CHICAGO (Nov. 6, 2008) – U.S. Soccer is one month away from hosting the second annual Development Academy Winter Showcase from December 5-8 at the Lancaster National Soccer Center in Lancaster, Calif. All 148 teams representing 74 clubs, plus the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team will participate in 240 games over the extended weekend. 

• List of Development Academy Clubs

Dozens of professional scouts from around the world and hundreds of college scouts are anticipated to attend the event to view some of the nation’s top prospects from the Under-15/16 and Under-17/18 age groups. The head coaches from all of U.S. Soccer’s Youth National teams and additional members of the National Team scouting network will watch and evaluate all 240 games played over the long weekend.

A new component of this year’s Academy Winter Showcase will be the Nike International Friendlies, featuring Under-17 Men’s National Teams from the U.S., Australia and Brazil. The games will be played on a reserved field at the Lancaster National Soccer Center.

The Academy Winter Showcase will be the first major Development Academy event for the 12 newest clubs in the Academy that joined at the beginning of the 2008-09 Season. While the eight new clubs from Texas and the three new clubs from California have already started their seasons, it will be the first Academy games for the New England Revolution.

The Winter Showcase will also feature some of the nation’s top young referees, who will be working under the guidance and instruction of the U.S. Soccer Referee Department Staff. Officials from Major League Soccer and some professional referees will also be working games and mentoring the younger referees.

U.S. Soccer will continue to provide a technically driven environment, including SPARQ testing for all athletes and Gatorade hydration testing for select teams. All games will be videotaped and distributed to the teams and ProZone will analyze teams to provide additional objective feedback for coaches and players.

The Academy Winter Showcase will also provide a platform for coaching development. College and Academy coaches are invited to attend a SPARQ Strength Training Seminar led by Paul Winsper, a Goalkeeper Coaching Symposium led by Under-20 Men’s National Team Assistant Coach Tim Mulqueen and Scouting Symposiums with National Team Scouts.

The 2008 Winter Showcase will be the first of two Showcases held during the 2008/09 season followed by the Academy Playoffs and Academy Finals Week. The upcoming Academy Spring Showcase will be held in Sarasota, Fla. from May 22-26, the Academy Playoffs will be held in Greensboro, N.C. from June 26-29 and the Academy Finals Week will be held from July 11-18 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.


Under-15/16 Results:

Saturday, November 1
Bridge FA 0, Birmingham United 1
Atlanta Fire United 3, AFC Lighting 0
Crossfire Premier 0, Chivas USA 0
Nomads 1, Santa Cruz County Breakers 1
Washington Premier 2, LA Galaxy 0
De Anza Force 4, Cal Odyssey 1
San Diego Surf 3, Mustang 2

Sunday, November 2
Concorde Fire 0, Birmingham United 1
Richmond Kickers 3, Virginia Rush 0
Classics Elite 1, Texas SC 1
Washington Premier 1, Chivas USA 3
Crossfire Premier 2, LA Galaxy 1
Nomads 4, Mustang 1
San Diego Surf 3, Santa Cruz County Breakers 2

Under-17/18 Results:

Saturday, November 1
Bridge FA 1, Birmingham United 0
Atlanta Fire United 1, AFC Lighting 1
Crossfire Premier 1, Chivas USA 2
Nomads 4, Santa Cruz County Breakers 1
Washington Premier 0, LA Galaxy 2
De Anza Force 5, Cal Odyssey 1
San Diego Surf 3, Mustang 2

Sunday, November 2
Concorde Fire 1, Birmingham United 2
Richmond Kickers 0, Virginia Rush 0
Classics Elite 1, Texas SC 2
Washington Premier 0, Chivas USA 2
Crossfire Premier 2, LA Galaxy 0
Nomads 4, Mustang 0
San Diego Surf 2, Santa Cruz County Breakers 3

Under-15/16 Upcoming Matches:

Saturday, November 8

Kickoff	Match	Venue
10 a.m. ET	Richmond Kickers vs. Richmond Strikers	Sports Backers Stadium
1 p.m. ET	Concorde Fire vs. Schulz Academy	Georgia Soccer Park
1 p.m. ET	Virginia Rush vs. Atlanta Fire United	Hampton Roads Soccer Council
1 p.m. ET	AFC Lightning vs. Miami FC Kendall	McCurry Park
4 p.m. CT	Texas SC vs. FC Dallas	Elizabeth Meyer Park
4 p.m. CT	Lonestar vs. Dallas Texans	St. Stephen's Episcopal School
4 p.m. CT	Classics Elite vs. Solar	Trinity University
5 p.m. CT	Texas Rush AHFC vs. Andromeda	Bear Branch Soccer Complex
11 a.m. PT	Crossfire Premier vs. Washington Premier	Starfire Stadium
12 p.m. PT	Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Chivas USA	The Home Depot Center
5 p.m. PT	De Anza vs. Mustang	Santa Clara University

Sunday, November 9

Kickoff	Match	Venue
9 a.m. ET	Concorde Fire vs. Miami FC Kendall	Georgia Soccer Park
9 a.m. ET	AFC Lightning vs. Schulz Academy	McCurry Park
12 p.m. ET	Bridge FA vs. Atlanta Fire United	Charleston Southern University
9 a.m. CT	Texas SC vs. Andromeda	Elizabeth Meyer Park
9 a.m. CT	Lonestar vs. Solar	St. Stephen's Episcopal School
1 p.m. CT	Texas Rush AHFC vs. FC Dallas	Bear Branch Soccer Complex
2 p.m. CT	Classics Elite vs. Dallas Texans	Trinity University

Under-17/18 Upcoming Matches:

Saturday, November 8

Kickoff	Match	Venue
12 p.m. ET	Richmond Kickers vs. Richmond Strikers	Sports Backers Stadium
3 p.m. ET	Concorde Fire vs. Schulz Academy	Georgia Soccer Park
3 p.m. ET	Virginia Rush vs. Atlanta Fire United	Hampton Roads Soccer Council
6 p.m. CT	Classics Elite vs. Solar	Trinity University
7 p.m. CT	Texas Rush AHFC vs. Andromeda	Bear Branch Soccer Complex
1 p.m. PT	Crossfire Premier vs. Washington Premier	Starfire Stadium
2:30 p.m. PT	Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Chivas USA	The Home Depot Center
7 p.m. PT	De Anza vs. Mustang	Santa Clara University

Sunday, November 9 

Kickoff	Match	Venue
11 a.m. ET	Concorde Fire vs. Miami FC Kendall	Georgia Soccer Park
11 a.m. ET	AFC Lightning vs. Schulz Academy	McCurry Park
2 p.m. ET	Bridge FA vs. Atlanta Fire United	Charleston Southern University
11 a.m. CT	Texas SC vs. Andromeda	Elizabeth Meyer Park
11 a.m. CT	Lonestar vs. Solar	St. Stephen Episcopal School
3 p.m. CT	Texas Rush AHFC vs. FC Dallas	Bear Branch Soccer Complex
4 p.m. CT	Classics Elite vs. Dallas Texans	Trinity University