El Segundo’s Boys Under-10 All-Star soccer team will be one of nine teams representing the South Bay this weekend when the AYSO Western States Championships takes place at Lake Forest.
With a 4-0 win over Manhattan Beach, El Segundo capped off an undefeated run to win the Area 1D championship before competing in the Regional Championships in Riverside.
Although El Segundo fell to Watts 3-1 in the finals, the team was awarded a wild-card berth and will take on San Luis Obispo at noon on Sunday. The winner will play the Watts-Pico Rivera victor for the California and Western Regional Championship later in the day at 4:30 p.m.
“This group of young players has the rare combination of skill and grit,” Head Coach Barry Thompson said. “They play an attractive, short-passing style of soccer, but also bear down, win the tackles, and never give up. If we keep our heads, continue to play hard and get just a little bit of luck, we’ll bring home the California State Championship.”
El Segundo’s GU12 team also advanced to the Western States Championships after defeating Arcadia 5-3 in the Regionals. The team will face Davis with the winner taking on the Lakewood-Five Cities winner for the title.
The Manhattan Beach/Hermosa Beach GU14 team beat La Verne/San Dimas 2-1 in its Regional championship game and will play North Valley in the first round of the Western States Championships. The winner will play the Cerritos-Lompoc winner for the crown.
South Redondo is sending two teams to the EXTRA competition at Lake Forest. On Saturday, the GU14 Extra squad takes on South Irvine with the winner advancing to face the Pico Rivera-Camarillo victor.
On Sunday, the BU10 Extra team will play Lake Forest with the winner facing the Los Alamitos-Valencia winner.
Palos Verdes has two girls teams vying for Western States Championships on Saturday. Its GU12 Extra team faces West Garden Grove with the winner taking on the Santa Monica-North Valley winner for the crown. The GU13 Extra team plays Camarillo with the winner facing the Long Beach-Simi Valley winner later in the day.
In Girls Under-11 Extra competition, West Torrance plays North Huntington Beach with the victor facing the Cypress-Ventura winner and the North Torrance BU13 Extra squad takes on Montebello with the winner advancing to play the Costa Mesa-Camarillo winner for the championship.
