The US Youth Soccer Region III Olympic Development Program enjoyed a successful trip to Mexico last year, which showed off the quality from the South region of the States against some top academies.

This year, Region III ODP made the trip again with the 1997, 1998, and 1999 age groups. The three teams combined to go 7-3-2 on the trip.

The 99 age group, under the direction of Darren Powell, went undefeated south of the border with wins over Chivas San Rafael (3-0), Atlas (7-0), and Estudiates Tecos (4-2). The youngsters, which featured U.S. U14 Boys National Team pool member Jonathan Amon, played to a 1-1 draw with Selection Jalisco State in their opening game.

The 98 age group, which was coached by Trevor Adair, netted wins over Chivas San Rafael (2-0), Atlas (4-2), and Estudiantes Tecos (2-1), but dropped the opener to Chivas (3-4).

The ‘97s featured seven players who were also on the tour last year. Despite the experience, the oldest age group to make the trip dropped the opening clash against Chivas by a 1-5 score. The 97s then played Chivas San Rafael to a 1-1 draw, but lost the next clash 3-2 to Atlas. The ODP squad did end the trip to Guadalajara on a winning note with a 2-1 win over Estudiantes Tecos in the last game.

Region III also made a trip to Costa Rica back March with the 1996 and 1995 age groups. The 95s, led by coach Wolfgang Suhnholz, went 4-0-0 in San Jose with wins over the Costa Rica U17 Men’s National Team (1-0), Saprissa (1-0), Belen(5-3), and Alajuela (3-0). The 96 squad, coached by Ken Fogarty, nabbed a 2-1 win over Belen, but lost the other three games.

1999 Region III ODP Trip Roster:

Dehai Abraham, Jonathan Amon, Zachary Aversano, Randall Congreaves, Francois Dulysse, Whitney Gonsalves, Hector Guerrero, Landen Haig, Darius Lewis, Scott Lich, Jared McWhorter, Jose Morales Jr., Eric Overbay, Gabriel Paniagua, Carlos Pineda, John Rittmeyer, Eric Secor, Jacob Suppiah

1998 Region III ODP Trip Roster:

Dakotah Bainter, Jorge Burke, Alexander Dexter, Ben-Avir Espinal-Carbajal, Cristian Gonzalez, Nelid Joseph, Kai Koreniuk, Gabriel Krueger, Michael Lynch, Diego Manrique, Ernando Manrique, David Martinez, Cole McKinney, Kai Pham, Cameron Reaves, Jason Rosales, Chase Rushing

1997 Region III ODP Trip Roster:

Ian Bennett, Jose Cerra, Salvador Colin, Aaron Franco, Tyler Gillespie, Jacob Goodall, Bob Jnohope, Jonathan Lewis, Brandon Millington, Matthew Morgan, Austen Parker, Andrew Samuels, Deniz Sipahi, Ryan Standridge, Tristan Tippeconnic, Jacob van der Luit, Aidan Wixted

1995 Region III ODP Trip Roster:

Austin Bartel, Stephen Beck, Evan Bozman, Robert Carson, Robert Carson, Esai Cortez, Derek Gebhard, Matthew Gerrish, Moises Gonzalez, Anthony Hernandez, Kit Huddleston, Hayden Little, Shaun Miltner, Noah Mudd, Gary O’Neill, Dayton Prejean, Justin Savinon, Delbert Trautmann, William Woddy

1996 Region III ODP Trip Roster:

Shadi Awad, Brandon Broadwell, Samuel Choi, Mateo Correa, Jacob Cunningham, Seth Douthat, Kyle Edmonds, Bradley Farias, Benjamin Fisher, Trevor Gordon, Colin Hanley, Lukas Joyner, Daniel Kierath, Justin Nhan, Chase Rhode, Lance Sanders, Malcolm Singleton, Christopher Zappia

 

U.S. teen signs with German club

Kainoa Bailey, formerly of D.C. United and Real Salt Lake academies, announced on twitter last week that he signed his first professional contract with German club Bayer Leverkusen.

Bailey is a midfielder/forward who would be eligible for the 2015 U20 World Cup squad.