After recently winning the U.S. Youth Soccer Regional (Far West) Championship games, the Cisco Toros ‘90 Boys are headed to compete in the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships. The group, coached by Petar Draksin and Omid Aziminejad (a Cisco Alum), will be traveling to North Little Rock, Arkansas to compete in the championship series. The 16 players, from all areas of the Valley, representing a number of different Valley high schools, have earned their way to this championship series by starting from a pool of 10,000 teams from across the country. The team won their age bracket at the U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV Championships, in which 4,500 other players competed. This is the team’s first trip to Nationals.
“Starting from a field of 10,000 and narrowing to 56 for the National finals is an outstanding achievement by Cisco Soccer Club. It represents our state and region well,” said city of Phoenix Vice Mayor Peggy Neely. “This team is in the top 4 in their age bracket in the nation. The coaches, parents and players have worked diligently and with great integrity to reach this elite level. It is an honor to have them representing the Valley and the state of Arizona at the National Championship games. I hope everyone will join me in wishing them good luck in the 2008 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships.”
“I am so very proud of our boys and excited to be going with them to the 2008 Championship games. They are truly a well-rounded group of young men who have worked incredibly hard both on and off the field. In fact 12 of them will begin college this year and many will play for Division 1 schools. Some of the schools they will play for are: Dartmouth, Duke University, University of New Mexico, University of Nevada – Las Vegas, Xavier University, UC – Riverside and Grand Canyon University. This achievement is a true testament to all their hard work. I’m confident they will represent our state and region very well. When you are in the top four you have as good a chance of winning as anyone. I am looking forward to sharing in this exciting tournament with the team,” said Coach Petar Draksin.
Games played, Wednesday, July 23, through Friday, July 25, will determine who advances to the National Title games which will be played on Saturday, July 26, and Sunday, July 27. Good luck to the Cisco Toros ‘90 Boys – Arizona’s representatives at the US Youth Soccer National Championship Games.
For more details on the Cisco Soccer Club, visit the Web site at ciscosoccerclub.com. For further information on the team or for coach or player interviews, call Coach Petar Draksin at 602-354-6718 or Tina Campbell at 602-818-9851.
