CREW YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES
SUCCESS ON MANY FRONTS
Crew Soccer Academy, Crew Juniors, and Affiliates
enjoy success across multiple age groups
For Immediate Release: June 23, 2010
Contact: Dave Stephany, 614-447-4190, or Jason Smith, 614-447-4176
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Crew Soccer Academy (CSA) recently completed its 2009-10 regular season
schedule at the annual U.S. Soccer Development Academy Spring Showcase May 29-June 1, as it took
on North Meck SC (May 29), Crossfire Premier (May 31) and Albertson SC (June 1) during Memorial Day
Weekend at the Sarasota Polo Club. The 15/16s capped its regular season with a 0-2-1 showing the
Showcase, while the 17/18s earned victories in all three of its matches. At the conclusion of regular
season play, the CSA 15/16 squad finished the regular season in second place in the Great Lakes
Division with a 6-2-2 record (11-8-3 overall), securing an automatic berth in the Development Academy
Playoffs, while the 17/18s finished just shy of an automatic playoff berth thanks to a third place finish in
the Great Lakes with a 5-4-1 record (13-6-3 overall), but qualified for one of 12 wild card spots, thanks to
having one of the best overall points per game averages across the full season.
The 2009-10 Development Playoffs will feature 64 teams (32 each from the 15/16 and 17/18 divisions),
playing in 96 games slated for the extended weekend of June 25-29 at in Greensboro, N.C. It will be the
second consecutive year that the event will be held at Bryan Park, where Academy teams will play on
eight of the facility’s Bermuda grass fields. The 32 teams were placed into four pots for each age group,
based on seeding, and were randomly drawn into eight groups of four. The top finisher in each group will
move on to the third annual Development Academy Finals Week at The Home Depot Center in Los
Angeles from July 10-17.
Crew Soccer Academy is in very select company by having both teams qualify, as just 19 organizations
(five of which are MLS youth systems) nationally accomplished the feat this year. CSA also had double
qualifiers in 2009 (one of 16), which followed the incredible run and 17/18s third place finish in the
Development Academy’s inaugural year in 2008.
“We feel very fortunate to have such outstanding partners and are extremely encouraged by the
successes thus far. That multiple levels across various age groups and partners are finding success on
the regional and national stages is outstanding,” said Crew Vice President of Soccer Business
Development Andrew Arthurs. “We wish everyone in the Crew youth system all the best during their
summer competitions.”
The Crew Juniors U19 men’s team captured the Ohio South State Cup with a 3-1 win over CUP Red ’91
on Sunday, June 6th. Many players on the roster are alumni of the Crew Soccer Academy 15/16s and
17/18s from the first two years and are now competing for top universities across the United States. They
now advance to the Region II US Soccer Championships June 26-30, 2010 at Athletes in Action soccer
park in Xenia, Ohio.
The Crew Juniors Super-20 squad kicked off its inaugural season early in June with a pair of victories
over Toronto Lynx Juniors at Ultimate Soccer Arena in Detroit. On June 2, the Super-20s defeated the
Lynx, 2-1 and followed that up with another victory on June 3, this time by a score of 1-0. The squad then
continued play on June 13 when it traveled to Michigan to take on TKO Premier SC at Kalamazoo Soccer
Complex and came away with a decisive 5-0 victory. The Crew Juniors Super-20s are in their first season
of competition in the USL Super-20 League, which features over 60 teams in nine divisions.
The CUP Crew Juniors, the Crew Juniors affiliate in Cincinnati, recently finished an extremely successful
run at the 2010 Ohio South State Cup. The unprecedented stretch for the CUP Crew Juniors began with
33 boys and girls teams competing in the Round of 16 of the Ohio South State Cup, with 23 of those
teams advancing to the Round of Eight. Fifteen CUP Crew Juniors teams then advanced to the Semifinal
round, before nine of those teams found themselves in the Finals, by far the most of any club. In the midst
of this success, CUP Crew Juniors placed a boys team in the Final in every age group, a remarkable
accomplishment that highlights the depth and overall system that Cincinnati United and the CUP Crew
Juniors have built.
In all, CUP Crew Juniors took home five State Titles on the final day of play (May 16) in the 2010 Ohio
South State Cup. Specifically, the U-11 boys CUP Crew Juniors Boca Juniors squad defeated Team Ohio
FC 7-0, the U-15 boys CUP Crew Juniors Gold team won 1-0 over Classics Eagles Red, the U-16 boys
CUP Crew Juniors Gold squad defeated Blast FC 3-2, the U-17 boys CUP Crew Juniors Gold II team
downed Team Ohio COSA 3-2, and the CUP Crew Juniors U-18 boys defeated Kolping Premier 2-1.
The Grand Rapids Crew Juniors, the Crew Juniors affiliate in west Michigan, enjoyed continued success
on the highly competitive Michigan youth soccer scene. The club recently sent ten teams to the 2010
Michigan State Cup Round of Eight, six to the Semifinal round (U13 girls and U13, U14, U15, U16 & U18
boys) and one to the Final (U15 boys). The GRCJ U16 boys also finished first in the National league
(5.1.1), which automatically qualifies them as one of six teams that will play for the USYS National
championship this summer in Kansas City. Congratulations to the team and coach Remco Bergsma on
their third straight trip to the National Finals.
– www.TheCrewYouth.com –
