The San Jose Earthquakes Juniors took second place (1-1-1) in the U14 Division of the USYSA Far West Regional League (FWRL) Finals in Lancaster, Calif. this weekend. The solid finish in the elite league cemented the Juniors' No. 1 ranking in the region and propelled them to the No. 4 ranking nationally in their first year of play, according to TopDrawer soccer. The U14s also finished atop the CYSA Cal Soccer League Table and placed second in the NorCal Regional Academy League (RAL) premier division as U15s.
The Juniors’ only loss came in their opening match to FWRL winner and the reigning US Club Soccer National Champions Real Tuzos (AZ) by a score of 1-0. In the second match of the weekend, the Juniors defeated three-time Utah State Cup Champions Sparta FC (UT) in a 5-2 victory. Alfredo Orenlas led the scoring with two goals. The Juniors closed out the weekend with a 1-1 draw against a strong Fullerton Rangers (Cal South) squad on Sunday morning with another goal from Orenlas with a blistering free kick from 40 yards out.
“The league results speak for themselves,” said Juniors Head Coach Jeff Jenkins. “The team has finished in first or second place at every competition, and our players are gaining recognition. This fall we have had players called up to the US National Team training camp in Los Angeles and the US Club id2 national training camp in Dallas. We also have five players from our squad who will be called up to the U16 Earthquakes Academy team for the USSDA Winter Showcase in Florida in December. It has been a very successful first six months for our program for player development.”
Next up the Juniors will participate in the Regional Academy League (RAL) Winter season and the San Jose Earthquakes Pre-Academy League.
