June 27, 2012
REGION II CHAMPIONSHIPS
3 Illinois teams win titles

Of the 20 teams from Illinois that earned bids to the US Youth Soccer Midwest Regional Championships, 8 teams advanced to semifinals and five teams played in the Championship match. Of those five, three teams: Chicago Magic (U13 Boys), Raiders FC Premier (U17 Boys) and Team Chicago (U17 Girls), proved to be the best in Region II with title game wins.

The Chicago Magic topped Sporting KC Juniors (KS) 3-1 in the Boys Under-13 final.

Raider FC Premier, who earned their bid in the Regional Championships based on their play in the Midwest Regional League, shutout SC Waukesha Pumas (WI) 2-0

Team Chicago Botafogo finished their impressive run with a victory over Wisconsin's North Shore United

Two other Illinois teams also had strong runs to the Region II Championship Match.

The Chicago Magic Boys lost in the Boys U15 championship match, but they had already secured a spot in the US Youth Soccer National Championship because of their win of the USYS National League

U18 Boys Illinois State Cup champions Galaxy 93/94 Blue fell 3-2 to Grand Rapids Crew Jrs (MI)
Three other Illinois teams advance to the semifinals, which is a major accomplishement based on the quality of the competition.

The teams that reached their age group final four were:
• Chicago Magic (Under-14 Boys)
• Libertyville FC 1974 (Under-14 Boys)
• FC United (Under-16 Girls)

Regional winners of the Under-14 through Under-19 age groups earn a berth to the 2012 US Youth Soccer National Championships July 25-29, at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill, S.C.