Coming off two great performances at the US Club National Cup West Regionals and the Davis Legacy College Showcase (playing in the U19 bracket), the U17 SF Seals 94 Black boys squad soared up the Soccer In College website club team rankings to 10th overall in California.

At the West Regionals and Davis Tourney, the Seals posted a combined result of 3 wins, 2 ties and 1 loss. In Regionals group play, they ended up with a +7 goal differential, missing out on a trip to the Nationals in Illinois when the "In Training" Junior Center Referee made an unfortunate, very "soft foul" call against the Seals in the box, awarding opponent Tri Valley a PK opportunity in the final minute of play - which they converted, luckily escaping with a tie vs. our dominant Seals against the flow of play, 2-2. That tie result was enough to edge the Seals out of the Finals.

Only 1½ years ago, this same Seals squad were playing NorCal Silver Division soccer. This Spring 2012, the 94 Black Seals posted a 7-3 result in Gold Division play.

Seals GM Tom Simpson observed about this crop of Seals players, “These kids are very deserving. The extraordinary thing to point out about their story is that this U17 team is an SF team without the recruiting power/marketing, nor the huge player pools, that the big clubs draw from. They are successful because they very effectively execute a tactical style / system taught to them by their coach Shani Simpson.”

Only two short years ago this Seals team was formed with just 8 core players … their growth and success today is testament to the players’ passion and dedication for the game, and “proof positive” of the Seals Club’s tactical and developmental philosophy.

Potential try-out players can contact Team Manager Dave Nugent at: davenug@comcast.net

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