U-16 FIRE ACADEMY IN NATIONAL FINALS

Fire one victory away from national championship

Meets Cal Odyssey in Development Academy finals

By Curt Herron

A year ago, Cal Odyssey surprised many observers by advancing to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy's U-15/16 national championship match.

Although they lost the title to the Derby County Wolves, their presence in the finals was huge for a team that was seeded 31st as the playoffs began.

With several key performers back from that squad, it's no big surprise that the Fresno, California-based team is playing for another title this year.

But the fact that Cal Odyssey assured itself of that feat after playing just two matches of Group 2 play may have caught some off guard at Finals Week.

That's because the top-two seeded teams in this year's playoffs were also competing in that group, #1 Baltimore Bays Chelsea and #2 CASL Chelsea FC.

However, Cal Odyssey won its first two matches to wrap up its finals appearance, making Wednesday's 2-0 defeat to the Baltimore Bays a moot point.

On Monday, Cal Odyssey rallied for a 2-1 win over the Internationals, thanks to goals from Gregory Antognoli and Daniel Flores, to wrap things up.

That victory came two days after the squad opened with a 4-2 win over CASL Chelsea FC in which Villyan Bijev led the way by scoring a pair of goals.

Those efforts earned Cal Odyssey a spot in Friday's 7 p.m. championship at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California against the Chicago Fire.

Eighth-seeded Cal Odyssey advanced to Finals Week after winning its pool with a 1-0-2 record at the opening-round of the playoffs in North Carolina.

The Californians finished 17-7-3 during the regular season and qualified for the playoffs after capturing top honors in the Northwest Division.

Bijev leads Cal Odyssey with 20 goals, followed by Antognoli (17 goals), Flores (9 goals), Tren Biswell (7 goals) and Jon-Paul Medina (7 goals).

Other regular competitors on the squad include Joshua Alvarez, Matt Dishno, Cesar Gutirrez, Erik Posada, Vincente Rodarte and Nicholas Watson.

Shortly after Cal Odyssey secured its spot in the championship, the Chicago Fire joined them by winning their first two matches in Group 1 play.

The Fire beat DC United 2-0 behind goals from Luis and Jesus Medina on Monday and advanced after Sockers FC played a 1-1 draw with De Anza Force.

Two days earlier, the Fire kicked off Finals Week competition with a 2-1 win over Sockers FC behind scores from Victor Pineda and Keaton Albert.

Click to hear Victor Pineda interview

Prior to Wednesday's 2-0 loss to De Anza Force, Chicago was 9-0-5 since suffering its last previous defeat on May 15 to the Kansas City Wizards.

The Fire have relied on their defense, recording eight shutouts and allowing just two goals in their last 10 matches before Wednesday's action.

Leading Chicago's stingy defensive group are Peter Beasley, David Caban, Anthony Torres and Albert playing in front of goalkeeper Sam Euler.

Click to hear Sam Euler interview

Others who have earned starts for the Fire during the first three matches in California are Zak Allen, Luis Barajas, Elliot Borge and Drew Conner.

Also starting during Finals Week have been Johnny Contreras, Lalo Cuautle, Henrik Egly, Matt Payne, Manny Rios, Patryk Ruta and Giovanni Sanchez.

Two other players who are also on the tournament roster for the Fire at the finals are Henok Russell and Joel Salmeron.

Click to hear Lalo Cuautle interview

Chicago had to win its final regular season match to claim the Frontier Division title and took a 12-5-9 mark into the first round of the playoffs.

Following a draw in their first match in North Carolina, the Fire beat Arsenal FC and FC Westchester to win their pool and advance to California.

After having to scramble down the stretch just to make the playoffs, the 21st-seeded Fire also didn't need to worry about their Wednesday match.

Click to hear Manny Rios interview

While Chicago used most of its players and rested a few starters, De Anza Force won to take second in group play and will compete for third place.

Sockers FC claimed a 1-0 victory over DC United in Wednesday's other Group 1 match to earn themselves a spot in the fifth-place match on Friday.

2010 U-16 FIRE ACADEMY

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