HONOLULU (June 17, 2008) - The US Youth Soccer Region IV Championships continued today at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park in Honolulu. Afternoon rains cooled down players, but as teams fought hard to either maintain their lead in the standings or fight back after a first day lose, the competition remained hot. Tomorrow is the final day of preliminary games and eliminations are eminent. As the second day of pool play concludes, teams are already looking forward to Friday's quarterfinals.

The Under-16 Girls defending US Youth Soccer National Champions, the So Cal Blues, won their first two matches in Honolulu. Coach Brad Otto said, "The girls are motivated and playing well so far. We are making sure they stay in the shade and get rest. Playing six games in seven days, you have to be rested. This is a laidback group. The team worked incredibly hard today and did very well in the air. Also, they defended very well. We have played two games with no goals against them."

Gabby Zarnegar scored the first goal and Christina Hart finished with the Blue's second. Zarnegar said, "Toni was able to break it down the line and played an awesome ball and I was on the end of it. The game was good; it was a battle. We came here for a purpose and it showed today."

MRFC 89 Blue Under-18 Girls from Washington upset the Slammers FC from California South, 3:2. This is MRFC 89 Blue's first trip to regionals. At the US Youth Soccer Washington State Championships, they beat out the two-time state champions to earn a spot in Hawaii. Yesterday, they tied Leahi 90 Premier and are in a good position to continue to Thursday's quarterfinals.

College coaches are also out in force this week recruiting for their next classes. The US Youth Soccer regional championships brings together the best teams from each state and showcases top talents as teams compete for the prestigious title.

"The west coast has such terrific soccer. It is great to see them play in an environment like this where it is so competitive because something is on the line. This is my favorite place to recruit because they are actually playing for something rather than just a showcase," said Karen Hoppa, Auburn University head coach.

"First of all, who wouldn't want come to Hawaii," said Greg Ryan, University of Michigan head coach. "But really I'm here to recruit players. There are a lot of great players in the west region of the country so this gives us an opportunity to see the best. I am looking for soccer players; a combination of both players that are smart, tactically, very technical and understand the game properly. This is where the top teams of each state get together to play, so this is one of the better events of the year."