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Santa Barbara Soccer Club has been shining at the highest of levels this spring, including last weekend at the MLS NEXT Flex Tournament last weekend in Boyds, Maryland.
The U15, U16, U17 and U19 squads made the trip back east to compete against a field of 64 teams looking to secure a spot in the 2024 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs.
The Santa Barbara Soccer Club U19 team did just that, going 3-0 on the weekend to win their group and punch their ticket to the MLS NEXT Cup in Nashville, Tennessee from June 15-23.
The U19s opened their weekend with a 5-1 win over Capital City SC from Texas after finishing the first half trailing 1-0.
They followed that up with a dramatic penalty-shootout win after a 2-2 draw in regulation with the San Francisco Glens. They wrapped up the weekend with a victory over Queen City Mutiny from Charlotte, North Carolina.
“The Santa Barbara SC U19 Team had a fantastic run in Maryland,” SBSC head coach Christy Gates-Bowes said. “We are tremendously proud of these young men in the way they represented the club and not only the Santa Barbara community, but the central coast community both on and off the field.”
The other three Santa Barbara Soccer Club teams were unable to advance, but the feat of sending four teams to the MLS NEXT Flex Tournament is an impressive one.
Santa Barbara Soccer Club was one of 14 clubs of the over 100 clubs in the field to qualify and send all four eligible age groups to the tournament.
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“Out of the 16 teams that topped their groups and qualified for the MLS Next playoffs in Nashville, SBSC was the only representative from the Southwest region,” Gates-Bowes said. “This is the highest level of youth soccer in the country and the exposure they will bring to the club and the community is massive.”
The SBSC U19 team will now compete in a field of the top 32 teams from across the nation at the MLS NEXT Cup at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex.
The Santa Barbara Soccer Club is looking for help and donations to send the team to Nashville in June. All donation information or questions can be sent to peter@santabarbarasc.org.
The roster of this team includes Josue Salinas, Carver Jensen, Gavin Sparks, Jose Rubio, Dejan Aguilar, Keoni Young, Luke Parker, Keean Elliott, Benjamin Oetman, Jacob Medina, Zachary Siebenlist, Declan Rice, Eduardo Garces, Giovanni Chavez, Luis Cortes, Nico Scibird, Gustavo Loera-Cardenas, Manu Duah, Omar Sanchez and Tristan Amezcua.
Noozhawk sports editor Diego Sandoval can be reached at dsandoval@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter and Instagram @NoozhawkSports
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