The U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV tournament is underway in Phoenix, with a large number of Aurora boys and girls players hoping to help their club teams reach the national championship series.
The regional tournament wraps up June 24, with the winner of each age group — Under-14 through Under-19 — moving on to the national championships, which are scheduled for July 25-29 in Rock Hill, S.C.
The Under-19 Rush Nike girls team that made last season’s national championship tournament — with a roster that includes Grandview graduates Madison Yoswa and Brianna Campos and Regis Jesuit grad Brooke Moody — went 2-1 in pool play to advance to quarterfinals.
The Rush team lost to the Dallas Texans Red 2-1 in overtime in last season’s U-19 national championship game.
Yoswa now plays at Northern Colorado and Moody at Montana, while Campos will join older sister Larissa on the Baylor University soccer team in the fall.
In the same age bracket is the Pride Predators based in Colorado Springs, which includes Smoky Hill graduate and current University of Colorado player Bianca Jones. The Predators went 3-0 in pool play and outscored opponents by a combined 14-0 count.
Both teams will be in quarterfinal action at 7 a.m. Friday, with Rush taking on Rio Vista FC out of New Mexico and the Pride going against Utah’s Sparta Premier.
On the boys side, the U-19 Real Colorado National squad earned a quarterfinal berth with a 1-1 record in a pool that only included three teams. Rangeview grads Matt Taphorn and Justin Young, Regis Jesuit’s George Ryan, Grandview’s Taylor Hunter and Overland’s Usama Abdulgasem. Real plays the Portland Boys Navy at 7 a.m. Friday.
The Colorado Storm Copa U-16 boys team with plenty of Aurora connections — with Hinkley’s Carlos and Mario Castro, Cherokee Trail’s Alex Reichler and Grandview’s Zach Huff on the roster — went 0-2-1 and finished last in Pool B.
Similarly, the Storm Copa U-17 boys team, which includes Eaglecrest’s Ben Demming and Grandview’s Cameron Russell — missed the semifinals after going 1-2, as did the Storm Copa U-18 boys team, which has a slew of Aurora players on the roster: Smoky Hill grads Ashton Carlson, Zach Nordlund and Nick Suazo, Grandview’s Chris Kopel and Andrew Sierra and Rangeview’s Connor Campbell.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
