Arlington Players Shine at Region I ODP Tournament

June 28, 2012 by admin
Filed under: Travel Soccer Club

Virginia’s 1997 Boys Olympic Development Program (ODP) team brought home the US Youth Soccer ODP Region I championship on June 24 in New Castle, Delaware, thanks in large part to the contributions by 11 team members from Arlington Soccer Association (ASA).

In group play at Rider University (NJ) the weekend of June 9-10, the 18-member Virginia team defeated Delaware 3-0, tied with New York (West) 2-2, and beat Vermont 8-0. After all tiebreakers, Virginia was even with the New York side, and the group winner was decided on penalty kicks (4-2 Virginia). Virginia went on to defeat the Massachusetts boys 3-0 in the June 23 semi-final, advancing to the final the next day where they faced a challenging match against the New Jersey 1997 team. After trailing 1-0 and 2-1, Virginia equalized in the closing minutes of regulation time thanks to a close-range strike by Joey F., and in overtime the Virginia boys pulled ahead to win the match 5-2. Notably, all 8 goals in the semi-final and final were scored by Arlington players.

The Virginia 1997 boys will compete against the winners of Regions II, III and IV for the ODP National Championship in March, 2013.

Arlington players on the Virginia 1997 Boys ODP team in the Region I tournament:
Strikers Red: Josh C. (C), Gary F., John F., Michael H., Eryk W., Keith W.
Impact Red: Daniel D., Joey F., Trey L., Jack McC., Lucas M.

Tags: ODP