 SWSC BU17 (B86) Advancing to Coast Premier
The Southwest SC BU17 Gold team, coached by former US National coach Roy Rees, will be advancing to the prestigious Premier Division of Coast Soccer League (CSL) next season. The boys finished the 2002-2003 season undefeated, taking home the First Place Trophy in the Gold Division. The history of this team is a short one, as is its rise to the top of the Coast Soccer League. The team is young, being only three years old. They started playing as U15’s during the 2000-2001 season. During that first year together, the boys were Quarter-Finalists at NHB, took Second Place in both the Mission Viejo Invitational and Las Vegas Turkey Shoot Tournaments and brought home Championship Trophies from the Los Gauchos, Crusader’s Cup, and Cerritos Memorial Challenge Tournaments. They finished the season undefeated, with a record of 12-0-1, and were Champions of the CSL Bronze-East Division. That first year, the boys made it to the Second Round in Coast League Cup. The amazing accomplishments of this first year team allowed them, the following year, to by-pass the Silver Division and compete in the CSL Silver Elite Division. During that 2001-2002 season together, the BU16’s were again Quarter Finalists at NHB; semi-finalists at the JUSA, Celtic and Cerritos Memorial Tournaments, Finalists at the Coronado Crown City Classic and Champions of the First Annual Southwest Soccer Classic. They finished league play 8-1-2 and were subsequently crowned the CSL Silver Elite Champions. The boys capped off their second year together as the Champions of the Open State Cup Tournament. Following the boys’ performance during the 2001-2002 season, the Club petitioned CSL, hoping they would allow the boys to by pass Gold and go directly to Premier. The request was denied by CSL and the team was placed in the Gold Bracket. The 2002-2003 season, only the third one for this young team, has been historic. The Southwest SC BU17’s won the Gold Division of CSL with an undefeated record of 7-0-4. They scored 22 goals in 11 games while holding their opponents to only 7. They were semi-finalists in the Pegasus Cup and finalists in both the Los Gauchos and Mission Viejo Tournaments. This year also saw them break that two-year “quarterfinal curse” at NHB. This year, the boys took the Championship at NHB. They were Champions of the Second Annual Southwest Soccer Classic and the Arsenal Route 66 Tournament as well. Most of the Southwest SC Boys U17 team played at local high schools. Now that the high school season is over, these boys have come together again in order to compete in the National State Cup Tournament for the first time. If the boys and Coach Roy Rees have their way, this, their first attempt at the National’s, will be another “one for the record book,” as has been this short but sweet story of a group of boys from Southern California who came together to… “Believe and Achieve!” The Southwest SC BU17 team is comprised of players from both Riverside and San Diego Counties.
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