On the soccer fields in 1999 the Blues were once again quite successful. Chris Vaught's U10 team began the season winning the Saddleback Tournament. In the kickoff tournament of the season the Blues won two Surf championships (U16, U18 {U19 Super}). The Blues also did well in the Mission Viejo Tournament winning four championships (U11, U15, U17, U18 {U19 Premier}). The club finished off the Summer tournament season winning three Pleasanton championships over the Labor Day Weekend (U15, U16, U17).
BLUES
1999-00 CSL STANDINGS
Coast Soccer League play was also good to the Blues. The Blues won three league championships (U11 Gold, U15 Gold, U16 Premier), two more Blues teams finished in second place (U13 Gold, U17 Premier). In League Cup Play there were three more championships. U11 Blues did the double, the U16's did the double as well, the U18's made up for poor league results. League cup honorable mention goes out to finalists U12 Blues who lost in PK's after a close final with the powerful Slammers, and U17 Blues who also lost a close one in their final with the talented MV Magic.
| TEAM | WON | LOST | TIED | FINISH | LEAGUE CUP | STATE CUP |
| U10 GEBHART (U10 SILVER SOUTH) |
6 | 8 | 1 | FOURTH | GROUP | |
| U10 VAUGHT (U10 GOLD) |
6 | 7 | 1 | FOURTH | U10 | |
| U11 (U11 GOLD) |
12 | 0 | 2 | |||
| U12 (U12 GOLD) |
6 | 5 | 3 | THIRD | FINALISTS | |
| U13 (U13 GOLD) |
9 | 5 | 0 | SECOND | QUARTERFINALS | |
| U14 (U14 GOLD) |
3 | 5 | 6 | SIXTH | SEMIFINALS | |
| U15 (U15 GOLD) |
13 | 0 | 1 | QUARTERFINALS | FINALISTS | |
| U16 (U16 PREMIER) |
10 | 2 | 2 | |||
| U17 (U17 PREMIER) |
7 | 1 | 6 | SECOND | FINALISTS | |
| U18 (U19 PREMIER) |
4 | 5 | 2 | EIGHTH | ||
| TOTALS | 76 | 38 | 24 |
BLUES 1999-00 STATE CUP REVIEW
In State cup action Tad Bobak's U16 girls led the way for the club capturing the triple crown of Southern California Youth Soccer. They won the league and league cup championships then followed up their success by winning the CYSA-South State Championship. As winners they will rep So Cal in the Far West Regionals with a chance to win a Regional and perhaps a National Championship.
Perhaps
the biggest surprise to local soccer pundits was the emergence of this season's
U13 Blues (Right) under the guidance of coach Randy Dodge. The team captured
the state championship in a finals match vs defending state champion San Diego
Surf at Hickman fields in San Diego, defeating the Surf 3-0, and will represent
Southern California at the Regional Tournament in Pleasanton California beginning
June 18. In order to get to the final the team overcame a huge obstacle in
an upset 
semifinal victory vs crosstown rival MV Elite by a score of 3-1.
In other state cup news the U15 Blues were upset in the finals of the state championship by a hard working Slammers team. The U14 Blues lost a tough match to defending champion Valley United, U17 Blues were upset in their state championship bid along with the U18 Blues who were upset in their attempt at a fourth consecutive state championship by the El Cajon Hotspurs. On a positive note the ultimate goal for many of the girls became a reality and our seniors will be attending some great schools in an effort to continue their education.
BACK
TO PLEASANTON FOR REGIONALS !
The only bummer about this
year's Far West Regional Tournament was that our two teams only got to travel
up to Northern California. The U13 & U16 Teams would head back to Pleasanton
where we made our annual stop at the Pleasanton Friendship tournament. This
ended up being a bit of an advantage as our teams were used to the area along
with the tall grass of the Pleasanton Sports Complex.
To make a long story short, the Blues captured
two Regional Championships at the Far West Regionals in Pleasanton California
during June 2000. At this time our regional champion U13 Blues (right) could
not advance to nationals...younger teams were not allowed to advance to a national
tournament. If you look at the photo on the left, Blake & McCall Zerboni were
worn out and slept on the way home from San Francisco. Hey if you have some
time download the link below to see Lauren Redfield score the first goal in
the U13 Championship game. If you listen closely to the long version of the
goal you can even hear Lauren's Dad John taking credit for his daughter. If
you have less time check out the short version (you should have the Real Player
plug-in to see the goal).
LAUREN REDFIELD'S GOAL (SHORT
VERSION .RM)
LAUREN REDFIELD'S GOAL (LONG VERSION .RM)
Also
victorious at regionals were Tad Bobak's U16 Blues. Our U16 regional champions,
advanced to the ultra competitive national tournament held at the Disney Soccer
Complex in Orlando Florida and had an opportunity to compete for the club's
first ever National Championship. You can click the photo on the left to get
a close up version.
The account of how the National Tournament went was written by Rebecca Mildrew and makes for enjoyable reading. Blues News first got wind of the results while all the Blues teams were competing at the Surf Cup.
OUR
NATIONALS RUN-AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE!
HEARTS JOIN THE BLUES!
It's official! After lengthy discussions between
the Southern California
Blues and the U15 Hearts Soccer Team (CSL League Cup Finalists), the
Hearts have decided to join the Southern California Blues Soccer Club
in the 2000-2001 soccer season.
According to Director of Coaching Larry Draluck, "I have known John Eric Bolger (left) for some time now and his personal philosophy with respect to teaching is compatible with that of the Blues, he will be a long term asset to our club. The Hearts also play a similar style of soccer and this relationship will be mutually beneficial. Our intention is to have two extremely competitive Blues teams in this age group."
John Eric Bolger is the son of former Blues Staff Coach John Bolger Sr. and he will be primarily responsible for the new Blues team. John, the team parents, and players have all agreed to accept and abide by the policies of the Blues club which are detailed in the Blues Player Parent Agreement. Hearts, we want to welcome you to the Blues!