Two Toms River Teams Kickin’ Butt

A pair of girl’s soccer teams from the Toms River Futbol Club are off to Rhode Island tomorrow to take part in the United States Youth Soccer Region 1 Championships where they will represent not only their local club but the state of New Jersey.

The Under-16 United Elite are coached by Carl Leschinski along with Scott Logan, Rick Galgano and Kelly Farrell. The team is currently ranked #1 in the state, #2 in Region 1 and #3 nationally among teams in their age group.

The girls will play their first game at the University of Rhode Island against a squad from Vermont Friday afternoon…they will also play teams from Maine and Delaware during the pool-play portion of the tournament. Should United Elite win their pool then they would advance to the semifinals on Monday.

Meanwhile the Under-13 Everton Elite are also ranked first in the state, 2nd in the region and third in the nation. Todd Teufel is the head coach and he’s assisted by Michael Holland and Jim Moore. The Elite make their region debut Friday afternoon as well against a team from Connecticut and also have to compete with squads from Massachusetts and Delaware in their pool. Again if they advance out of that group of four teams then they would play in Monday’s semifinals.

If either or both of the Toms River Futbol Club teams win the region championship then they would qualify for the Nationals in Overland Park, Kansas later in July. The club plays and practices at several locations in Toms River including fields at Oak Avenue, Riverwood Park, Bey Lea Park and Shelter Cove.

For more information on the club you can visit tomsriverfc.com

While those two girls’ teams are competing in Rhode Island many local soccer teams will be in Wildwood this weekend for the 11th annual Cape Express Beach Blast, a huge sand soccer tournament played on beaches in Wildwood. Teams from as young as 2nd graders to 18 year olds will complete in 5-on-5 games and will also spend a lot of time at water parks during the day and the boardwalk and amusements at night.