Lake Buena Vista, Fla. – The magical ride of the boys under-17 Real Colorado National soccer team fell just short of unexpected delirium Sunday, as it lost 3-0 to the Dallas Texans 88 Red in the finals of the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship.
On a dew-covered pitch in the early morning, Real could not convert on its chances, while Dallas was able to finish when the opportunity arose.
“We definitely had enough chances to be dangerous in this game. We just couldn’t capitalize on them today,” Real coach Shawn Comegys said.
Both sides came out strong with the Texans sailing a shot past an open goal in first quarter hour. Real countered after a stretch of possession in which an attempt at goal by Pasquale Murillo was cleared off the goal line by a Dallas defenseman.
Later in the half, Real goalkeeper Miguel Rosales made a brilliant save on a free kick by the Texans. But less than a minute later, Dallas’ David Murphy found the ball at his foot after a rebound and placed it in the back corner of the net for a 1-0 lead at the break.
Real came out strong in the second half and had a chance to tie when the ball slipped out of the hands of the Dallas goalkeeper, but Real’s Samual DePetro tapped the ball just wide of the net.
“In a lot of big games we don’t score a lot, but we play well defensively and it keeps us in the game, but today we had some defensive mistakes that really hurt us,” Comegys said. “To climb out of the hole was difficult.”
After losing the Colorado State Cup final, Real was picked to represent the state in the regional competition. The team took advantage of it and made it all the way to the national finals before falling to Dallas in the round robin and final.
“We lost to a very good team twice,” Comegys said. “We don’t have the regional and national players that these other teams have, so our guys really stepped up to get us here.
“When we started this season, no one ever thought we would finish second in the nation. We would have loved to have won the title, but doing what we’ve done this season has been very special.”
In other action, Real Colorado National’s under-18 team failed to make the finals, falling 2-0 in its final match to PDA Conquistadors (N.J.). The team finished the tournament 1-2.
Needing a win in its final match against the Dallas Texans Red 86 to advance to the finals, Colorado Rush Nike under-19 women’s team could only draw the Texans 0-0. The Rush finished in third place after allowing only one goal all week, but only scoring one goal.
The Stars of Massachusetts, 1-0 winners over the Rush on Wednesday, took home the under-19 women’s championship.
