Lightning '80 Gold are National U18 Champions!
Game Day/Date Time Opponent Score Goals National Semi-Final Friday, July 24 11:00 am (EDT) Colorado Rush Nike 2-1 OT Win Jarrod Blake (Ryan Richards) 71st min; Ben Landis (Alex Balasco) 95th min National Final Sunday. July 26 12:30 am (EDT) SC Baltimore Stars 3-1 Win Stephen Williamson 38th min; Ben Landis (PK) 47th min; Matt Doggendorf 74th min
Members of the U18 National Champions Lightning 80 Gold team hold the Andy Stone Cup (click on picture for full screen view)
Lightning '80 Gold - Region III Champions!
Celebrating the first goal against the South Texas Longhorns in their first game	A goal by Roby Wood in the first half of extra time gave Lightning 80 Gold U18 boys a 1-0 win over the Longhorns of South Texas. Lightning had beaten the Longhorns 2-0 three days earlier in the round robin phase on the championships, but had to play them again in the final. Day/Date Time Opponent Field Score Fri. June 26 12:00 pm North Texas (Longhorns '80) Field # 7 2-0 Win Sat. June 27 10:00 am South Texas (CAYSA '80 Longhorns) Field # 4 2-0 Win Sun. June 28 12:00 pm Alabama (Hoover Sidekicks) Field # 11 4-3 Win Mon. June 29 10:30 am Semi-Final: LA (Slidell LA Elite) Field #10 3-0 Win Tue. June 30 1:00 pm Final: ST (CAYSA '80 Longhorns) Field #8 1-0 OT Win! Lightning 80 Gold players and coaches after the awards presentation (click on picture for full screen view) Back Row: Coach Alex Pama, Ben Landis, Stephen Williamson, Dustin Danner, Brantley Spillman, Jermie Frankson, Roby Wood, Tye Smith, Aaron Eutermoser, Matt Doggendorf, Team Manager Mitzi Wood, Head Coach David Chadwick Front Row: Jack Handy, Alex Balasko, Travis Larrison, Jarrod Blake, Justin Koehler, Marshall Leonard, Jim Hardin, Team Assisstant Charlie Gonzalez Not Pictured: Ryan Richards
Marshall Leonard's thoughts on the Lightning Soccer Club Jimmy Hardin's thoughts on winning a National Championship More pictures are available on the Picture Page! For more information on the Regionals go to the GYSA Region III Tournament site (http://www.gssa.org/gysa/reg3/reg3.htm). For more infromation on the Nationals, go to the Nationals Web Site, (http://www.azstarnet.com/~eclipse/aysa/nationals/contents.html)