The Crossfire Premier US Soccer Development Academy teams kick off their home season this coming Saturday night, November 10, in the state-of-the-art stadium at Starfire Soccer Complex (www.starfiresports.com). This is the same stadium where the Seattle Sounders won their recent 2007 USL First Division Championship. Crossfire Premier’s U16 and U18 boys’ teams will face off against Northern California’s powerful De Anza Force Soccer Club. De Anza is generally regarded as the premier youth club in the soccer rich Bay area. Though they have played matches throughout the United States this will be De Anza’s first matches ever in the Northwest.
Besides showcasing two of the nation’s strongest clubs the Starfire games, though early in the season, will have major implications on the standings of the West Coast Conference. In the highly competitive U18 division the two teams go into the game tied for first place both with records of 2 wins and 2 ties. Kickoff is at 8:00 PM. These squads were generally regarded as the division’s favorites going into the season. They are coming off a battle a few weeks ago in San Jose where they fought to a tie that was extremely frustrating for the two sides and left the both Crossfire and De Anza anxiously awaiting the rematch in Seattle.
In the U16 age bracket, which kicks off at 6:00 PM, first place Crossfire, with a record of 4 wins and no defeats goes against second place De Anza who sports a 2-0-1 record, the only blemish being a loss to Crossfire where they were forced to play most of the match down a man due to an early red card. The winners of these games will be in the early driver’s seats for each of the division’s championships. Since this is the second of the two match series between these clubs the loser will not have the opportunity to directly make things up against the victor, which adds to the importance of the games.
The De Anza U18 team is lead by Super Y-League National Team forward McKenzie Pridham. Pridham lit up the initial USSDA Showcase at the Home Depot Center with 4 goals. McKenzie, who is headed to Cal Poly SLI coached by Bothell native Paul Holocher, is one of five NCAA D-1 commitments on the talent laden Force squad. Crossfire counters with a team made up of a number of NCAA D-1 prospects including commitments to University of Washington, Gonzaga University (2), University of Michigan, St. Mary’s University and Santa Clara. Two of the Crossfire players, Anthony Arena and Alexander Klein were teammates of Pridham on the SYL National team. Goalie, Brooks Hopp, is a long time member of the Region IV ODP team. As U15s this six time state champion Crossfire team was the winner of the highly prestigious NIKE Manchester United Cup and were a quarter-finalist in the NIKE Manchester United World Championships.
The De Anza team is a former Super Y-League National Champion and Disney Showcase Champion. The U16 is the reigning NoCal Premier League Champions. The four time state champion Crossfire U16 team is a power laden squad that features USSDA goal scoring leader Cody Snyder. He is accompanied by Region IV ODP stars Spencer Richey, Andrew Cunningham and Kelyn Rowe. Also on the team are SYL National team players Bradley McIntosh, Jose Garibey and Jack Ryan who spent the summer competing in Germany against top European players.
The head coach of the De Anza Academy teams is Chris Dangerfield. Dangerfield came to the club from Birmingham, England where his career included youth play with the Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry City, Aston Villa, and the England U18 National Team. Chris is no stranger to the Northwest. He played professionally for the NASL (North American Soccer League) ’75 Portland Timbers as well as the ’76-’85 LA Aztecs, and the San Jose Earthquakes. His professional honors include the NASL leading minutes played, NASL leading games played, and the NASL top 30 goal scorers. In addition Chris played for the MISL (Major Indoor Soccer League) ’86 Minnesota Kicks, ’87 San Jose Fog (Golden Bay Earthquakes), and the WSL (Western Soccer League) ’88 San Jose Earthquakes. Chris’s youth soccer coaching experience includes four years with the four time state champion (’92 - ’96) and two time National Champion (’92 and ’93), San Jose Oaks.
The De Anza squad comes to Seattle this weekend eager to avenge the disappointing results in Northern California. After coasting through the initial Home Depot Fall Showcase weekend as one of the only unbeaten, un-tied clubs in the nation Crossfire caught them with their guard down two weeks later at their home fields. The U18s managed to fight back for a tie in their match, while the U16s were forced to play a man down most of the match which ended in a De Anza defeat. Coach Dangerfield and his players realize the importance of these two matches and will be sure not to be caught off guard again.
Crossfire is lead by Seattle soccer legend Bernie James. James has been the most successful Coaching Director in the history of Crossfire. Under his leadership Crossfire won an unprecedented seven state championships in 2007. He has led his teams to 13 State Championships, five SYL Championships, two Regional Championships, one Surf Cup Championship and one US Nike Manchester United Cup Champions. Bernie holds a USSF “A” license. Professionally he has coached the Seattle Sounders, played actively for 24 years including 5 championship seasons, been a member of the US Olympic team and been a member of the US National Team. As a youth player he was a member of LWYSA, which is the parent organization for Crossfire.
James is looking forward to the matches. “It is great to have such a renowned club coming to visit us here in Seattle. In the past we have always had to travel out of state to face this type of competition. De Anza brings a Northern California style of play that will create some real challenges for us. This is why the Academy League is so great. Every game our players have the chance to test themselves against the best in the nation and our fans get to see some new clubs all who have different characteristics. We are encouraging all our Crossfire players to attend the match because not only do they represent our academy players of the future, including the girls where we expect to start up in the not too distant future, but this gives them a chance to see some great soccer in their own backyard.”
The matches will be held this Saturday at the beautiful Starfire Soccer Stadium in Tukwila, WA. The U16s will kick off at 6:00 PM. The U18s will play in the featured match starting at 8:00 PM. There promises to be a great deal of fanfare around the game. There will be a number of prizes given out during the evening to the fans in attendance. The Seattle Sounders will be sending some staff members out to help with game day operations and it is hoped that representatives of the Sounders will be on hand to sign autographs. Music is also planned in the stands from local bands, drum corps and fan groups. Thundersticks will be given to the first 50 fans under the age of 18 in attendance. Soccer balls will be kicked into the stands before the game. There will be fan prizes such as replica jerseys and Nike game balls for the loudest fan group (noise makers are encouraged) and best face paint donated by Northwest Indoor Sports.
This is the first of a series of three games hosted by Crossfire for the US Academy League this fall. On November 17 the youth academy team of the world famous Chivas will be coming up from Los Angeles. That will be followed by the local Washington derby against Puget Sound rival Washington Premier from Tacoma on Saturday, December 1. All promise to be intense well-played matches.
The US Soccer Developmental Academy League was put together in a move designed to improve the development environment for players throughout the country. The U.S. Soccer Federation has taken the initiative in formalizing a nationwide development academy that began Columbus Day Weekend, October 6-8, 2007 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif . The U.S. Soccer Development Academy features 64 elite youth soccer clubs from around the country in its inaugural season. Created to provide players with the best possible opportunity to develop, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy is being initiated after a comprehensive review of player development systems in the United States and around the world.
The Crossfire Premier Soccer Club is based in Redmond, Washington. Crossfire Premier is the Advanced Development Program (“ADP”) affiliated with the Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association(LWYSA), a Non-Profit Organization formed in 1968 and devoted to promoting the game of soccer and serving over 7,500 boys and girls in East King County of Washington State USA. In the 2006 season, the Crossfire Premier Soccer program consists of 47 teams (roughly 700 players), ages U-11 through U-19. We are affiliated with the US Youth Soccer Association (USYSA), which in turn is affiliated with FIFA. (LWYSA), a Non-Profit Organization formed in 1968 and devoted to promoting the game of soccer and serving over 7,500 boys and girls in East King County of Washington State USA. In the 2007 season, the Crossfire Premier Soccer program consists of 57 teams (roughly 700 players), ages U-11 through U-19. We are affiliated with the US Youth Soccer Association (USYSA), which in turn is affiliated with FIFA.
The Crossfire Premier Soccer Club provides professional training and player development to qualified players to assist them in advancing to play at the highest levels of play available in the state. Many of the local high school and college teams are chiefly comprised of players who have demonstrated their ability to improve their skills and tactics through Crossfire Premier. Crossfire Premier coaching has produced players that have risen above the Crossfire Premier levels and onto the National Residency Programs in Florida, the U17 and U20 US National teams, and onto careers in the European leagues.
