
The Point Loma-based Albion soccer club clinched its first-ever berth in the United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) Far West Regional Championship (FWRL) when the BU14 Premier Team defeated Arsenal 2-0 in Lancaster on Nov. 23 to win the Far West Regional League Championship. The victory wrapped up a weekend sweep of three straight wins over Arsenal, Real So Cal and the Colorado Rush. The USYSA Far West Regional Championship will be held next June and will bring out the champions from 14 Western states, including clubs from Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The BU14 club began FWRL competition in August with victories over the New Mexico Strikers and the Colorado Rush. The team went on to win three more games the weekend of Nov. 15-16 when it defeated Surf, Del Sol and Sereno in Arizona. “We (Albion) have 29 teams and roughly over 400 kids are involved with our club from all over San Diego,” said BU14 manager John Shackleford. “We even have a couple of kids who come down from Los Angeles because of our technical director and director of coaching, Noah Gins,” he said. The BU14 is a team of kids 14 years of age and has 17 players. The Albion club has boys’ and girls’ teams from ages 8 to 17. “Gins have been with us for about eight years and his other responsibilities include hiring coaches and developing our style of play,” Shackleford said. The Albion club practices Mondays through Fridays at Robb Field.