Against the odds: Vardar claims national academy championship

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

CARSON, Calif. — It’s hard to imagine the Vardar soccer club being an underdog, but that was exactly the case this past weekend at the U-17/U-18 United State Soccer Development Academy National Championships.

Vardar, the lowest seeded team to make the eight-team nationals, held at the Home Depot Soccer Complex in Carson, Calif., near Los Angeles, took home the crown by going 3-0-1 overall at the tournament. The team did so without any players being named All-America on the academy circuit.

“We knew that we had good chemistry, and if we played together, then we could compete,” said Vardar coach Demir Muftari. “I know we were not one of the favorites, but we played great. The guys stepped up and we got some clutch goals. I’m sure a lot of people didn’t expect us to win, especially since the Michigan Wolves won it last year and they were ranked higher than us.”

At the national tournament, Vardar tied Real So Cal, 1-1, defeated the Concorde Fire (Atlanta, Ga.), 3-0, then dispatched the Baltimore Bays, 3-0, in pool play to advance to the championship match July 17.

In the finals, Vardar overcame a first-half deficit to down the Crossfire Premier (Seattle, Wash.) by a 3-1 count to earn the club’s first national championship since 1999 and fourth overall spanning two decades. All three of the club’s previous national titles came in the 1990s.

“I’m proud of these guys,” said Muftari. “They showed what true teamwork can accomplish.”

In the finals, Derek Schrauben (Lake Orion) scored in the 74^nd (game-winner) and 78^th minute to finish off the scoring for Vardar.

“It really hasn’t set in yet,” admitted Schrauben, a midfielder. “I was in the right place at the right time on the goals and I was able to finish. This is a great way to go out … with a national championship.”

Liam Kelly scored in the 29^th minute to give Crossfire Premier a 1-0 advantage, before Vardar scored three unanswered goals. Peter Jacobsen scored off a tap-in following a shot by Rob Dolot that rang off the crossbar to tie the game at 1-1.

There are 74 club programs that have academy teams, and 32 qualified for the national tournament, which was separated into eight regions of four teams each. Last month, Vardar barley escaped the Greensboro (S.C.) regional with a 2-1-0 record, where they advanced on goal differential. Vardar defeated California Academy (2-1), lost to IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) and edged Milwaukee (3-2) at the regional to earn its pass to the national championships, July 13-17.

“We had a decent regular season, playing against some of the top teams in the country, then we barely got out of the regional,” admitted Muftari. “California beat IMG 5-2 in the last game and we had to score a late goal in our last game, just to get out of the regional. It was that close. I think we were ranked somewhere in the middle-of-the-pack before the regional, out of 32 teams. If we scored one less goal (at the regional), we wouldn’t have made it to the nationals.”

Vardar was 14-5-3 in the regular season and finished 19-6-4 overall, going 5-1-1 in the postseason.

There are 20 members on this year’s oldest academy team in the Vardar organization, including six local players — captain Joey Dillon (Rochester Adams/Georgetown), Caleb Stanko (Auburn Hills Oakland Christian), Zach Schewee (Rochester Stoney Creek/Bowling Green), Derek Schrauben (Lake Orion/Western Michigan), Jarret Kersten (Clarkston), and Blake Skamiera (Lake Orion).

Others on the team include Zach Caroll (Grand Blanc), John Jebson (Dexter), Dario Folino (Utica Ford II), Mahamoudou Kaba (Ypsilanti), Ugochuwku Uche (Ann Arbor Pioneer), Garth McClellan (Flint Kearsley), Ezekiel Harris (Flint Powers Catholic), Miche’le Ripari (Warren DeLaSalle), Mike Pugh (Warren DeLaSalle), Fatai Alashe (Northville), Rob Dolot (Ann Arbor Pioneer), Peter Jacobsen (Ann Arbor Greenhills), Mario Teixeira (Ann Arbor Huron), and Dean Dziewit (Waterford Kettering).

For Stanko, he has now won a state championship (Division 4 at Oakland Christian, 2008) and national club championship in less than two years, and enters his senior season of high school as one of the state’s premier players.

“I would like to chance to win the high school and club title in the same year,” said Stanko, a versatile midfielder who has played multiple positions during his career. “This is incredible, though, to win a national championship. Not too many guys have been able to do this.”

Defending champ Michigan-Derby County Wolves finished eighth. This is the second straight year a Michigan-based club won the academy championship and the third time in four years. The Wolves also won a regular club national title in 2007.

Vardar claimed titles in 1992, 1993 and 1999.

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Last updated: Sep 08 2010 at 5:21 AM