Winning soccer titles is nothing new for the La Jolla Nomads program. A pair of Nomads teams recently scored championships in their respective competitions.
The Under-12 team won the Dallas Cup, with coach David Armstrong leading the way.
“Winning the Dallas Cup is no easy feat at any level, and the Under-12’s did a wonderful job mastering opponents who were invariably much bigger and stronger,” Armstrong said. “The final itself in the Pizza Hut Park was wonderful for the players, something they will remember for a long time.”
According to Armstrong, beating Barcelona, champions of California South, was special also. The team keeper, Adrian Zendahous, is the son of longtime local player and former La Jolla High player Victor Zendahous.
On the Under-17 level, the Nomads scored gold in Plainfield, Ill., capturing the Red Bull Championships.
Head coach Derek Armstrong was assisted by Paul Holohan.
“This tournament was fought out by the top 16 teams in the nation for the U-17’s Red Bull National league,” Armstrong noted.
The Nomads were the only team to remain undefeated in the entire tournament.
The Nomads came back from North Carolina with two wins and one tie late last year.
Earlier this spring, the Nomads hosted the event in La Jolla at Allen Field and ended up winning two games and tying Arsenal, the national champs.
The third and final stages were held in Illinois recently. The Nomads won all three games to win the championship, including beating Arsenal, the three-time National USYSA champion. The boys were a mixture of ages 16 to 18, in keeping with the Nomads’ stated youth policy.
“This is one of the better achievements that the Nomads teams have managed to pull off,” Armstrong added.
The team now goes for a final game in Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., this Saturday, July 14, to collect its trophy, which will be welcome in the Allen Field clubhouse.
The Nomads will play an exhibition against the Red Bulls youth team as the pre-game to the Major League Soccer (MLS) game this Saturday at the Meadowlands between New York and the New England Revolution.
The new season for the Red Bull starts off in Orange County on Aug. 2 through 4, where 16 teams will compete.
In other soccer news, U.S. Soccer has accepted Nomads Soccer Club into the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, bringing the total number of admissions to 31 youth clubs from across the country.
“After reviewing the Nomads Soccer Club’s application, we felt they fulfilled the qualifications of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy and were a good addition to the program,” U.S. Soccer’s U-17 Men’s National Team Coach John Hackworth said in a release. “We have every expectation that Nomads Soccer Club’s participation in the Academy will only increase their past successes of developing elite youth players.”
For more information, visit www.nomadssoccer.org.