Coming into the U.S. Youth Soccer Association U-16 national championship game Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa, the Concorde (Ga.) Fire Elite had reason to believe it was on equal footing with the Casa Mia Bays of Baltimore. After all, the teams played to a scoreless draw in pool play Wednesday.
But on Sunday, when the teams met again, it was a different Bays squad. This time, Casa Mia had central midfielders Mike Deasel (Loyola) and Brent Hooper (Archbishop Curley) in the lineup, and their presence made a difference as Baltimore rolled to a 4-0 victory.
Michael Rose (Severna Park) and Michael Lansing (McDonogh) scored goals in the first half and Andrew Bulls (McDonogh) and Chris Agorsor (McDonogh) tallied in the second as coach Steve Nichols won his third national championship in four years. Nichols guided an older Casa Mia squad to national titles in 2003 and 2004.
Casa Mia was led by Rose, who claimed the Golden Boot award,and goalie Dave Louisignau, a high school junior who commutes from Delaware and has already committed to the University of Virginia. Louisignau won the Golden Glove.
