U20 Red Bulls win Super-20 Finals Championship
John Tardy named Most Valuable Player
On paper, the Sunday, August 2 final looked to be an exciting matchup of two good MLS teams, but the Red Bulls scored early and often and convincingly won the USL Super-20 National Championship with a 7-0 win over U20 Chivas USA. Ryan Kinne (Naugatuck, CT) scored his first of two goals just three minutes into the contest off a cross from Steven Amaya (Elmhurst, NY). Kinne scored his second from the penalty spot after Steven Rose (South Orange, NJ) was taken down in the box after 19 minutes. John Tardy (Staten Island, NY) added the third goal before half-time and the rout was on. The Red Bulls kept on the pressure in the second half and goals from Tevin Jackson (Jersey City, NJ), Sam Petrone (Glen Rock, NJ), Cesar Blacido (Ramsey, NJ), and Matt Uy (New Hyde Park, NY) rounded out the scoring in what turned out to be a lop-sided final. Sheldon Parkinson (Bronx, NY) made a couple big saves early in the first half to help keep the clean sheet.
"It is very rare that you get the chance to play for a National Championship," said U20 head coach Rob Elliott. "Our guys took advantage of the moment and played some very good soccer. Matt Uy, Steven Rose and Steven Amaya controlled the tempo of the game and did very well connecting with each other to play through good Chivas USA team. I am proud of our guys and they deserve all the credit for taking hold of the final and putting the game on our terms."
Tardy received Super-20 League Most Valuable Player honors, scoring three goals to help lead the U20s to the National Championship.
"John has been a part of the Red Bull Academy since 2005, and I am very pleased to see how far he has progressed over the years," stated Academy Teams Manager Paul O'Donnell. "He has been an integral part of this team because he has always been committed to the team first. His work ethic, leadership, and his contributions to this team over the past five years have been phenomenal. The goals that he scored against Chicago Fire were truly first class; and he almost scored on a world class bicycle. Also, his goal (against Chivas USA) showed some true brilliance."
The U20s kicked off the group stage of the Finals on Thursday, July 30, taking on U20 Cincinnati Premier. Despite playing a man down the entire second half, the Red Bulls scored two goals in the second half to claim a 2-1 victory. Jason Wells (Montclair, NJ) and Rose scored the goals to give the Red Bulls the vital three points in the first game of group play.
On Friday, July 21, the U20's scored nine goals en route to a 9-2 win over U20 Alphretta (GA), clinching a berth in the semifinals. Two goals each from Kinne, Petrone, George Chirgadze (Brooklyn, NY), and Blacido and a single goal from Tardy was more than enough to send the U20s into the semi-finals after two rounds of group play.
Having already clinched a semifinal berth, the U20's dropped the final game of the group stage, 1-0 to U20 Poway Vaqueros on Saturday, August 1, and started to prepare for the semifinal later that day.
The semifinals featured all four MLS team that participated in the tournament as the Red Bulls took on the defending champion U20 Chicago Fire, and U20 DC United took on U20 Chivas USA. Tardy scored two important goals in the first half to give the Red Bulls a comfortable 2-0 lead at the half. A big, strong Chicago Fire team gained some life after scoring off a big deflection to get them back in the game at 2-1 early in the second half. The back four of Connor Lade (Convent Station, PA), Hayden Morris (Armonk, NY), Anthony Vazquez (Belford, NJ) and Wells hung tough and continued to clear out all of the long balls that Chicago sent their way to secure the 2-1 victory and send the U20s into the finals to face U20 Chivas USA, who knocked off DC United 1-0 in the other semifinal.
This effort was the culmination of years of hard work for a core group of players that have been part of the Red Bull Academy program since the beginning.
"Steven (Amaya) and Anthony (Vazquez) have been a part of this team since its inauguration in January, 2004," recalled O'Donnell. "It has been an honor to work with these players over the years. Steven has always demonstrated an exceptional ability on the ball and he plays the game in a way that makes it truly enjoyable to watch. Anthony was simply outstanding in defense this weekend. He has always been a player that we can count on in defense. His tackling and defending this weekend were a huge part of our success."
"The contributions of (Amaya, Vazquez, and Tardy) over the years have been exceptional," continued O'Donnell. "They have been an integral part of a team that won two New Jersey State Cups, one Region One League and one Super Y League title. This is the second Super Y League North American Championship for these three players. They were part of the initial group of MetroStars Academy players in 2005 that defeated Santa Clara Sporting Ruckus 2-1 in overtime to claim the championship. In that game, Johnny Exantus scored in the 120th minute from a Gabe Ferrari (currently with Sampdoria) pass to claim the first major championship in the history of the organization. Coincidentally, the U16 MetroStars defeated HC United in the semifinals (2-1) and current first team player Jeremy Hall excelled for HC United in the game."
