B00 COPA

The B00 Copa team closed out their storied youth soccer careers with an emphatic 4-0 victory over WPFC in the 2019 WYS State Championship.  For Seattle United, the boys 2000 age group has been a very successful and talented team since the start of the club in 2010. The B00 Copa had their first appearance in the state final at U12 in the 2012/13 season; since then the B00 Copa team has played in every state final (2013-2019).

The B00 Copa team has had five coaches during their careers at Seattle United: Alex Chursky,  Gary Harris,  Jimmy McAlister,  Tommy Jenkins, and Ralph Black. Under these coaches the team has played in the last 7 State Championships in a row, winning 5 and losing 2. The B00 Copa team has also dominated the RCL League winning the first division 6 out of the last 7 seasons. At the regional and national level, the B00 Copa team hasn’t had the same level of success but in 2017 they were Regional Finalist losing the final to Santa Clara Sporting 2-1, that same year the B00 Copa team also finished 3rd in US Soccer’s Youth National League.

Over the years, due to their success, the B00 Copa team has attracted players from all across the state, (Bellingham, Bremerton, Bothell, Everett, Tacoma, and Redmond), but the majority of talent has come from the city of Seattle. Players have taken advantage of Seattle United’s pathways and have worked their way up through the various regional, Samba, and Tango teams. The ability to provide many different levels of soccer and shuffle the best players to the highest level has been a testament to Seattle United’s directors, coaching staff and its mission.

As the boys age out of youth soccer, I feel  it is important that we remember the B00 Copa team for their accomplishments and acknowledge the players that previously moved on to the next level. The connection Seattle United has with the USSDA academies has allowed players from the B00 Copa team to move to the Sounders Academy, Crossfire Academy, Real Salt Lake Academy, and the San Jose Earthquakes Academy. The birth year change that was implemented caused a bit of an upheaval for all of youth soccer, and at the B00 Copa level the boys that normally played up with the 99’s came down to the B00 Copa team, which helped strengthen the team. Those boys graduated in 2018 and a majority moved on to play college soccer. Since 2013, the B00 Copa team alone has placed 17 young men into the USSDA academy system, 16 are committed or currently speaking with college coaches for the 2019 season, and 9 played college soccer in the 2018 season.

The success that the B00 Copa team has been able to sustain over the years has been from a deep talent pool that the city of Seattle has supplied, committed coaches who put in the extra work, and parents who are willing to support their boys in every way necessary. Without these three pieces the B00 Copa team would not have been able to sustain many successful years. The B00 Copa team won the double (RCL League & State Championship) or the treble (RCL, State, FWRL) almost every season since 2013, below is a list of the teams successes and the players who helped achieve them.

2013 – U12 State Finalist – Lost 2-1 vs. Crossfire

2013 – U12 Region IV Quarterfinalist (Hawaii)

2013 – U13 Crossfire Challenge Champions

2013/14 – U13 RCL Div 1 Champions

2014 – U13 State Champions – Won 2-0 vs. WPFC

2014 – U13 Region IV quarterfinalist (New Mexico)

2014 – Crossfire Challenge U14 Champions

2014/15 – U14 RCL Div 1 Champions

2015 – U14 State Champions – Won 3-2 vs. WPFC

2015 – U14 Region IV Participant (Idaho)

2015 – Surf Cup Quarterfinalist

2015 – Northwest Champions League – Champions

2015 – National Premier League Finals (Indiana)

2015/16 – U15 RCL Div 1 Champions

2016 -U15 State Champions – Won 1-0 vs. Eastside FC

2016 – U15 Region IV Participant (Idaho)

2016 – U17 Crossfire Challenge Champions

2016/17 – National League 3rd place (North Carolina, Nevada)

2016/17 – U16 RCL Div 1 Champions

2017 -U16 State Champions – Won 1-1 (PK) vs. WPFC

2017 – U17 Region IV Finalist – Lost 2-1 vs. Santa Clara Sporting (Redmond, WA)

2017/18 – National League Participant (North Carolina, Nevada)

2017/18 – U18 RCL Div 1 Champions

2017/18 – Far West Regional League Champions

2018 – U18 State Championship – Lost 2-2 (PK) vs. WPFC

2018/19 – U19 RCL Div 1 3rd place

2018/19 – National League Northwest conference – Champions

2019 – U19 State Champions – Won 4-0 vs. WPFC

2018-19 Championship Roster – Timur Akdemir, Jacob Allmon, Luka Bedalov, Greg Brighton, Rowan Calvert, Aaron Craddock, Vincenzo D’Onofrio, Vincent Duyungan, McCoy Hennes, Gian Herrera-Salas, Nick Hintze, Felix Homar, Jayce Knerr, Cooper Morrison, Jaden Paine, Nicolas Ringgold, Marcus Swanson, Tommy Tolgu, Adrian Valentine, Owen Woodland.

Current/Previous Players from B00 Copa that went to academy & college teams-

1. Borislav Stoyanov – Seattle Sounders Academy/Pursuing professional career in Bulgaria

2. Christian Koontz – Seattle Sounders Academy (National Champion 2018)

3. Finn Hoffman – Seattle Sounders Academy

4. Gabe Threadgold – Seattle Sounders Academy (Committed to University of Washington 2019)

5. Jacen Stein – Seattle Sounders Academy

6. Jesus Jeronimo Gotoo – Seattle Sounders Academy

7. Joseph “JoJo” Richardson – Seattle Sounders Academy

8. Leo Burney – Seattle Sounders Academy (National Champion 2018)

9. William “Woody” Manum – Seattle Sounders Academy

10. Christian Soto Rincon – Crossfire Academy (Committed to University of Washington 2019)

11. Greg Brighton – Crossfire Academy (Committed to St. Mary’s College 2019)

12. Rory King – Crossfire Academy

13. Theo Steinmetz – Crossfire Academy

14. Evan Kim – Real Salt Lake Academy/Pursuing professional career in England

15. Rueben Joseph – San Jose Earthquakes Academy/Pursuing professional career in Denmark

16. Alessandro Tomasi – Seattle Sounders Academy/Western Washington University (2018)

17. Alex Low – Cal State University Chico (2018)

18. Francisco Bignold – Whitman College (2018)

19. Hayden Barnouw – Whittier College (2018)

20. Oscar Harding – Whitman College (2018)

21. Peyton Menti – University of Redlands (2018)

22. Reese Owens – Whitman College (2018)

23. Tamire Proctor – Crossfire Academy, Willamette University (2018)

24. Tyler Maider – Springfield College (2018)

25. Adrian Valentine – Committed to Fordham University 2019

26. Aaron Craddock – Verbal commitment to Whittier College 2019

27. Corbin Carroll – (left team in 2015 to pursue baseball) Committed to UCLA for baseball 2019

28. Cooper Morrison – Committed to Pitzer College 2019

29. Felix Homar – Committed to Willamette University 2019

30. Gian Herra Salas – Committed to Northwest University 2019

31. Jacob Allmon – Committed to Claremont Mckenna College 2019

32. Jaden Paine – Offer from Linfield College 2019

33. Jayce Knerr – Offer from Endicott College 2019

34. McCoy Henness – Committed to Whitman College 2019

35. Marcus Swanson – Offers from Tacoma CC & Highline CC 2019

36. Rowan Calvert – Offers from Occidental & Whitman 2019

37. Vincent Duyungan – Offers from many colleges still deciding 2019

38. Vincenzo D’Onofrio – Committed to PLU 2019

It takes many people to keep a team like the B00 Copa team as successful as they were. I think it is important to acknowledge the behind the scenes personnel that were a huge support for the team:

Paige Blomso – As the club registrar, Paige has make sure the players had their cards, were registered for every league, tournament, and State Cup. For the B00 Copa team Paige was very helpful with the players coming and going constantly from the team.

Kyle Rodeheaver – Kyle is responsible for scheduling all of the training fields for every Seattle United team, for the B00 Copa team Kyle was always helpful when our scheduled changed at a moment’s notice and was always able to accommodate the team.

Kevin Long – As Seattle United’s Executive Director, Kevin is a proponent for every Seattle United team, but he always made sure the club was there to help B00 Copa in times of need, particularly with the amount of travel required that comes with this team’s level of success.

As the manager for the B00 Copa team it has been an honor to be associated with such a wonderful group of coaches, parents, and players. I know the future for all of these boys is very bright not only in soccer but in life, and I wish all of them the best.

Regards,

Mike D’Onofrio