Top amateur soccer teams from around the West concluded the Region IV select tournament Sunday at Cottonwood Heights with California clubs winning both men's and women's brackets. Players from state teams that were selected to regional pools included eight from Utah select squads.
In championship matchups, California North took the men's bracket with a 2-1 shootout win over Colorado while the California South women avenged last year's loss to Oregon by winning the title 3-0.The Utah under-18 men's squad ended with the best finish of all local teams with a 2-0 win over New Mexico that clinched fifth place. Despite the lower showing from other Utah teams, four men and four women were picked for the western region team.
With a select group that entered the tourney with no game experience as a team, California Northern and its coach, Constantine Konstin, had much more in their hearts and minds than soccer philosophy after the 2-1 shootout win.
"This is what America is about," Konstin said, pointing to his ethnically mixed team and its championship trophy. "It's a melting pot. There are players who are Latino, black and white. It's something people should be proud of."
"They've never played together in their lives, but they already play like a family. That's what this sport is all about, it's a `Unisonian' philosophy."
Goalkeeper Joe Cannon blocked two shootout kicks for Cal North while teammates John Cairel, Richard Weiszmann and David Pena all connected their free kicks to seal the sudden death win.
Cal North's Gabriel Granados hit a first half goal for the early lead before Colorado's Juan Fachini tied it with a far post header with only minutes left in regulation. Cal North will now be one of four regional champions advancing to the National Amateur tournament in Florida this coming Thanksgiving.
In the women's final, Cal South forward Christina Kaufman led her team's opening scoring with a first half breakaway shot that gave them a 1-0 halftime lead over Oregon.
Then after Monica Gerardo connected on a wing assist from Lisa Busch for Cal South's second goal, Kaufman headed in her second score by rebounding a flip throw with minutes left in the contest.
"We've gone at each other quite often the last few years," Cal South coach Abner Rogers said of his Oregon rivals who blanked them 3-0 last year at Cottonwood Heights. "We brought in new, younger players and they gave us a new element of creativity."
The other Utah men's team finished eighth in overall competition with a 2-0 loss to Washington while the women fell 1-0 to Colorado in a sudden death shootout. Among those selected locally for the men's regional select team from the tourney were Westminster teammates Todd Miller and Matt Smith. Joining them are Chris Kilpatrick and Ben Hoecherl also from Utah Select.
"It's just a way of playing a higher level of soccer," said men's U.S. national amateur coach John Ellinger of the regional team. "Since 1984, 52 players from this tournament have made the Olympic national team."
As for the women, BYU assistant coach Robyn Bretzing and one of her players, Michelle Jensen, qualified for the regional team along with Jeanette McArthur and Billi Bybee, also from Utah Select.
"(Utah's players) get better every year," said Region IV coach Lesle Gallimore. "This tournament was a major improvement from last year for them. Adding three Division I schools here will definitely help the level of competition in Utah."