Soccer Boys Off to St. Louis for National Competition

The U14 premiere level Sonoma United boys competition soccer team is one of only 16 teams nationwide going to St. Louis in June for a national competition. Some of the boys have been playing together for nine years and some are new additions over the past few years. All have been training and playing at an extremely high level these past years, helped by the  dedication of volunteer coaches, unlike other soccer clubs in the area. 

The 18-member team currently plays in two leagues: NorCal, regional play at the premiere level within a radius of about 120 miles, where they played 10 games against teams from Sacramento, Diablo Valley, Elk Grove, Hawaii, Albion Central Valley and others. For the first time this year, they entered Elite Academy, where they played in the Northwest Division of the United States, with a much larger radius. There are a total of sixteen geographic divisions in Elite Academy League, spanning the US. At the end of their season the boys came in as the Northwest top team, qualifying them for Nationals in St. Louis, Missouri.  

The tournament in St. Louis takes place at Creve Coeur Park Soccer Complex where the Sonoma boys will play against teams from all over the country, playing one game each day June 19, 20, 21 and, if they make it to the finals, June 22. Manager and mother Amanda Marino, who has been with the team for eight years, told the Sun, “This is an incredible accomplishment for these players, for our town, and all the young sports players that live here.”

On the 18-member team roster, who will all be 8th graders at Altimira Middle School in the fall, are Adolfo León, Alexis Álvarez, Andy Casillas, Axel Montes, César Diaz, Fernando Escobar, Gael Hurtado, Hunter Boden, Iker Trejo, Jacob Pérez, Josafat Jiménez, Luis Alexander Jiménez, Mason Marino, Sergio Vega, Teddy Papadin, Trey Brophy, Yahir Evina, Yahir Rojas. Head coach is José Álvarez, assisted by Casey Boden and Jaime Evina. 

To raise money for the trip, the team held an all-day car wash hosted by Silveira Chevrolet on May 24. To support the boys’ trip to St. Louis, CLICK HERE

Pictured in Photo:
Standing row L-R: Alexis Álvarez, Yahir Rojas, Fernando Escobar, Ikers Trejo, Yahir Evina, Mason Marino, Josefat Jiménez, Luis Alexander Jiménez,  José Melchor , Gael Hurtado, Adolfo Leon
Seated row L-R: Jesus Calderón, Jacob Perez, Teddy Papadin, Trey Brophy, Andy Casillas, Hunter Boden, Axel Montes.