This report is by JoAnne Goldberg, a AYSO Region 109 board member.
For the second year in a row, the Menlo Park-Atherton AYSO Region 109 boys-under-19 (BU19) team won the interregional 2A/2J area championship on Nov. 11 at Rosita Park in Los Altos.
Battling for the championship against a Los Altos team that had not lost a game all season, the Menlo Park players took an early lead, maintained it throughout an intense match, and triumphed with a 4-3 win.
Pastor Guzman, the parent volunteer who also coached the region’s championship team last year, notes that the team overcame ongoing challenges. “Many players have after-school and weekend jobs, and throughout the season we played games without a full team,” he said. “But I knew that whether we won or lost the championship, we could all keep our heads up, because our players love the game. I am really proud of these boys.”
Team members are juniors and seniors at local high schools; most attend Menlo-Atherton High School or other Sequoia Union district schools. Many started playing AYSO soccer at age 5.
The BU19 team was one of 143 teams that played soccer in Region 109 this year, with over 1,600 local children between the ages of 4 and 18 participating. The 2A/2J areas encompass regions from San Jose and Saratoga to the mid-peninsula.
For more information on the league, go to http://www.mpsoccer.org .
Caption with photo in print edition: Members of the AYSO Region 109 boys-under-19 championship team are: front row, Robert Jimenez; middle row, from left, Hideyo Kameda, Garrett Hom, Vicente “Marin” Cuevas, Josue “Tui” Rosales, Miguel “Danny” Llamas and Hector Cortez; back row, Mario Sanchez, Matt Carvell, Luis Guzman, Robert “Coop” Cooper, Vicente “Chente” Lombera, Mark Frankle, Felipe Gonzalez, Aaron Sarfaty, Jose “Manuel” Garcia, Vincent “Panama” Kirton and Coach Pastor Guzman. Not pictured: David “Mikey” Garcia.
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