August 6, 1997
Cal Players Finish Second at Snickers Youth National Championships
|
|
John Macdonald
|
BERKELEY, Calif. - Seven Cal soccer players competed last weekend in the Snickers Youth National Championships which took place Aug. 1-3 in Phoenix, Ariz. Five players competed on the Valley United Blast team of Northern California that took home second-place honors.
Returnees Chris Sawicki and John Macdonald, along with newcomers Derrick Dyslin, Kendall Simmonds, and Gene Lee, were members of the under-19 Northern California team which reached the finals before losing on penalty kicks to the Clearwater Chargers (Florida). Valley United was leading, 2-1, with two minutes left when the Chargers tied the game. The game went into overtime, and Clearwater prevailed in penalty kicks, 5-4.
Cal sophomore Tim Castillo also competed in the tournament playing for Vardar of Michigan. Vardar defeated New Jersey to take third place. Castillo, Cal's defensive MVP in 1996, was a starting defender for Vardar. Incoming freshman Ramiro Arrendondo represented under-18 Clovis Heat and had the only assist in a 2-1 semifinal loss.
Cal will be in Livermore beginning on Aug. 14 to open its official preseason camp. The Bears have high expectations for this season as 16 lettermen will be returning along with one of the strongest recruiting classes of the country.
