The game ended in a tie 1-1. They played two overtime halves, each team scoring 1 goal ending again in a tie 2-2.

Finally, penalty kicks made by Armand, Rodrigo, and the final winning goal by Axel.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (June 27, 2008) – U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy kicked off the Summer Showcase on Friday in Greensboro, N.C., with all 126 teams together for the final round of games as they attempt to earn a spot at Finals Week next month.

With teams playing their final games of the inaugural season, the soccer has been action-packed – even despite a short torrential downpour that delayed games – as the majority of top spots in conferences are still up for grabs.

Almost every team in the Under-15/16 and Under-17/18 age group is scheduled to play their final three matches over the course of the four-day event at Bryan Park, meaning throughout the weekend Conference champions will be crowned.

The Conference champions, a total of 16 teams, will reunite at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., from July 12-19 for the Development Academy Finals Week. The top team from each conference will advance to the event to wrap-up the inaugural Academy season.

“The first day of games at the Summer Showcase have been as competitive as ever with spots at Finals Week on the line,” said Development Academy Technical Director John Hackworth. “We are extremely pleased with the improvement that has been made in the performances on the field throughout the first season of the Development Academy. It’s satisfying to how much these teams have progressed, and we’re excited to see how the conference championships will be decided this weekend.”

Heading into the Development Academy’s fourth showcase of the 2007-08 campaign, two teams had already clinched a berth in Finals Week. The U-18 Baltimore Bays (Baltimore, Md.) hold a lock on the Mid-Atlantic Conference with a 23-2-3 record, while North Carolina locals CASL (Raleigh, N.C.) captured the inaugural title in U-18 Division of the Atlantic Conference by entering the weekend with a record of 21-1-5.

Two more teams booked passage to Los Angeles on the opening day of the Summer Showcase, with LAFC (La Canada, Calif.) winning the West Conference following their 2-1 victory against Seacoast United (Hampton, N.H.) this morning. Prior to stepping on the field this afternoon, FC Westchester claimed the Northeast Conference crown when the Irvine Strikers (Irvine, Calif.) downed B/W Gottschee (Rego Park, N.Y.), thereby eliminating the second-place side from contention.

The eight placement matches will be broadcast live on ESPN networks. The U-17/18 championship match will be live on ESPN 2 on Friday, July 18, at 8 p.m. PT, while the remaining seven matches, including the U-15/16 championship match, will be broadcast on ESPNU.

The draw for Finals Week took place at noon, determining which conferences will be matched up for the first six days of quarterfinal matches at The Home Depot next month.

Along with the action on the field, there was a flood of activity inside the gigantic Athletes’ Lounge tent at the center of the field complex. A meeting, information and entertainment area all rolled into one, players could relax by snagging free 16 ounce bottles at the Gatorade bar, watching ussoccer.com’s all_access videos on the 30-foot screen or play EURO 2008 on video consoles. Players and coaches could also learn more about the benefits of SPARQ training and have a ProZone representative explain the video statistical breakdown of their very own team’s matches.

Playing in honor of their teammate Jessie Mastan (whose initials the girls wear proudly on their jersey sleeves) the Girls Under 13 White team sailed into position as the Champions of the 2008 Eagles Classic Silver Division in Camarillo on June 7th and 8th. With their new coach Esteban Chavez, a new and challenging formation, and two guest players to replace those on the DL, the girls played some mighty fine futbol to earn their title as Champions.

The tournament started on the beautiful turf field of Newbury Park High School where
the girls defeated Eagles White (1st place bronze team) 2-1 with goals by Megan Perley
(on a picture perfect cross from guest player Kennedy Dinius) and Priscilla Santos. That afternoon, with the temperature of the turf climbing by the minute, the girls pulled off a spectacular shut out of the SCV Magic. The excitement of Marisa Alfaro’s goal was equaled at the other end when Casey Cousineau made two consecutive saves in heavy traffic to protect their shutout.

Sunday took the girls back to familiar Freedom Park in Camarillo where they defeated
the Avalanche 2-1 and tied the Condors 1-1. Because a team dropped out of the tournament at the last minute, the format changed to a straight four games, with no
play-offs and no Championship game; the top two teams would medal. With the positive support of their coach and their parents, grandparents and friends, the team racked up the most points AND the best record of the five teams in the bracket (3-0-1).