McCarron fuels the fire with multiple assists and stellar defense. Also on defense are Albert Hajboutros and John Paul, who have been a big part of keeping opposing teams away from the goal.

Josue Lopez  is also an imporant member of the team and averages 2 goals per soccer game.

The last line of defense is stellar goalie Max Evelo, who also plays for Coach Yost’s fall league team and who Yost compares to “a modern Bo Jackson for this team.” Two other players who have made contributions to the Aftershock’s season are backup goalie and forward Ryan Lin and Brandon Choi, who came in as the youngest on the team and has caught on quickly with his aggressive play. Coach Yost says that this is one of the strongest teams he has worked with.

 

Although this year’s Lancers Soccer season is almost over, OJSC has fall recreation, spring, and premier leagues as well.

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