It’s that time of the year again as NorCal Premier Soccer’s Player Development Program State teams were in action again, with three 02/03 boys teams participating in three games Wednesday November 7th at Fallon Sports Park in Dublin.

With 60 players called in, and U16 and interim U17 U.S. Men’s National Team coach Shaun Tsakiris in attendance along with several college scouts, it was another excellent night to showcase some of the best talent in the area.

Eventually, those 60 players, with possibly others participating at a later date, will be whittled down to an 18-player roster to participate in the 2019 Gothia Cup in Sweden next summer, where last year NorCal’s PDP squad won a title in the B division, playing mostly against professional youth squads.

Rosters

02/03 Boys Central

Anthony Avila (Clovis Crossfire), Carlos Cardenas (TFA), Alexandro Chavez (California Odyssey), Noah Delsid (California Odyssey), Andrew Dutra (California Odyssey), Daniel Galdamez (Turlock Academica), Diego Hernandez (Turlock Academica), Alejandro Pena (Merced United), Jesus Ponce (TFA), Erick Rincon (South Valley Chivas), Richard Rodriguez (South Valley United), Juan Santilan Lopez (Merced SA), Jean Paul Santos (CenCal Cosmos), Tony Serrano (California Odyssey), Christian Silva (California Odyssey), Joey Velasquez (Manteca FC), Kaylob Walker (California Odyssey), Copper Wenzel (California Odyssey), Sean Williamson (California Odyssey)

02/03 Boys North

Christian Ceja (Napa Soccer Academy), Christian Comparan (Union Sacramento), John Pablo Cortez (North Coast FC), Luis Cruz  (Sacramento United), Alexis Gonzalez (Real Sacramento), Sucre Herrera (Napa Soccer Academy), Jase Holmes (Placer United), Armando Jimenez (Sacramento United), Christopher Koury (Davis Legacy), Carlos Leon (Santa Rosa United), James Manns (Union Sacramento), Edgar Perez (Union Sacramento), Gerardo Perez (Napa Soccer Academy), Oswaldo Rojas (Santa Rosa United), Angel Tapia (Napa Soccer Academy), Samir Tarazi (Placer United), Marco Valdez (Sacramento United), Sergio Villagomes (Santa Rosa United), Mateo Villanueva (Napa Soccer Academy), Sammy Villanueva (Napa Soccer Academy), Kevin Welch (Santa Rosa United)

02/03 Boys South

Roberto Abarca (SF Elite), Alex Bonville (SF Elite), Gabriel Bracken-Serra (Lamorinda), Benjamin Brathwaite (San Ramon FC), Ellis Brenneman (SF Elite), Fernando Escobedo Guzman (Diablo FC), Erick Gonzalez (Mission), Adrian Guzman (Lamorinda), Jonas Harron (Force), Ryan Herrington (Tri Valley SC), Kalani Kossa-Rienzi (Mavericks), Justin Lauer (Star Academy), Nicky McCune (San Ramon FC), Octavio Munoz (Lamorinda), Danny Nicacio (Heritage), Kyle Nilsson (Force), Israel Ortiz (Impact), Pimi Rodriguez (Force), Ivan Torres (Star Academy), William Wiersdorf (Mustang)

MATCH RECAPS

On the night, the Central Region came out on top, winning both of its matches, while the North also pulled out a victory.

Game 1: North 2 – South 0

This match was a tale of two halves as the North controlled much of the play in the first period, with Gerado Perez scoring in a scrum after a corner kick. But the South wouldn’t give up and created several good chances in the second half before Edgar Perez scored against the run of play with a clean finish from about 14-yards out to give the North a 2-0 victory.

Game 2: Central 3 – North 1

In the first match for the Central squad on the night, Christian Silva was perhaps fortunate to find himself in on goal after a strange deflection, but made no mistake to put his side 1-0 up against the North before Andrew Dutra made a great run up from his right back spot to make it 2-0 at the half. James Mann then scored a minute into the second half to give the North a lifeline before Joey Velasquez iced the game late after finding space in between two defenders.

Game 3: Central 3 – South 1

After the South looked to garner their first win of the night against a Central side that had just played, Central responded in the second half to ensure that they would return home as the top dog on the night. Ryan Herrington scored first as South held a 1-0 lead early before Jean Paul Santos leveled the game midway through the first half. Then Central turned it on, with Christian Silva scoring two more goals — bringing his nightly total to three — to give Central a 3-1 victory over South.