Boys U16 Gold MRL - Grand Rapids Crew Juniors

Boys U16 Gold MRL

U16B Gold � Regional Champions!

U16B Gold – Regional Champions!

Coach Remco Bergsma and Todd Stacy guided the U16 Boys to their second Region II Championship in the last 3 years. The Championships were held at John Ankeney Soccer Complex in Beavercreek, OH.

The team had already punched their ticket to Nationals being held in Overland Park KS starting July 21st, by finishing first in the National League, so winning Regional’s was a added bonus.

The team began pool play on Saturday, June 26th against Elm Grove Premier (WI) with a 2-0 win. The boys, playing with only two subs due to key injuries and family commitments, controlled play against the Wisconsin State Cup winners. Jason Stacy twice found the back of the net to secure their first win.

On Sunday, JUSC Barcelona, the Iowa state champion came in to the match with hopes of taking the win. Their strategy was to sit back and fill the box looking to catch the boys on a counter attack. This strategy was not new and was handled by the back line led by Taylor Mazurek, Jacob Vanderlaan, Joe Sweet and Nate Rose. The results ended again 2-0 with goals being scored by Nate Rose and Sean Conerty.

The team finished pool play looking for revenge against CUP Crew Jrs (OH-S). The team from Cincinnati had achieved a positive earlier in the season during the Midwest Regional League (MRL) play. Both teams came out fast, but the CUP’s momentum was quickly extinguished when Caleb Postlewait found the upper 90 corner of the net from a ridiculous angle. The U16B continue to carry play getting two additional goals from Jason Stacy. CUP finally came through near the end of the game scoring their only goal.

As mentioned earlier, the team was playing shorthanded do to several key injuries. One of those injuries was to Chase Rau (Goalie) that left the team without a backup, so some had to step up. Luke Bestrom took on the challenge receiving compressed training by Chase and Shawn Lewis, a senior at Rockford HS. The importance of this will become apparent shortly.

Having won their pool play, the boys moved on to the semifinals against Lou Fusz Gold (MO), a team that had the same identical statistics, 7 goals for 1 against in their pool. Lou Fusz came out strong and took the lead at the 14:00 minute mark. Lou Fusz continued to put pressure on and the team with the defense holding their own. In the 41:00st minute, Nate Rose moving from the back line to his normal front line position attacked the defender as he was trying to clear the ball 25 yards out deflected the ball back into the back of the net knotting the score at 1-1.

Regulation play ended with both teams having opportunities, but with fine play from Luke Bestrom (fill-in Goalie), tipping one just enough to hit the post and a great kick save forced overtime. After two overtimes the game went into penalty kicks (PK). Penalty kicks were scored by Greg Timmer, Diego Bobadilla, which was enough as Luke Bestrom made 3 saves while Lou Fusz scored 1 and their last shot went off the crossbar giving the boys the win (2-1) and a place in the final.

In the finals, the boys face in state rival WAZA (MI). Both teams being quite familiar with each other made for an interest match-up. In the 19:00^thminute, Greg Timmer broke the scoreless tie when he found the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. The game went back and forth with each team having quality opportunities but neither team could change the score. One final note, Philip Ephraim (flying in from England) and Hunter Tolley (driving from Virginia) played a pivotal role in supporting the team with quality minutes in the finals.

Good luck to the boys as they make 3^rd straight appearance in Nationals.

Bring home the Championship!

Calendar of Events

Other Years:

Other Months:

July 2010 Events

2009/2010 Results

Game Schedules / Results – 2009 / 2010

National Championships

Overland Park, Kansas

Wednesday 21 July V Blast FC ~ Field 6

Thursday 22July V RS FL 8:00am ~ Field 6

Friday 23 July V Waza 12:00pm ~ Field 6

Sunday 25 July Finals

Regionals

Ankeney, Ohio

Saturday 26 June V WI ~ Win ~ 2 - 0

Sunday 27 June V Iowa ~ Win ~ 2 - 0

Monday 28 June V Ohio South ~ Win ~ 3 - 1

Tuesday 29 June ~ Semis V Lou Fusz ~ Win ~ 2 - 1

Wednesday 30 June ~ Finals ~ V Waza ~ Win ~ 1 - 0

National League

Raleigh, North Carolina

10 Dec 2009 V Tulsa TSC 94 Black ~ Win 2 - 0

11 Dec 2009 V Penn Fusion Celtic ~ Win 1 - 0

12 Dec 2009 V Concorde Fire Elite ~ Tie 1 - 1

13 Dec 2009 V Waza FC 94 Black ~ Win 4 – 0

Las Vegas, Nevada

19 March 2010 1:45 V Sereno 94 White (AZ) ~ Win 1 - 0

20 March 2010 1:45 V Solar Red 94 (N-TX) ~ Loss 2 - 3

21 March 2010 11:45 V Blast FC (OH-S) ~ Win 2 - 0

Link to National League Results

Midwest Regional League

6 March 2010 8:00 pm V Sockers FC Chicago Cup ~ Win 3 - 0

7 March 2010 10:00 am V Chicago Fire Juniors-North ~ Tie 2 - 2

27 March 2010 6:00 pm V SC STARS Newcastle 93/94 (KS) ~ Win 6 - 1

17 April 2010 V Cincinnati United Crew Juniors ~ Hallmark Sports Complex ~ Loss 1 - 3

18 April 2010 V Metro FC Rapids 93 Premier ~ Hallmark Sports Complex ~ Tie 1 -1

9 May 2010 V WSU Green 94 ~ Hallmark Sports Complex ~ Win 2 - 1

15 May 2010 7:00 pm V WAZA ~ MVP Field House ~ Loss 1 - 0

State Cup

1 May 2010 5:00 pm V Rush CA ~ MVP Field House ~ Win 9 - 0

2 May 2010 5:00 pm V Tri Cities Strikers ~ MVP Field House ~ Win 1 - 0

8 May 2010 2:00 pm V Michigan Rush Downriver Nike ~ Wixom ~ Win 6 - 0

22 May 2010 10:00 am State Cup Quarter Finals V Force Black ~ Saginaw ~ Win 3 - 1

23 May 2010 10:00 am State Cup Semi Finals ~ Saginaw ~ Loss 2 - 1

Scrimmages

14 February 2010 1:00 pm V Michigan Wolves Academy 93 ~ MSU ~ Win 2 - 0

28 March 2010 12:00 pm V Canton Celtics U-17 ~ Win 3 - 2

U16 Boys Finish National League in First Place

March 21, 2010

The GR Crew Juniors Boys U16 Gold team has completed their National League season with a 5-1-1 record to finish in first place! This outstanding accomplishment automatically qualifies them as one of the six teams that will play for the National title this summer. Congratulations to the team and coach Remco Bergsma!

Roster

# Player Name Position School Graduation

14 Luke Bestrom Midfield / Defender Caledonia High School 2012

19 Diego Bobidilla Forward / Midfield Holland High School 2011

9 Sean Conerty Center Mid / Forward Forest Hills Central High School 2012

8 Philip Ephraim Left Mid / Left Forward Forest Hills Northern High School 2012

18 Chad Gordon Left Defense Jenison High School 2012

3 Matt Harkema Midfield Unity Christian High School 2012

15 Pedro Hernandez Right Defender Fennville High School 2011

17 Gabe Kelly Midfield East Kentwood High School 2012

5 Taylor Mazurek Defender /Midfield /Forward Brighton High School 2011

7 Trevor Osburn Forward / Midfielder Traverse City Central HS 2012

11 Caleb Postlewait Midfielder / Defender Forest Hills Central High School 2012

1 Chase Rau Goalie Sparta High School 2012

6 Nathan Rose Forward / Midfield Grand Haven High School 2012

10 Jason Stacy Forward / Midfield Forest Hills Central High School 2012

16 Joe Sweet Midfield /Defender /Forward Lowell High School 2012

12 Greg Timmer Defensive Mid Unity Christian High School 2012

13 Hunter Tolley Midfield Portage Central High School 2011

2 Jacob Vanderlaan Right Back Grand Haven High School 2012

Coaches:
Remco Bergsma, Coach  remcobergsma@hotmail.com
Todd Stacy, Assistant coach  todd.stacy@hotmail.com
Rebecca Postlewait, Manager  Bearsq4@comcast.net