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At Tuesday’s training, the U18’s spent the entire practice working on their shooting skills. Enjoy the gallery.
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At Tuesday’s training, the U18’s spent the entire practice working on their shooting skills. Enjoy the gallery.
TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona has become an attractive destination for Major League Soccer’s preseason. Earlier this year, the Grande Sports World played host to the first portion of preseason for Real Salt Lake, Seattle Sounders, New England Revolution and Vancouver Whitecaps.
Three of the teams – New York Red Bulls replace Vancouver Whitecaps – have returned to Arizona to participate in the Desert Diamond Cup hosted by FC Tucson.
The annual preseason tournament pits four MLS teams against each other in round-robin play. Grande Sports Academy players braved the bizarre snowfall in Arizona for a chance to see some of their favorite players.
NOTE: Academy players go crazy for Thierry Henry at the 8 second mark.
Radu Marcu made the most of his time by dancing in the snow.
Grande News, Performance News, Real Salt Lake, Soccer Academy, Soccer News
Casa Grande, AZ (Saturday, February 16th, 2013) – Led by a strong defensive performance, Southwest Division leaders, Real Salt Lake defeated, Northwest Division leaders, San Jose Earthquakes 3-0, at Grande Sports World. With the win, RSL improved to 12-2-3 and remain unbeaten in 2013.
The shutout, RSL’s second since October, comes against a team that was tied for 5th in the nation with 40 goals scored.
“We are pleased but not only the result but how we played overall,” said Head Coach Martin Vasquez. “Zero goals against our defense that was solid and strong in the game. No doubt we are pleased and happy with the game.”
Defender Jonathan Stadler spoke the importance of the shutout saying, “I think that being able to grab a shutout was something we haven’t down in a while. We need to improve that and this is one step towards that.”
Along with a stand out performance on defense that limited San Jose’s chances to a few attempts, RSL’s offense looked impressive throughout the entirety of the game. Immediately from kickoff RSL controlled the pace of the game. Shots by Ive Burnett, Andrew Brody, Coco Navarro and deadly crosses by Tigran Tiraturyan all were blocked or just missed their mark within the opening minutes of the first half.
After threatening the Quakes goal for 39 minutes, RSL was finally able to crack the San Jose defense when Jonathan Stadler picked up a loose ball in the box and fired in into the net for his first on the season.
RSL went into the half with the lead 1-0. They doubled this lead two minutes into the second half when, Marquette signee, Coco Navarro scored his 11th goal in 5 games. RSL had a few more chances after this goal but primarily played a possession game as the second half went on. San Jose had two chances late but a miss and a goal saving block by Luis Barraza preserved the shutout.
After the Barraza block RSL caught San Jose’s defense off guard and counter attacked. Jose Hernandez dribbled into the box on the right side and passed it to wide open Tony Murillo who easily scored RSL’s third on the day.
The game was ended just seconds after the goal giving RSL a 3-0 victory.
“The victory is very important because they are #1 in their division and also because they are a MLS program,” Stadler said. “We need to represent our program the best we can.”
Next game for RSL-AZ is on Saturday, February 23rd when they Cal Odyssey. Game time is 11:00am.
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Last Wednesday fifteen of our seniors signed a Letter of Intent to play college soccer. Before the players could sign, each one of them addressed their families, teammates and friends by giving a “thank you speech”.
Picture gallery from the dinner here.
Quotes from each player about the college they are going to.
Video 1 – Players in order of appearance: Tigran Tiraturyan (CSUSB), Brandon Marquez (Seattle), Danny Gavin (Washington), Jon Zabasajja (SMU), Brandon Johnston (Gardner Webb), Amer Sasivarevic (GCU), Jonathan Stadler (Oregon State), Coco Navarro (Marquette), Tony Murillo (High Point) & Kostas Kotselas (UWM).
Video 2 – Players in order of appearance: Isaias “Junior” Juarez (UWM), Ive Burnett (South Carolina), Andrew Brody (Louisville), AJ Esparza (Air Force), Trevor Hyman (Stanford)
Video 2 –
Casa Grande, AZ (Saturday, February 9th, 2013) – Real Salt Lake-Arizona Under 18 defeated Strikers FC 4-2, with Marquette University signee Coco Navarro leading all scorers with his second hat-trick of the season against Strikers FC.
Navarro has been on fire over his past four games scoring 8 total goals. After the game he spoke about the victory saying, “It feels great, because the last time we played against them I got a hat-trick, but we tied. This time we came out with a victory so it’s a great feeling.”
In the previous game between these two teams RSL-AZ jumped out to a quick three goal lead but squandered the lead on the second half. Coaches during the week set the goal for RSL-AZ to start off the way they did last game against Strikers FC and to keep the consistency throughout the game.
But as was the case in the last matchup RSL-AZ learned it’s hard to pull away from Strikers.
“We came into the game knowing it was going to be hard, Navarro said. “We did what the coaches told us and this time we were able to manage the game. We kept the lead the whole game that was the game plan.”
Jose Hernandez opened up the scoring with a shot just outside of the 18 that tailed right. Immediately after the goal Strikers FC started to attack with more urgency and pace. Five minutes later their efforts paid off when they earned a free kick from about 30 yards out. The ball was served into the box and punched out by RSL-AZ GK Ceaser Cobos. The ball unfortunately found the boot of a Strikers player who scored an easy open net goal.
“Same in every game you have your good times and bad times,” said defender Santi Carrillo. “We were playing pretty good but we just had a lack of thinking in a way. We kind have calmed down when we should have stayed up but again Cesar had a great game anyways and that was the important part.”
RSL-AZ turned up the pressure and took back the lead two minutes later when a ball from the wing was played into Andrew Brody who was inside the box. A quick pass to Navarro who then curved the ball around the outstretched arms of the Strikers GK. The rest of the half was forgettable as RSL-AZ missed three golden opportunities in front of net and the lone Strikers FC attempt was blocked by Cobos.
Six minutes into the second half Navaro scored his second goal giving RSL-AZ a 3-1 lead.
Strikers FC answered back when they scored in the 71st minute from a screaming line-drive free kick from 25 yards out that went low left. Not wanting to squander the lead again, RSL-AZ started to commit more players forward. Second half substitute Trevor Hyman from about 40 yards out crossed the ball from the left-wing that took a bounce on the 18. At first it looked like the ball would harmlessly go out of play but Navarro hustled to the ball beating the last defender. The Strikers FC GK came out and with a small touch to the right Navarro scored his third goal into an empty net.
The goal scored in the 85th minute left Strikers FC with little time for a comeback losing, 2-4.
Head Coach Martin Vasquez spoke about Navarro’s performance saying, “For us it’s important for players like him to show that consistency and continue to be a difference maker. We were happy with his performance and overall the team.”
RSL-AZ is now 7 points ahead of second place LA Galaxy, who have played three fewer games.
Next game for RSL-AZ is on Saturday, February 16th when they host San Jose Earthquakes. Game time is 11:00am.
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CASA GRANDE, Ariz. – Sacrifice, commitment and hard work are words that are tossed around quite frequently at the Grande Sports Academy and fifteen seniors saw their efforts rewarded by signing their National Letter of Intent on Thursday night.
The seniors spoke about the experience of signing below.
Andrew Brody, University of Louisville – What is it like to sign “It feels great. I have been committed for a year now and just to have this day to officially become a Louisville Cardinal is special. I can’t wait to join them.”
AJ Esparza, Air Force Academy – Thank you speech “I just want to thank my family as you have done so much for me. Thank you coaches and staff and I’m exited to serve for my country and protecting all of you guys.”
Trevor Hyman, Stanford University – What is it like to sign “This is probably the biggest day of my life. I’m super excited and I’m just really happy I could do it with my whole family here and all my friends. I’m just really excited to be a part of the Cardinal.”
Brandon Marquez, University of Seattle – Thank you speech “I want to thank all the staff here, my teammates and all my coaches especially Freddy who has been there from the beginning helping me out and supporting me. I want to say thank you to my family for always supporting me and making all the sacrifices for me to be here.”
Ive Burnett, University of South Carolina – What is it like to sign “It’s amazing and truly a blessing to see my dreams become a reality. I just want to take my talents to South Carolina and hopefully I will have success there that I have had here.”
Jon Zabassajja, Southern Methodist University – Thank you speech “I have been a part of Real Salt Lake for three years and I want to thank Freddy who has been here all three years. Tim who just recently got here and Tony who got here last year. I want to thank my mentor Mike Rabasca who has helped me though the college decision as well as the coaches here. I want to thank Martin who is a great coach who I admire very much. I want to thank my mom and dad and everyone who is here today.”
Tigran Tiraturyan, California State University, San Bernardino – What is it like to sign “Honestly it’s an amazing feeling. I didn’t think I would have the chance to sign. Seeing my teammates signing with all their families and all the coaches here makes this a special day. It’s an amazing feeling to sign.”
Brandon Johnston, Gardner Webb University – Thank you speech “I want to say thank you to my parents for pushing me and getting me to this level. I’m really excited to go back home to North Carolina and I want to thank the coaching staff and all the staff at the Academy. Thank you for all the memories and I want to thank all my friends. If it wasn’t for you guys I wouldn’t be here right now.
Danny Gavin, University of Washington – What is it like to sign “Unbelievable to know that all the work I have put in over the past 10 years playing club, getting up in the morning and working out pays off. Now I get to play for a Division I college program.
Isaias “Junior” Juarez, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee – What is it like to sign “It’s a really good feeling after all the years of putting in hard work. This is everything that I’ve worked for and it’s especially special to here with all my teammates who are as lucky as me.”
Amer Sasivarevic, Grand Canyon University – What is it like to sign “It feels great to get a lot of pressure off my back. I’m just grateful to live in such a good environment with great coaches, great teammates and all the staff around. I just feel blessed to be here.”
Antonio “Tony” Murillo, High Pointe University – Thank you speech “I want to thank my coaches for making me a better player and always pushing me everyday and I want to thank my teammates and my family.”
Jose “Coco” Navarro, Marquette University – What is it like to sign “It feels great. I’m happy I was able to sign and I’m looking forward to it. I’m pretty pumped.”
Jonathan Stadler, Oregon State University – What is it like to sign “Back in middle school I was the type of student that was barely passing classes with C’s. But on an academic standpoint this has been such a maturing experience and figuring it out of your own is something I have always worked hard for. I think making the decision to come down to the academy was a personal decisions and it was a maturing one. I’m happy to finally commit to a school. It’s cool to look towards to future and see what the next 4 years are going to be like and I think I’m going to enjoy it.”
Kostas Kotselas, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee – Thank you speech “I have been here for 6 months and it has been fun with all the coaches here. A lot of people think going to Wisconsin was a big jump for me because of the weather but I loved everything about the city and the school. None of that would have been possible without the coaches here. I want to thank my parents for sacrificing a lot for me.”