Tuesday in the championship round of the U.S. Youth Soccer Association Region 1 tournament in Virginia Beach, the fortunes of the Bethesda Soccer Club broke down on genderlines.
While two of the club’s boys teams won titles via shutout, three of its girls teams lost final-round matches, failing to produce a goal.
Coach Steve Campbell felt the highs and lows as much as anyone. He coaches the U-17 Bethesda United boys, 2-0 victors over Seacoast United SC of New Hampshire, and the U-19 Bethesda Excel girls, 1-0 losers to longtime local rival Chantilly Inter Milan.
“Good day and bad day,” said Campbell. “The boys played fantastic the whole tournament. The girls gave up an early goal. Then we hit the post three or four times.”
The other victorious Bethesda team was the U-14 Roadrunners, which got past Coastal SC of Maine, 1-0. Winners advance to the USYSA National Championships, July 24-30, in Des Moines, Iowa.
It was the second region title in three years for the United, which got a goal in the first half from Tyrone Hall (Mt. St. Joseph) and one in the second from Eric Perez (Watkins Mill). Assists were registered by Marcel Steubing (German School) and Kyle Albrecht (DeMatha).
In a 2-1 semifinal win over the Brentwood Kosmos of New York on Monday, Josh Zipin (Blair) scored both goals.
With its victory, Chantilly Inter Milan won its fifth region title. The team, led by Amy Smerdzinski (Chantilly High/Wake Forest) and her dad, coach Gary Smerdzinski, won four straight titles between 1999-2002, and was national runner up twice.
The Roadrunners claimed their second region title in three years.
Other Bethesda girls teams in the finals were the U-15 Bethesda Blast, which fell 1-0 to PDA Pride of New Jersey, and the U-16 Bethesda Rapids, a 2-0 loser to the FC Greater Boston Bolts. Both teams were seeking their first region title.
Another local champion Tuesday was the U-12 Olney Rangers, which defeated FC Rochester (N.Y.), 2-0, in the inaugural small side (8 vs. 8) competition. The win avenged an earlier loss in pool play to Rochester, but does not earn Olney a berth in the national final four. USYSA national competition is limited to teams U-14 through U-19.
