CARSON, California - As the U16 Derby County Wolves poured onto the Home Depot Center field Friday in celebration of their Development Academy national title, you almost got the feeling that the team was basking in more then their own accomplishment.  

Absent from the after party, but ever present in the team’s thoughts, was the U18 Derby County group, the older academy squad that trained and pushed their young underlings all year long. The 18s were every bit as favored as the top-seeded 16s to end their season arm-in-arm, posing for pictures and wearing gold medals, but they were upset in the Academy Playoffs leaving the younger Wolves to fend for themselves for the first time this season.

So when Derby County put the finishing touches on a 1-0 victory over the Cal Odyssey it was a sort of triumph for two.

“This is a club victory,” confirmed Derby County coach Lars Richters. “(The 18s) have been pivotal to our success. We kept saying that it would be great if we could both make it here ... but they have been very supportive through texts and phone calls throughout this process. We certainly feel a great deal of closeness to them.”  

With one more flourish, U16 Derby County once again separated itself from the competition with a clinical first half. The Wolves dominated the early part of the half, winning just about every ball that was airborne and constantly building their attack.

When Dzenan Catic scored what stood as the game-winner in just the sixth minute, it figured to be one of many goals for Derby County, though it didn’t pan out that way despite their early success.

Catic received the ball just five yards past midfield and dissected the middle of Cal Odyssey’s defense, cutting to his right and shooting back to the far post to his left for the opening statement.

Catic continued to create on the wing linking up well with midfielder Jordan Tyler, who had a strong opening half showing off patience and accurate passing.

Odyssey left back Ameyaw-Sakyi Nana Yaw had the unenviable task of trying to mark Catic, and help contain the Wolves who were operating well on that side of the field.

Over the span of the match, the Wolves had ample opportunities to record a second goal. Eric Weberman, an ultra fast defender, began attacking out of the back in the second half and had a couple good chances. Reed Losee made a great run and sent a left-footed shot toward the goal that was saved by Cal goalkeeper Matt Dishno.

Cal Odyssey was patient despite the lopsided start, and began to build well out of its backfield. In the second half, it created some good looks - the best coming on a corner kick that Wolves goalkeeper Adam Grinwis mishandled, leaving Villyan Bijev with a shot that couldn’t travel past the congestion in the net.

Isaiah Trejo and Jose Segura continued to attack well for the underdogs throughout the match and Derby’s backline of Weberman, Sean Cunningham, Nick Prys and Stefan Gigorakis held firm.

“They didn’t panic,” Richters said, of Cal Odyssey. “We got a little disorganized in terms of our defensive shape and we couldn’t put away that second goal. That’s a tribute to a challenging opponent.”

The opponent in question turned out to be one of the best stories of the week. Cal Odyssey, hailing from Clovis, California, entered the playoffs as a 31st seed but turned doubters into believers and entered the championship game without a defeat in pool play.

Derby County cut the Cinderella story short, and completed one of the hardest tasks in sports - winning when you’re supposed to.

“I don’t even know what to say. It’s incredible; this is nationals,” Catic said. “I think we deserved it. Seeing our 18s lose was motivation for us. We wanted to push through and make it work out for them as well because I know they’re happy for us back home.”

U16 Derby County Lineup
Starters: Adam Grinwis, Eric Weberman, Sean Cunningham, Nick Prys, Stefan Gigorakis, TJ Van Slooten, Jordan Tyler, Nate Hicklin, Josh Barens, Dzenan Catic, Reed Losee.
Subs: Sean Magee

U16 Cal Odyssey Lineup
Starters: Matt Dishno, Nana Yaw Ameyaw-Sakyi, Kyle Cadigan, Isaiah Trejo, Nathan Smith, Jose Segura, Villyan Bijev, Jon-Paul Medina, Josh Alvarez, Jesus Garcia, Gregory Antognoli II.
Subs: Chris Newmark, Ruben Chavez, Trevor Spurgeon.

CHICAGO AS MONACO 2, PDA 1

Chicago scored two first-half goals to lock up a third-place finish in the Development Academy.

Tyler Engel put in a penalty kick and Aaron Horton added the topper in the 48th minute as Chicago dominated most of the possessions and ended their season on a positive note.

Brandon Allen scored for the New Jersey-based club in the 79th minute, capitalizing as the team pressed forward in the final minutes.

U16 Chicago Magic AS Monaco Lineup
Starters: Jovani Castanon, David Abidor, Billy McGuinness, Mitch Albrecht, Brian Lunar, Milan Gacanovic, Gabriel Virdaru, Tyler Engel, David Caban, Arturo Garza, Aaron Horton.
Subs: Jacob Ginsburg, Jimmy Ramirez, Jacob Bushue, Oliver Mayer, Miguel Acosta, Cody Wilkins, Noel Alvarez.

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

WASHINGTON PREMIER FC 4, FC DALLAS 3

In an exciting fifth-place match, Washington Premier FC scored three unanswered goals to close out the season with a win.

Down 3-1, Andrew Weisshar cut into the lead shortly after the half, and tied the match on a throw that found a wide open Jamael Cox in the 78th minute.

Just one minute later, another Washington throw hit a FC Dallas defender and found the net for the win.

Jonathan Top scored twice in the loss for FC Dallas.

U16 Washington Premier FC Lineup
Starters: Nathan Cox, Nathan Boatright, Kenneth Phillips, Jeremy Wentzel, Evan Robicheau, Christopher Chu, Troy Peterson, Pablo De la Cruz, Jamael Cox, Darwin Cox, Sean Okoli.
Subs: Brandon Brockway, Max Thomas, Chase Hanson, Jacob Bechtel, Andrew Weisshar.

U16 FC Dallas Lineup
Starters: Nelson Morales, Moises Hernandez, Jacob Gerondale, Matthew Dunn, Alex Frankenfeld, Daniel Garcia, Christopher Figueroa, Victor Ulloa, Jonathan Top, Marco Carrizales, Ruben Luna.
Subs: Reece Doan, Darin Kruzich, Bryan Leyva, Jose Gamino, Rigel Mathis.

NEW YORK RED BULLS 3, GREENSBORO YOUTH SOCCER 1

The New York Red Bulls completed their season with a second straight win and a seventh place finish.

Three straight goals by Victor Manosalvas, David Najem and Brandon Adler gave the Red Bulls ultimate control over their opponent.

Matthew Mills recorded the lone goal for Greensboro on an assist from Eduardo Alvarez.

U16 New York Red Bulls Lineup
Starters: Keith Cardona, Christopher Garcia, Brandon Adler, Brian Gallego, Clint Caso, David Najem, Clifford Lyle, Kemal Can Gurel, Oscar Gonzalez, Victor Manosalvas, Christian Battistesa.
Subs: Paul Ehrenworth, Jonathan Gonzalez, Keith Francisco, Michael Innocenzi.

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