Men's Soccer: Four Players Advance to Title Match
June 24, 2009 02:24 PM | General
June 24, 2009
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| Coll | Gaddis |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Four West Virginia University men’s soccer players who are competing this summer for the U-19 Pike Indy Burn soccer team guided the squad to the national championship game. The Burn will move on following their 1-0 victory this morning over Scott Gallagher (Mo.) in Yankton Trails Park in Sioux Falls, S.D.
"It's a great honor to be playing for the national championship,” rising sophomore Raymon Gaddis says. “Not everyone gets to do it in a lifetime and I’m glad we were able to do this with a great group of guys. It's nice to get there. The team worked well together this week."
Teammates Declan Coll, Ruben Garrido and Adam Mills, also rising sophomores, also played major roles in the team’s success during the 2009 U.S. Youth Soccer Region II Championships. Gaddis and Garrido played every minute of each game, while Coll also was on the pitch for each match.
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| Garrido | Mills |
In the two matches of pool play, the Burn dominated its opponents. The team defeated the KC Wizards JRS, 4-1, in game one and then squashed South Dakota United Manchester, 6-1. Garrido recorded his first goal in the contest against United Manchester.
Indy moved on to play the third and final game of pool play against a tough Valley United (Minn.) squad. Despite remaining neck and neck for nearly the entire match, Valley United was able to score within the last two minutes of the game for the victory. However, the Burn received the wildcard to advance out of pool play.
The team returned to form in the semifinal match, registering a 2-0 decision over Omaha FC.
Coll tallied three assists and Gaddis also tacked on an assist this week.
The team moves on to compete for the James P. McGuire Cup – which freshman Tuan Doan helped the Dallas Solar win last year - the oldest of the 12 youth championships at Citizens Banks Fields at Progin Park in Lancaster, Mass. The U-19 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships will be held from July 21-26.
