The Galaxy Rios Under-17 team will join 13 other MLS sponsored U-17 Youth Developmental teams this Friday, July 4 for the second annual SUM U-17 Tournament, and will culminate with the championship game being played on Thursday, July 10. The Rios will be coached by Matt Mennell and Paul Broome, and will look to better their semifinal appearance of a year ago. The Rios reached the semifinals of the inaugural U-17 Tournament in 2007 before being knocked out by eventual tournament champions, D.C. United.
The Rios will play Real Salt Lake, the Columbus Crew and the New York Red Bulls in their round robin group phase, with the winners of each group advancing to the semifinals. The U-17 SUM Cup champion will earn the opportunity to participate in the 2009 Trofeo Quizote U-17 tournament in Madrid, Spain. The second place team will gain entry into the Super Group in the 2009 Dallas Cup in Frisco, Texas. The losing semifinalists will participate in the Dallas Cup U-19 group.
Some of the players that will be representing the Rios include William Whiddon, a goalkeeper with the U.S. Under-15 National Team, Tristan Bowen, a member of the Rios U-20 team and the U.S. Under-20 National Team and Alejandro Covarrubias, who was discovered at the recent Serie de Campeones, a Galaxy sponsored youth tournament that was held in San Bernardino last month. Matt Mennell, the Associate Head Coach at Loyola Marymount University will coach the team, while former Galaxy defender Paul Broome, a seven-year MLS veteran, will serve as his assistant.
The preliminary SUM U-17 Cup schedule is as follows with all first round and semifinal matches to be played at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, while the location of the tournament final has yet to be determined it is likely to be played on the Colorado Rapids stadium at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
2008 SUM Cup Schedule:
Friday, July 4 - LA Galaxy vs. Real Salt Lake
Saturday, July 5 - LA Galaxy vs. New York Red Bulls
Monday, July 7 - LA Galaxy vs. Columbus Crew
Tuesday, July 8 - Semifinals
Thursday, July 10 - Final
Rios Under-17 SUM Cup Roster:
Galaxy Rios: John Atkinson, Tristan Bowen, Dakota Collins, Alejandro Covarrubias, Sima Etemadian, Chadd Johnson, Edson Lemus, Matthew Mardesich, Oscar Palacios, Steve Palacios, Eric Palomares, Christian Ramirez, James Rochlitz, Anthony Rodriguez, Eric Verso, William Whiddon, Gyasi Zardes, Omar Zeeni.
Head Coach: Matt Mennell
Assistant Coach: Paul Broome
Trainer: Ana Kavani
GALAXY RIOS FALL SHORT: The Galaxy Rios Under-20 team suffered their first shutout of the season, falling 2-0 to the Ventura County Fusion on Sunday afternoon. The Fusion's Gabby Gonzalez and Danny Rodriguez each scored in the second half, handing the Rios their second loss of the season and their first at home. The Rios are now 3-2-1, leaving the team in fourth place, just three points behind first place Bakersfield.
FOUR GAMES REMAINING: Sitting in fourth place, the Rios only played six of their 10 games this season, leaving them with a record of 3-2-1. Bakersfield, Ventura and Poway each have only two games remaining, with the Galaxy traveling up to Bakersfield this Saturday. The following week the Galaxy will have back-to-back games with fifth place Lancaster and Riverside MGF, who is currently 0-5-1 on July 12 and 13, respectively. The Rios will then travel up to Riverside for their final game of the season. The top two teams in the Pacific Southern California U-20 Men's division will then travel to Virginia Beach for the Third Annual Super-20 League North American Finals in late July.
GALAXY RIOS BACK IN ACTION ON SATURDAY: The Rios will take on the Bakersfield Brigade Saturday, July 5 at Bakersfield Christian High School Field at 5 p.m. The Rios played Bakersfield two weeks ago at The Home Depot Center. A hat trick by David Estrada, as well as goals by Tristan and Travis Bowen, Camilo Rojas and Shalom Bako gave the Rios an 8-0 win.
HIGH-SCORING ACT: With 22 goals in six games, the Galaxy Rios U-20s are far and away the top scoring team in the PDL Super-20 League. David Estrada leads the team with seven goals this season, including two hat tricks, while Tristan Bowen has a hat trick of his own, and is second on the team with five goals. They are followed by Kyle Nakazawa with three goals, Travis Bowen, Amani Walker and Camilo Rojas, are close behind with two goals a piece, while Shalom Bako has added one goal on the season.
The Rios have also allowed a league-low six goals on the year, with goalkeepers Brian Perk, Pat Barton and Max Young combining for three shutouts on the season.
PERK NAMED TO U-20 ROSTER: Galaxy Rios and UCLA goalkeeper Brian Perk was named to the United States Under 20 National Team roster that will be taking on Mexico on July 12 in Laredo, Texas. Perk, one of seven collegiate players named to the roster, played with the U-20s earlier this season when he led the U.S. to a 2-0 win against the Bolton Reserves in England.
RIOS TO HOLD OPEN TRYOUTS: The Galaxy Rios will be holding their inaugural open tryouts for male players born between 1990 and 1994 at three locations throughout Southern California. Players who participate in the tryouts, which are being held from July 11 to July 13, will be given the chance to play one, 50-minute game while being assessed by the Galaxy Rios coaching staff. To participate in the tryouts players must register and pay a $30 fee before Sunday, July 6. All players must apply online and have a valid email address. For more information about these tryouts and to register for them, please visit www.lagalaxy.com.
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The Galaxy Rios, the club's official youth development program, is designed to identify, develop and realize the Galaxy stars of tomorrow. The Galaxy Rios provides a path for young soccer players in the Los Angeles area to become professionals by placing them in a unique environment with a curriculum that challenges and educates, on and off the field. The Galaxy Rios program is focused on producing professional soccer players - wins and losses are secondary. The Galaxy Rios features Under-20, Under-16 and Under-18 teams, which will play in the USL Super-20 League and U.S. Soccer Development Academy, respectively.
