A stellar performance by the Earthquakes Pre-Academy team in the CalNorth State Cup brought home the Boys U13 title on Saturday. The team, coached by Jeff Jenkins, battled against a strong San Jose FC (SJFC) side in the final to take a 3-0 victory on Saturday at the Morgan Hill Outdoor Sports Complex.
The win marked the first U.S. Youth Soccer CalNorth State Cup championship for the team and earned a spot in the USYSA Regional Championships alongside the Earthquakes U 14 Pre-Academy team. The Regional Championships will be held in New Mexico in June 15th-22nd of this year.
The Quakes opened the match by controlling most of the play, creating scoring chances early on and keeping possession in the SJFC offensive half of the field. However the half ended scoreless as the Quakes were unable to capitalize despite dominating possession. In the second half, the Quakes suffered a setback in the 42nd minute as midfielder Tony Ruiz got his second yellow. Now playing with only 10 men the Quakes responded to the adversity in perfect fashion, not letting up and continuing to search for the winning goal. 20 minutes into the second half their efforts paid off as Quakes midfielder Fabian Rodriguez blasted a 40 yard shot into the back of the net to give the Quakes the late lead. Two more goals by Oscar Govea and Nathan Arnott clinched the title as the match finished 3-0. "The boys were fantastic and deserved it,” said coach Jeff Jenkins. “We are very proud of these boys, who have put so much time and energy into developing their talent,” said Jenkins. “Our players' hard work was rewarded. We will enjoy this for a couple days and then begin preparing for Regionals in New Mexico this June.”
The USYSA Far West Regional Championship will be held next June in Albuquerque, New Mexico and will feature the champions from fourteen western states, including clubs from Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Both teams also have been granted automatic qualification into the prestigious US Youth Soccer National League for the 2014-2015 season.
