The 2013 US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program Champions were crowned Sunday at the FC Dallas Stadium Complex in Frisco, Texas.  All four Cal South Pro+/ODP teams won championship titles this morning at the 2013 US Youth Soccer ODP National Championships. Cal South's teams were representing both the boys and girls in the 1996 and 1997 age groups for the Far West Region at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas from March 1-3. Cal South ODP teams have now won an astonishing 24 out of 56 titles (42%) in contention at the US Youth Soccer ODP Championships from 2000-2013.

How good is youth soccer in Southern California?  Everyone says Southern California is a flourishing hot bed of youth player development, and the recent results from the US Youth Soccer ODP Championships support this. 

According to Soccer Wire, the teams from California South took the title in each division following several closely contested games, with the Cal South 1996 Girls earning their second consecutive US Youth Soccer ODP Championship. In last year’s final, Cal South defeated Virginia, 1-0, to win the 1996 Girls title.

State-level US Youth Soccer ODP Boys and Girls teams earned their way to the 2013 US Youth Soccer ODP Championships by winning their US Youth Soccer ODP Regional Championships. The format, similar to the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series, provides state teams the opportunity to compete against teams from other regions in a championship tournament.

Brief recaps from the championship final and consolation matches are below.

1996 Girls

The Cal South 1996 Girls used an early goal and solid defense to earn their second straight title with a 3-0 win over Indiana. Hailey Harbison opened the scoring with a 4th-minute goal. The teams battled for much of the match before two wonderful strikes in the final 10 minutes of play from Chloe Hemingway and Christina Settles put the game out of reach and secured the championship repeat for Cal South.

The Georgia 1996 Girls battled back from being behind two goals to beat New Jersey in the third-place match. First half goals from New Jersey’s Jamie Delaney and Hana Kerner weren’t enough as Georgia’s Amanda Vocelka netted a late first half goal and two goals in the second half to give her a hat trick and Georgia a 3-2 victory.

1996 Boys

Cal South took the 1996 Boys title thanks to a second-half penalty kicked that proved to be the winner in a 2-1 victory over Eastern Pennsylvania. Wyatt Fabian gave Eastern PA an early lead with a 2nd-minute goal, but Cal South responded just before half when Michael Licon scored in the 41st minute. The Region IV representatives earned a 65th-minute penalty kick, and Miguel Acevedo tapped in the rebound following a nice save on his attempt from the penalty spot. The Cal South keeper punched a couple late Eastern PA shots over the bar to preserve the lead and give his side the title.

After a narrow one-goal loss to eventual champion Cal South, North Carolina looked to rebound against Wisconsin. The teams fought hard for 90 minutes, but neither could find a breakthrough as the third-place game ended 0-0.

1997 Girls

The 1997 Girls from Cal South followed up a convincing 5-0 win in the semifinals with a 1-0 win over Eastern New York in the championship game. Stingy defense on both sides of the ball kept the game scoreless going into the half. Cal South came out strong in the second half and got the game winning goal from Kathleen Pingel, who had scored two goals in their previous match. The Cal South defense clamped down and held on for the win and the championship.

In a game full of early action, Michigan defeated North Texas, 3-2. Brenna Lovera quickly gave Michigan the advantage with her 2nd-minute goal. Her teammate, Hannah Jones, added to the lead 10 minutes later. Hope Hyde put North Texas on the board in the 23rd minute, but Brittany Tanner secured one more goal for Michigan before half. Julia Lenhardt scored once more for North Texas in the second half, but Michigan’s three first half goals ultimately gave them the victory.

1997 Boys

Cal South overcame a one-goal deficit while being a man down to defeat Florida, 2-1, in overtime to take the 1997 Boys title. A penalty kick in the first half almost gave Cal South the early lead, but Dmitry Zhuravlev’s shot bounced off both posts and the teams went into halftime scoreless. The tables turned in the second half when Florida earned a penalty kick after a Cal South player was given a red card for a hand ball in the box. Tobin Howell’s kick successfully gave Florida the 1-0 lead. After Cal South’s continuous efforts, Eddie Cabrera’s late-game heroics in the stoppage time gave them the equalizer, taking both teams to overtime where Cal South’s Alexis Diaz netted the game winner.

Michigan claimed third place with a 1-0 victory over Virginia on Sunday. A goal in the 17th minute by Blake Barribeau was the lone goal of the match, and Michigan’s defense would hold strong the remainder of the game to claim a 1-0 win.

1996 Girls Champion – California South 1996 Boys Champion – California South

1997 Girls Champion – California South 1997 Boys Champion – California South

US Youth Soccer ODP Championships 

Cal South ODP Teams Attending the  2013 US Youth Soccer ODP National Championships  Frisco, TX | March 1 & 3, 2013
ODP 1996 BOYS	ODP 1996 GIRLS
Head Coach | Chris Gould  Assistant Coach |Dave McLiesh Team Manager | Gary Thompson	Head Coach | John Napier  Assistant Coach | Ali Khosroshahin  Team Manager | Kendra Harris
Miguel Acevedo | CZ Elite  Charles Brill | FRAM  Christian Camacho | West Coast  Zachary Dunn | CZ Elite  Marshall Garcia | FRAM  Skyler Gibbons-Stovall | DMS11  Chad Hill | West Coast  Blake Homan | Carlsbad Elite  Guy Horcasitas | Olimpica United FC  Bryce Kaminski | West Coast  Michael Licon | Orange Co. Premier  Pedro Madrid | Orange Co. Premier  Daniel Miller | FRAM  Keith Murphy | Fullerton Rangers  Jose Navas | Orange County Premier  Alexis Negrete | Aztecs FC  Perez Mauricio | FC Golden State  Alan Saavedra | DMS11	Abigail Callahan | San Diego Surf  Sarah Chase | West Coast  Carissa Christensen | FRAM  Indigo Gibson | Slammers FC  Hailey Harbison | Sharks  Chloe Hemingway | West Coast  Randee Holman-Kelley | So Cal Blues  Sydney Johnson | Platinum FC  Kaitlin Klawunder | So Cal Blues  Taylor Klawunder | So Cal Blues  Shelby Lee | Del Mar Carmel  Stephanie Malherbe | So Cal Blues  Annia Mejia | FRAM  Andrea Mensen | FRAM  Charlee Pruitt | West Coast  Christina Settles | West Coast  Shannon Simon | Beach FC  Pilar Torres | San Diego Surf
ODP 1997 BOYS	ODP 1997 GIRLS
Head Coaches | Steve Hoffman  and Joey Hoffman  Team Manager | James Langlan	Head Coach | Michelle Myers  Assistant Coach | Jenifer Tanaka  Team Assistant | Dawn Harris
Alibekov Mutalip | Olimpica United FC  Leobardo Bahena | Corinthians SC  Eddie Cabrera | Los Angeles FC  Sergio Chavez | Albion SC  Alexis Diaz | Fullerton Rangers  Adam Eaton | CZ Elite  Andrew Garcia | Albion SC  Jonathan Hernandez Silva | LA Premier  Zachary Kobayashi | West Coast  Jordi Lozada | Carlsbad Elite  Rey Ortiz | Carlsbad Elite  Jacob Plascencia | DMS11  Anthony Ramirez | Orange County Premier  Joshua Ramirez | LA Premier  Christopher Rodriguez | North Valley SC  Orlando Trujillo | Atlante San Diego  William Van Zandt | Santa Monica United  Dmitry Zhuravlev | Olimpica United FC	Roisin Allaeddini | Slammers FC  Hanna Armendariz | Slammers FC  Danika Bowman | Albion SC  Victoria Buda | So Cal Blues  Eva Buechler | San Diego Surf  Sofia Chambers | Real So Cal  Jessica Clegg | San Diego Surf  Maegan Gibson | DMCV Sharks Elite  Alyssa Hinojosa | LA Premier FC  Meredith Hummel | So Cal Blues  Melissa Lowder | DMCV Sharks Elite  Erika Okuma | So Cal Blues  Daria Petredes | Corinthians SC  Kathleen Pingel | So Cal Blues  Leah Pruitt | West Coast  Sarah Roberts | So Cal Blues  Kennedy Smith | Strikers FC  Denae Verdine | Platinum FC

Championship Results 

1996 Girls	Indiana	0-3	California South
Goal Scorers: Hailey Harbison (4:00), Chloe Hemingway (83:00), Christina Settles (88:00)
1996 Boys	Eastern PA	1-2	California South
Goal Scorers: E-PA- Wyatt Fabian (2:00); Cal-S-  Michael Licon (41:00), Miguel Acevedo (65:00)
1997 Girls	California South	1-0	Eastern New York
Goal Scorer: Kathleen Pingel (48:00)
1997 Boys	Florida	1-2	California South
Goal Scorer: FL- Michael Charak (51:00); Cal-S- Eddie Cabrera (80:00), Alexis Diaz (101:00)

Consolation Results 

1996 Girls	Georgia	3-2	New Jersey
Goal Scorers: NJ- Jamie Delaney (29:00), Hana Kerner (42:00); GA- Amanda Vocelka 3 (45:00, 62:00, 81:00)
1996 Boys	Wisconsin	0-0	North Carolina
Goal Scorers: N/A
1997 Girls	Michigan	3-2	North Texas
Goal Scorers: MI- Brenna Lovera (2:00), Hannah Jones (12:00), Brittany Tanner (38:00); TEX- Hope Hyde (23:00), Julia Lenhardt (74:00)
1997 Boys	Michigan	1-0	Virginia
Goal Scorer: Blake Barribeau (17:00)

Did you know?

US Youth Soccer ODP, established in 1977, is the original Olympic development program in the United States. Formed to identify a pool of players in each age group from which a National Team could be selected for international competition, selected players are exposed to the nation’s top coaches from collegiate institutions, U.S. Soccer and the professional leagues. Programs exist in each state and with competitions such as the US Youth Soccer ODP National Championships, Interregional Training/Competition, Regional Camps and International play.

Serving over 100000 youth soccer players from San Luis Obispo to San Diego, Cal South is a leading organization in yourh soccer in America.