The Santa Barbara Soccer Club has been shining at the highest level this spring, including this past weekend in the MLS NEXT Flex Tournament in Boyds, Maryland.
The U15, U16, U17 and U19 teams returned East to face 64 teams looking to qualify for the 2024 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs.
The Santa Barbara Soccer Club U19 team did just that, winning 3-0 over the weekend to win their group and earn a ticket to the MLS NEXT Cup, which will be held June 15-23 in Nashville, Tennessee. I made it.
Although the U19 team ended the first half trailing 1-0, they opened the weekend with a 5-1 victory over Texas' Capital City SC.
After tying 2-2 in regulation with the San Francisco Glens, they won a dramatic penalty shootout. They ended the weekend with a win over Queen City Mutiny in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“The Santa Barbara SC U19 team had a great performance in Maryland,” said SBSC Head Coach Christy Gatesbows. “We are extremely proud of these young men for the way they represented our club and represented not only the Santa Barbara community, but the Central Coast community on and off the field.”
Santa Barbara Soccer Club's other three teams did not advance, but the feat of sending four teams to the MLS NEXT Flex tournament is impressive.
Santa Barbara Soccer Club was one of 14 clubs out of more than 100 to qualify, sending all four eligible age groups to the tournament.
“Of the 16 teams that advanced through their group and qualified for the MLS Next Playoffs in Nashville, SBSC was the only representative from the Southwest region,” Gatesbows said. “This is the highest level of youth football in the country and the impact they have on their clubs and communities is huge.”
The SBSC U19 team will now compete in the MLS NEXT Cup, which will be held at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex, in a field that includes the top 32 teams from across the country.
Members of this team include Josue Salinas, Carver Jensen, Gavin Sparks, Jose Rubio, Deyan Aguilar, Keoni Young, Luke Parker, Keene Elliott, Benjamin Ettman, Jacob Medina, and Zachary Seay. They include Ben List, Declan Rice, Eduardo Garces, Giovanni Chavez and Luis Cortez. , Nico Sivard, Gustavo Loera-Cardenas, Manu Dua, Omar Sanchez, Tristan Amezcua.