Slammers play for history at nationals

The Newport-Mesa Slammers Futbol Club has traveled from California to Sweden to Texas in a little more than a week, and while the travel makes for a cultural experience, it also takes its toll.

Still, the Slammers under-14 players aren’t slamming on the brakes just yet.

The itinerary calls for one more premier tournament before calling it a season.

The Slammers enter the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Frisco, Texas today. The five-day competition will feature the best 48 clubs from the rest of the country.

The Slammers flew past the competition at the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg, Sweden, host of the youth version of the World Cup, where 65 countries compete.

The Slammers claimed the cup, outscoring the opposition, 41-2.

Another week of soccer and Coach George Larsen knows his players will be battling more that their competition.

“The jet lag and time difference,� he said. “The schedule they’ve had is similar to that of a top-flight club traveling all over the world to compete.�

The Slammers are international now, even though one of their top players, midfielder Jordan Dillon, received her passport just days before traveling to Sweden.

Dillion is one of four Slammers who plan to play at as freshmen Corona del Mar High. The others include striker Tessa Andujar, goalkeeper Lindsey Luke and the versatile Scarlett Fallon.

The Slammers under-14 team won’t be alone in Frisco. The under-18 girls’ team will also compete. They qualified by winning the U.S. Youth Soccer Far Western Regional Championship last month in Las Vegas, where the U14 team also won.

The U18 team opens with Arsenal World Class from New Jersey at 7:30 a.m. before the U14 team faces the Sting Royal 93 of Texas at 9:30 a.m.

Ziad Khoury, one of Slammers founders along with his identical twin brother, Walid, will guide the U18 team. The team, just as the U14, has enjoyed much success. Many of the girls on the team will be looking to claim their third national championship.

One member of that team is Taylor Fallon, who is at Indiana University after graduating from CdM. Her sister is Scarlett on the U14 team.

Scarlett is looking to catch her older sister. If she helps her team win in Frisco, her squad will join Taylor’s team, the one that four years ago became the first to sweep four of the country’s biggest tournaments in one year.

“We’re trying to be the only second team in youth history to win state, regionals, Nike Cup, Gothia Cup and the national championship in the same year,� Larsen said. “Anything is possible.�

DAVID CARRILLO PENALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].