Seventeen teams extended their stay in Loudoun County, advancing to the knockout rounds of the US Youth Soccer Eastern Regional Championships on Sunday.
Keystone FC Premier 2007 boys were among the teams advancing as a wild card after they battled back from a loss on the first day to win back-to-back games and move on.
“We didn’t start well on Friday but we bounced back like it was day one on Saturday, won 2-1 and we were able to maximize our goal differential today,” head coach Brent Brockman said after their 4-0 win over Vermont club Far Post. “They’ve been resilient and have been pushing on.”
A team that showed in state cups the ability to bounce back from adversity - though they lost on penalties they played a barn-burner of a quarterfinal against finalists PA Dominion - they had to wait after their win on other results to see if they would advance. Ultimately the 4-0 win was enough to put them through.
“We knew what we had to do and we did it,” said goalkeeper Michael Hoy.
The 2007 boys team was one of four Keystone teams to advance. A fifth team lost 2-0 in one of two key Eastern Pennsylvania derbies on the day to YMS Premier United in a rematch of the state cup final. YMS grabbed an early goal and added another to close out the win.
Keystone’s 2008 girls team overcame an early deficit in a match against FC Europa and played to a 2-2 tie which was enough for them to win the group and advance through. FC Europa, which tied Keystone on points with 7, also advanced.
All but one of the 25 Eastern PA teams completed group play on Sunday. Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals 2005 boys improved to 2-0-0 with one group game left to play today.
Sixteen teams will play in quarterfinals today. Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals 2011 boys have a day off before Tuesday’s semifinal.
Teams Remaining in USYS Eastern Regional Championships
| PA Dominion 2006 Boys |
| FC Europa 2008 Girls Elite |
| FC Europa 2009 Boys Elite |
| FC Revolution Reds 06 |
| Keystone FC Premier 06G |
| Keystone FC Premier 07B |
| Keystone FC Premier 08G |
| Keystone FC Premier 10G |
| FCE-LMSC 2008 Thunder |
| Penn Alliance Select Elite '09 |
| Penn FC Youth 2007 F Black |
| Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals Elite 64 05B (Still in Group Play) |
| Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals 11B Black (Semifinal Tuesday) |
| Reading Rage SC Reading Rage '09 Pugh |
| Reading Rage SC Reading Rage 07 Press |
| YMS 2007 Boys Premier Blackout |
| YMS 2008 Boys Premier Celtic |
| YMS 2010 Boys Premier United |