CARSON, California - The U16 Cal Odyssey were a mediocre 12-12-3 overall during this past regular season. They were a  lowly 31st seed in the Development Academy Playoffs last month.

They are banged up, injured and underestimated.

But you know what?

They are also one game away from being crowned national champions.

The team from obscure Clovis, California, continued what to many has been an improbable run, and punched their ticket to Friday’s final where they’ll face the Derby County Wolves.

Cal clinched Group 2 with a perfect 2-0-1 record after holding off Washington Premier FC in a 1-1 draw Wednesday at the Home Depot Center.

“It means a lot to win and be in the national championship. It means we’ll be on ESPN (Actually, ESPN Classic, at 7 p.m. on Friday),” pointed out Nathan Smith.

Smith knows as well as anyone that Cal Odyssey had to overcome much more than a few opponents on their way to the final.

Two injuries to their starting back four, including an MCL injury to centerback Christopher Young, during the week have forced the team to make some adjustments.

Needing only a draw to advance against Washington Premier, Cal clearly played a defensive match and was able to evade scoring chances by Sean Okoli and Christopher Chu before earning their opportunity in the second half.

In the 60th minute, Gregory Antognoli probed the box and drew a handball on Washington, leading to Jose Segura’s penalty goal and the 1-0 lead.

The score changed the match, and Washington had to pull out all the stops in an attempt to get a goal, sending its outside midfielders into attack mode at the risk of being vulnerable for a counter.

Darwin Jones leveled the match on a rebound in the 75th minute but Cal wouldn’t surrender another score.   

U16 Cal Odyssey Lineup
Starters: Matt Dishno, Trevor Spurgeon, Isaiah Trejo, Kyle Cadigan, Chris Newmark, Jon-Paul Medina, Joshua Alvarez, Villyan Bijev, Jose Segura, Gregory Antognoli.
Subs: Ruben Chavez, Nathan Smith.

U16 Washington Premier FC Lineup
Starters: Eric Owen, Chase Hanson, Kenneth Phillips, Brandon Brockway, Troy Peterson, Pablo Delacruz, Evan Robicheau, Sean Okoli, Jamael Cox, Andrew Weishaar, Darwin Jones.
Subs: Jeremy Wentzel, Max Thomas, Christopher Chu.

NEW YORK RED BULLS 2, DERBY COUNTY WOLVES 0

New York got its first victory of the week with a shutout over the title game-bound Wolves.

Oscar Gonzalez received a cross that just eluded a Wolves defender and left a wide open lane, and finished it for an early lead in the sixth minute. Clifford Lyle added to the lead when he won a ball from a Derby County defender and volleyed a strike past goalie Adam Grinwis just past the start of the second half.

With the victory, the Red Bulls grabbed some momentum heading into their placement game Friday.

Having already clinched a spot in the championship Monday, the Wolves didn’t play most of their starters and instead gave some younger, less experienced players time on the pitch.

U16 New York Red Bulls Lineup
Starters: Travis Ives, Jonathan Krzysik, Brandon Adler, Brian Gallego, Paul Ehrenworth, Oscar Castillo, David Najem, Clifford Lyle, Kemal Can Gurel, Oscar Gonzalez, George Velasquez.
Subs: Clint Caso, Michael Innocenzi, Victor Manosalvas.

U16 Derby County Lineup
Starters: Adam Grinwis, Vinh Ngyuen, Sean Magee, Zachary Cooney Erik Anderson, Aaron Hebden, Kyle Rutz, Dzenan Catic, Kotaro Mitsuhashi, TJ Van Slooten.
Subs: Sean Cunningham, Stefan Grigorakis, Eric Weberman, Jordan Tyler.

PDA 2, GREENSBORO YOUTH SOCCER 0

PDA finished second in Group 2 and will play for third place after a 2-0 victory. PDA entered the match with a shot at making the final, but needed at least a loss from Cal Odyssey.

The New Jersey club came out with a vengeance, and tallied two first-half goals seven minutes apart.

A combination of Tommy Uttaro to Scott Thomsen produced the first goal while Brandon Allen was the recipient of a through ball from Thomsen to give PDA command.

Greensboro finished pool play without a win and will play the New York Red Bulls for placement Friday.

U16  PDA Lineup
Starters: Jake Wagmeister, Matthew Wiltse, Matthias Sheeleigh, David Westlake, Will Joels, Tommy Uttaro, Johan Hernandez, Scott Thomsen, Daniel Metzger, Nathan Bruccoleri, Robert Barrera.
Subs: Kyle Roach, Sota Koike, Brandon Allen, Kyle Feather, Derek Luke, Shaquille Hamilton.

U16 Greensboro Youth Soccer
Starters: John Brooks, Myles Mansfield, Jonathan Campbell, Thomas Allen, Patrick Parker, Jonas Nader, Eduardo Alvarez, Matthew Mills, Paul Freeman, Andrew Walker, Mamadee Nyepon.
Subs: Ryan Hanson, Jordan Lessard, Austin Dunker, Hassan Kouvateh, Stuart Miller, Alhaji Kanneh.

CHICAGO MAGIC AS MONACO 2, FC DALLAS 2

In an exciting matchup that featured plenty of action, FC Dallas battled out of a 2-0 hole to earn a draw.

Chicago got on the board in the first minute of the match, when Jacob Bushue beat his defender into the box and was taken down to set up a penalty kick that he converted.

The first half was highlighted by a three-minute stretch that saw three goals. First, was Cody Wilkins’ header to put the Magic up 2-0, followed by a torrid comeback from Dallas.

Natural goal scorer Ruben Luna assisted on a Bryan Leyva goal in the 37th minute, and Daniel Garcia poured it on by blasting a shot well beyond the box and into the net for a 2-2 tie.

Neither team could top the first-half effort as the game slowed down in the final half.

U16 Chicago AS Monaco Lineup
Starters: Jovani Castanon, Jimmy Ramirez, Billy McGuinness, Mitch Albrecht, Scott Lakin, Tyler Engel, Jacob Brushue, Arturo Garza, David Caban, Cody Wilkins, Marc Gidden.
Subs: Oliver Mayer, Aaron Horton.

U16 FC Dallas Lineup
Starters: Nelson Morales, Alex Frankenfeld, Daniel Premenko, Jacob Gerondale, Moises Hernandez, Victor Ulloa, Mathew Dunn, Daniel Garcia, Darin Kruzich, Bryan Leyva, Ruben Luna.
Subs: Rigel Mathis, Christopher Figueroa, Jonathan Top.