The American Youth Soccer Organization’s 14 and Under Boys Sectional All-Star team won the 2023 Western States Championship.

The team finished the All-Star season with a record of 14 wins and one loss then went on to win the Area 1C All-Star playoffs to finish second in the Section 1 Championship, which qualified them to play in the Western States Championship games.

The games were held in Moorpark, California on March 12. The semifinal opposing team was from Garden Grove with the Glendale boys winning by a score of 2-1. The final championship game was against Canyon Country with the final score being 5-0 in favor of Glendale.

The last time a team from Region 88 won the Western States Championship was in 2017 when the 14 and Under girls team, coached by Gary Barseghian, took first place.

Adam Coppersmith, the team’s coach said, “I am so proud of the boys and winning the championship. They all worked so hard throughout the season and were very committed to each other and the team. What makes this so special is that most of the boys have played together and have been friends for many years making the team camaraderie special and unique. I am very fortunate to be able to enjoy this memorable journey with the boys and families.”

In addition to Coppersmith, the boys’ team was coached by Assistant Coach Elijah Wasson.

The champion team players are Leo Desrosiers, Luca Boghossian, Jack Coppersmith, Ewan Kokorowski, Owen Wasson, Isaiah Tahk, Michael Watanabe, Liam Kokorowski, Michael DeLeon, Andrew Schaeffer, Nicolas Sarkissian, Dominic Ponce, Neil Harzman, Tyler Freemon and Xaviair Graham.

At the March 21 Glendale City Council meeting the city planned to recognize the champions with the mayor’s commendation.

AYSO Region 88 (American Youth Soccer Organization) is part of the larger American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), which is headquartered in Torrance. The national website is located at www.ayso.org. The National organization is broken down into 14 Sections. Each section is comprised of one or more areas and each area is made up of various regions. Region 88 is part of area C of section 1.

AYSO Region 88 has been a Platinum Region since 2004.

AYSO Region 88 generally serves the communities of Glendale, Montrose and La Crescenta. However, since AYSO does not have residency requirements, Region 88 also has players from Los Angeles, Tujunga, Sunland, La Cañada, Eagle Rock and other nearby communities.

         Submitted by Harry HANNESSIAN