They knocked on the proverbial door last year; this year they managed to finally kick it in.
The Rebels Soccer Club Girls 2001 Elite team will compete in this year’s prestigious US Youth Soccer National Championships July 23-29 in Frisco, Texas, after winning its age division at the US Soccer Far West Regional championship tournament June 18-24 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The shining achievement — equivalent to playing in the World Series of youth soccer — is definitely not lost on head coach Ryan Marquez, who also serves at the club’s director of coaches.
“It’s huge,” Marquez explained. “For us as a club, this is so rewarding because we wanted to grow our club to compete at higher levels.
“We started with only 12 teams (in the Rebels Soccer Club) and now we are at 82.
“These kids have really excelled. I’ve been with this group for five years. It’s been an incredible journey.”
The Rebels were among 14 teams that claimed titles at the Far West Regional tournament. This was the second consecutive year the talented birth-year team had qualified for the regional showcase event.
The Rebels finished undefeated in pool play last year but lost in their first playoff game.
The team took a different course this year – one that proved much more rewarding.
Marquez said last year’s experience at regionals was key to success this year.
“The team understood how to deal with a long tournament — it’s seven days, you have one (group) game every day, then take a rest, then have quarterfinals, semifinals and the final. Experience was a big part after having done it before. It’s a big week being away from home. You have to be steady and consistent.”
Marquez said the team played to its strength, which emphasizes ball possession skills.
“We keep the ball a lot,” the Rebels coach said. “The girls are very tactical. We like to own the ball and these girls did a good job of that.”
Getting their kicks
This year’s regional tournament, held at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex, featured more than 210 teams in the U13 through U19 age groups from 14 state associations.
The Rebels were among 16 teams competing in the U17 girls bracket in Hawaii. They finished 2-1-0 in pool play to qualify for the eight-team playoffs.
The Rebels kicked off preliminary play with 1-0 victories against Oregon’s Capital FC Timbers 01-Goodwin and Utah’s La Roca 01 ML. The Rebels lost, 5-1, to the Arizona Arsenal Team in its final pool game to finish behind the Arizona team in the standings.
Angelina Espinal scored in the 22nd minute to stake the Rebels past the Timbers while Olivia Sekimoto scored in the 43rd minute to push the Rebels past La Roca.
Sekimoto scored her team’s lone goal in the loss to Arizona Arsenal. Mollie Griswold led the Arizonans with a spectacular four-goal performance.
The Rebels regrouped for the playoffs and did not drop a match afterward en route to winning the division title.
The Rebels defeated Hawaii’s Rush 01 by a score of 3-2 in the quarterfinals and Cal-North’s USA Stars 01 by a 2-0 score in the semifinals (again backed by a shutout from Hawkins).
The Rebels received goals from Gianna Creighton, Emma Gaines-Ramos and Taylor Summit in the quarterfinal win over Rush. The Rebels never trailed, leading by scores 2-0 and 3-1.
The Rebels received second-half goals from Espinal (57th minute) and Creighton (61st minute) in the semifinal playoff win.
It was time for the Rebels to enact a measure of revenge over the powerful Arizonans in the championship rematch. Marquez made some defensive modifications that resulted in a timely 3-2 win for his team as the Rebels’ ball possession tactics managed to stretch the Arizona defense.
The Rebels limited Griswold to one goal in the championship game while taking a 2-0 lead on goals by Gaines-Ramos (16th minute) and Sekimoto (35th minute).
The Arsenal scored in the 40th minute to halve the Rebel lead but the Chula Vista team responded with an important goal by Espinal in the 58th minute to go ahead 3-1 on the scoreboard.
Griswold scored her 11th goal in the tournament in the 63rd minute to make the score 3-2 but the Rebels held on to record the championship game win.
Espinal and Sekimoto led the Rebels in tournament scoring with three goals apiece while Goalkeeper Brooklyn Hawkins recorded all three shutout victories.
Besides the aforementioned players, the Rebels roster also includes Aolani Chin, Natalie Cuevas, Brooke Flores, Andrea Garcia, Ashley Herndon, Alejandra Jaramillo, Yawara MacNeill, Jordan Norman, Madison Rust, Alani Sarabia, Chloe Sevilla, Kiera Smeenge and Hannah Uribe.
The upcoming US Youth Soccer National Championships will consist of US Youth Soccer Regional Champions in the 13U through 19U Boys and Girls age groups, as well as the US Youth Soccer National League qualifiers in the 14U through 18U Boys and Girls age groups to complete the field of 96 teams.
If the Rebels can continue to play their possession game, they should represent themselves well.
“We have to be real smart,” Marquez assessed. “We want to keep our values intact. If we do what we’re capable of, we should be a hard team to beat, and that’s what we want.”
For more information, visit the website at www.ussoccer.com.
