by Joe Dougherty
Ken Krieger heads to the United States Youth Soccer Region I tournament over the July 4 weekend with the hope of capturing not one, but two regional titles.
Both of Krieger's girls club teams - the U13 Prince William Sparklers and the U18 Prince William Pacers - will battle for Region titles after winning Virginia State Cup championships last fall. Should the Pacers defend their regional title, they will once again earn the right to play for the national championship.
"We'll defend the title to the end. We want to go back to nationals," vowed Krieger, in his third year as coach of the Pacers. "We had a taste of it last year; now we want to get a hold of it."
The Pacers are one of 18 boys and girls teams advancing to the regional tournament, set for July 3-6 in Edinboro, PA, just outside of Erie. Teams in the U12 through U20 age groups advance to regionals, with the regional champions in the U16 through U20 age groups qualifying for the US Youth National Championships in Phoenix, AZ.
The Springfield United U15 girls team will be competing for a regional title after edging the Chantilly Heat in penalty kicks, 2-1 in a nail-biter last fall. Victories like those will be helpful in a tournament as competitive as regionals, said United Coach Al Broadbent.
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"In times when we've gotten down, we always find a way to win," Broadbent said.
"Whether it's a shootout or overtime, we have an uncanny ability of pulling games out."
The Braddock Road Lightning U19 girls team will give it one more shot at a national title.
The Lightning, arguably the most successful girls team to ever come out of the Washington DC area, won nine of 10 Virginia State Cup championships and have captured four regional titles. All that is eluding them is a national title, which the team nearly won as U16s.
"We're going to go up there [to regionals] strong," said Lightning assistant coach Keith Wawrzyniak, who will take a backseat to head coach Arturo Jimenez - the first time in 10 years Wawrzyniak will not lead the team from the sidelines. "But we need to rest a bit from the long high school season. They've been having a rough time of it after getting back from high school."
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Jimenez will run the Lightning through daily practices beginning Monday as the squad attempts to regain the cohesion lost after being scattered among a variety of high schools in Northern Virginia.
The Pride of McLean will represent Virginia in the U12 girls regional tournament, while the Chantilly Hotspurs return in the U14 girls tournament.
Bill Bragg's Reston AC Milan will compete in the U16 tournament, and following their late 1-0 win over the VISTA United on Saturday, the Braddock Road Zephyr will battle for the U19 regional title.
The VISTA United was the only team to apply for the U20 State Cup tournament, so VISTA automatically advances to regionals.
On the boys side, local teams advancing to regionals include the Stafford Shadow (U12), Braddock Road Warhawks (U15), Washington Diplomats (U16), Braddock Road Blue Jays (U17), Braddock Road American Eagles and McLean Strikeforce (U18 with wildcard), and VISTA Blackwatch (U20).
Out of town Virginia teams advancing to regionals include Beach FC United (U13), Richmond Strikers Premier (U14), and Sporting Williamsburg (U19).
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