Crossfire Premier

Crossfire Premier kicked off the US Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) season at the National Training Center in Carson, CA, with a 3-0-1 record. This past weekend’s Academy Fall Showcase matches, which were part of the inaugural USSDA Showcase Weekends, were the start of a nine-month campaign in which 122 teams will compete in over 1,800 matches in conference play.  With 2,440 players, 244 coaches and over 200 referees participating in individual conference games, travel partner weekends and showcase weekends, the Academy boasts the most comprehensive platform for youth competition in U.S. Soccer history.

Thirty-six teams from 18 elite clubs joined two U.S. Youth National Teams in the three-day event, which included teams at the U-15/16 and U-17/18 age groups.  A total of 38 matches were played during the weekend showcase, which drew college coaches and scouts from around the world, including ones from the Dutch First Division, the Mexican First Division and Arsenal of the English Premiership.  Additionally, national staff coaches used the Fall Showcase to identify players for places in upcoming national team camps.  In attendance were U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley, U.S. U-20 head coach Thomas Rongen, U-17 head coach John Hackworth and U.S. Soccer Director of Coaching Bob Jenkins.  

Going into the weekend US National team coach Bob Bradley was quoted as saying, "I am very much looking forward to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Fall Showcase. It should be a weekend of great competition. The Fall Showcase launches what we feel is a very important initiative to provide the best possible opportunity for young players to reach the elite levels of our sport. It will very beneficial to these players, and we believe for our national teams as well."

The Crossfire Premier boys did not disappoint the National Team Coach showing from the start that they are a club that plans to be a leader on the national stage.  The U16s and U18s both started the event with games against the Atlanta Fire, led by National Instructional Staff coach Jay Miller. A true Southeast powerhouse the club has a history of developing elite youth players.  The Fire have had four players selected to participate in the U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, with several more joining top NCAA Division I soccer programs.

Both Crossfire teams were up for the task.  The U16s opened the scoring with a tidy goal by Corey Snyder in the 23rd minute.  The goal was the first ever in an Academy Showcase event.  Bradley McIntosh followed with a laser shot from 35 years out the scorched its way into the lower right corner of the goal.  Ramiro Mendoza added to the Crossfire lead just before the half with a goal of his own giving Crossfire a 3-0 lead heading into the pause.  The Fire showed why the qualities that have made them such a formidable opponent with a well played in the second minute of the new half but Crossfire would have nothing to do with an Atlanta comeback and made that quite clear with another Cody Snyder goal set up by the wizardry of teammate Kelyn Rowe.

Goal scorer Snyder commented, “This is one of the best atmospheres where I have played soccer.  It is a great competition!” He was also quick to complement his partner in crime Kelyn Rowe and the wonderful assist he provided on the second goal.

Later in the day the U18s had the challenge of playing against the older Fire squad and their SYL National team ODP goalie, Robert Phelps.  The Atlanta boys were coming off a resounding 8-0 victory last week in the first ever USSDA game against Birmingham United and were full of confidence.  Crossfire midfielder, Murphy Campbell made it clear that this week would be different with a booming shot from 25 yards out that left Phelps helpless.  Jay Miller’s boys were unphased and in the 37th minute the dangerous Alassane Kane took advantage of a Crossfire mistake in the back and fired a shot with precision accuracy into the Crossfire goal tying the score at 1-1.  That remained unchanged into the half.  The second period started off with both teams sparring against each other in a midfield battle.  In the 57th minute Murphy Campbell stepped up again and gave the Washington boys a 2-0 lead.  Eight minutes later an alert Alexander Klein speed down the line and picked up a rebound of a thundering shot from Surafel Worku which he slammed into the goal giving Crossfire a 3-1 lead that would stand the rest of the game.

After the game the press quickly found star of the game Murphy Campbell to get his thoughts. Campbell reflecting on his first ever national competition shared, “coring 2 goals at the USSDA was huge! It is one of the greatest experiences of my life.” He added, “Being here and looking at the great surrounding is fantastic. It is a great atmosphere.  I like seeing all these great players and being able to compete against them.

The following day brought on the powerful Concorde Fire.  The Concorde Club coached by former Tacoma Star Greg Blasingame is rated one of the Southeast’s leading clubs.  Both its U16s and U18s are State Champions.  The U18s are the 2006 Region III Champs and National Finalist. They are also the Premier League Region Three East Champions and the defending Disney Cup Champions. All squad members are headed to D-1 colleges including Clemson (3), Harvard (3), Kentucky (2), Furman and the Naval Academy.  The U16s have not lost a game in state over the past three years.

On Sunday the Crossfire boys were up to the challenge.  In front of the entire U17 National team staff and Nike soccer senior management the Crossfire U16s spanked the boys from Georgia 8-1. Kelyn Rowe opened the scoring in the eighth minute followed by Cody Snyder’s first of three goals in the twentieth minute.  Ramiro Mendoza scored his second goal of the weekend two minutes later to add to the lead.  Rowe and Snyder each tallied one more in the first half to give Crossfire a resounding 5-0 lead at the half.  But the fireworks were far from over as Kelyn Rowe smashed a brilliant header into the net in the 67th minute.  Robert Lansche got his name on the sheet in the 76th minute and Corey Snyder completed his hat trick in the 77th minute.  It proved to be the most amazing goal display of the weekend and the quality of the opponent only added to its luster.

The U18s had to overcome dead legs and a highly determined Concorde Fire Club to gain a well deserved 1-1 tie in the final Crossfire match of the weekend.  Concorde’s captain and Clemson commit, Nick Burton started scored the Concorde goal in the 10th minute by dribbling through the Crossfire defense and slotting the ball just pass the goalkeeper.  It was one of the best individual efforts of the weekend.  Crossfire played the next 10 minutes on its heals but slowly rebounded in the remaining 25 minutes of the half to start making a game of it.  In the 62nd minute forward Ricky Morales hit a rocket from the left side into the upper right hand corner of the goal to tie the score.  Five minutes later he almost gave Crossfire the lead as he ricocheted a booming shot against the goal post.  Crossfire continued to press as they dominated the 2nd half but the winning goal was not to come.  They were applauded as they left the field for overcoming a great amount of adversity to achieve the draw.

Crossfire’s 16 goals over the weekend were the most of the 18 clubs in attendance.  Their goal differential of 12 was tied them for the lead.  Individually Corey Snyder lead the event with 5 goals, including a hat trick against Atlanta’s Concorde Fire and Kelyn Rowe tied for third with three.  Other Crossfire scorers were newcomer Murphy Campbell (2), Ramiro Mendoza (2), Alexander Klein, Robert Lansche, Bradley McIntosh and newcomer Ricky Morales.

The Crossfire boys did not give up more one goal in any single game.  The U18 defense lead by Anthony Arena and the U16 defense lead by Jack Ryan as well as the exceptional goal keeping of Dillon Saffle, Spencer Richey, St. Mary’s commit Doug Herrick and Zach Johnson kept Crossfire in every game until the offense got in gear.

The Crossfire players were to a man enthusiastic about the experience.  University of Michigan commit Alexander Klein commented, “It was great to be able to play in front of the entire US National Staff.  At ODP you go through months of evaluation with the hope that one of their staff might be able to get the ear of someone so you can be seen.  Here in our first two games we got to play in front of the real decision makers. It was really cool to see Bob Bradley at our game watching us play.”

The weekend offering was not limited to just games on the field.  US Soccer rolled out the red carpet to let the participants know just how important the USSDA program is in the peaking order of youth soccer.  In addition to the slate of high-quality games, U.S. Soccer has also added some unique events and features to the showcase weekend to benefit the participants. On Saturday, the festivities kicked off with Minnesota-based Indie rock trio “Seymore Saves the World” who performed at 3 p.m. in the athlete’s lounge, and continued with a dinner for all participants at 5 p.m. on The Home Depot Center concourse overlooking the stadium field. Following dinner, Bradley and U.S. U-17 head coach John Hackworth addressed all of the participants prior to the 7:15 p.m. featured match between the U.S. Men's Youth National Team 90s/91s and Chivas.

U.S. Soccer provided a players’ lounge that included TVs, video games, snacks, drinks and computers to access the internet. Gatorade was on site providing teams with information and product on remaining hydrated, and each team was supplied with game balls from Nike. All participants were able to connect to an exclusive wi-fi network via Songwhale to download special video content from U.S. Soccer, enter digital raffles for autographed U.S. Soccer jerseys and more. U.S. Soccer also provided each team with a DVD of its matches.

Back from the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Studio 90 was headline ussoccer.com’s coverage of the weekend’s event as host Neil Buethe was on site to cover all the news and highlights from the showcase. Crossfire player’s Corey Snyder and Murphy Campbell were both on interviews that are now featured on US Soccer’s website.

Referee training was another key component to the Showcase Weekend, where top members of the U.S. Soccer Referee Department oversaw the matches. Esse Baharmast (Director of International and Professional Referee Development), Alfred Kleinaitis (Manager of Referee Training and Development) and Paul Tamberino (Manager of Professional Assignment and Assessment) were in Los Angeles to perform referee evaluation and instruction.

The USSDA was the result of a move designed to improve the development environment for players throughout the country. The U.S. Soccer Development Academy will feature 64 elite youth soccer clubs from around the country in its inaugural season. Created to provide players with the best possible opportunity to develop, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy  was initiated after a comprehensive review of player development systems in the United States and around the world.
Each Development Academy club serves not only as a home for the nation’s top players, but also as a destination point within their community for shared learning and experience. One of the major advantages of the program is players receiving integrated oversight from both youth club coaches and U.S. Soccer coaches, while training in their home environment. In turn, the Development Academy provides an improved scouting environment for college, professional and U.S. National Team coaches.

The Columbus Day Weekend Showcase was just the start of what promises to be an exciting season for the USSDA.  Crossfire will be playing in the Northwest Division along with DeAnza (NoCal), Colorado Rush, Colorado Rapids, Real Colorado, FC Portland and Washington Premier.  They will play each of these teams in a home and away series.  They will also play single games against all the members of the West Division which is made up of the LA Chivas, Arsenal (SoCal), Pateadores (SoCal), Irvine Strikers, Real SoCal, La Jolla Nomads and the San Diego Surf.  Finally there are three more showcase events scheduled.  Crossfire will play their home games at the beautiful Starfire Sports Complex in the competition stadium.