Pateadores won three boys’ championships, in the U-13 to U-19 age groups, at the 2013 US Youth Soccer Region IV Finals in Honolulu, Hawaii. The victorious BU13-LA, BU14-Costa Mesa and BU19-Anaheim, earned berths in the US Youth Soccer National Championships, presented by the National Guard, July 22-28 in Overland Park, Kansas.
Pateadores led all clubs with its trio of titles and its Cal South region dominated the competition from the Western states. Cal South will send six of the seven teams to Kansas to compete for the national championship.
The victories make a clear statement that Pateadores is in the hunt to be recognized as one of the top boys’ soccer clubs in the nation for 2013. These three impressive wins come on the back of an astonishing performance at Dallas Cup, in which the Pats claimed two championships (BU13 and BU14) against fierce international competition.
During the Region IV tournament, the BU13-LA combined technical superiority with a stingy defense. The team rolled though the knock-out rounds. The quarter-finals and semi-finals were decided by rock-solid 2-0 wins over FC Golden State and Sereno West (AZ). The finals proved to be an even more one-sided affair -- a 4-1 romp over SC del Sol White (AZ).
In the U-14s, Head Coach Mario Gonzalez’s squad continued its run of exceptional form. The high-flying Pats U14-Costa Mesa employed its attractive, one-touch passing attack to defeat a series of top-notch teams. The U14 beat USA 99 of Utah in the quarter-finals 3-2 and Santa Clara Sporting in the semi-finals 2-1. After two tough victories, the U14 took total command of the finals, defeating United FC 3-1.
In the “oldest of the olders” age group, the BU19-Anaheim delivered on its reputation as a top-performer in the big tournaments. Head Coach Mike Lussier’s team always seems to win the close games, and it was no different in Hawaii. The tactical experience of the players showed in the 2-1 win over Pumas in the semi-finals – a game in which small mistakes by Pumas were ruthlessly punished. In the finals, the U19 faced a determined Honolulu Bulls Ka’ula that believed it could ride the home-town wave to the title. Unfortunately, for the large and vocal group of local Bulls’ supporters, the Pats showed nerves of steel and pulled-out a 2-1 win to claim the championship.