The Santa Barbara Soccer Club’s boys under-14 White squad captured the United States Youth Soccer Far West championship on Sunday, blanking Juventus Heat of Redwood City 1-0 in the final in Phoenix, Ariz.
Brandon Sanchez scored the game-winning goal off an assist from Jules Pasco, and the Santa Barbara defense made it stand up for its fifth shutout of the tournament.
“We started this championship final attacking and creating numerous chances to score right from the start, making their goalkeeper make plenty of saves,” said SBSC coach Rudy Ybarra.
Midway through the second half, Juventus started to attack with numbers. But the SBSC defense was up to the task and goalkeeper Lalo Delgado came up big with a world-class save with minutes to play to preserve the victory.
“We got great defending in this tournament,” Ybarra said. “This team has now won two Far West Regional championships in three years. What a great group of boys and parents that really support them. The city of Santa Barbara should be proud of these boys and their families.”
The team qualifies for the USYS National Tournament on July 24-29 in Rock Hill, S.C.
Team Roster: Lalo Delgado, Tanner Mees, Benji Garcia, Eric Contreras, Lucky Peungrod, Juan Pablo Alvarez, Shea Blackman, Carson Vom Steeg, Tim Heiduk, Brandon Sanchez, Jules Pasco, Tony Andoyan, Brian Finger, Francisco Arroyo, Giovanny Acosta and Jacob Blacker.
For a recap of the rest of their games in the tournament, CLICK HERE
