by Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

Seven American Youth Soccer Organization teams from Claremont competed in the region area 1B playoffs in Chino Hills this past weekend. Teams from Claremont compete in region 3 of AYSO, and only league champions and runners-up from neighboring regions areas competed in this weekend’s tournament.

Boys 10-and-under
The Raptors, Claremont’s 10-and-under boys team, brought home the region area 1B title after besting region 583 champs the South Ontario Toros 2-0 in Sunday’s regional championship at Ruben Ayala Park. It’s the first title in Claremont AYSO history.

“I’m just elated cause our kids have worked so hard,” said head coach Devon Rose. “They put in hours and hours of effort into this [since August], they believe in the team concept and I’m so proud of what they’ve done this entire year.

“Championships don’t happen very often in life so for them to experience this means the world for us.”

Players such as Carson Garces and Caden Rose couldn’t put into words the excitement they felt following Sunday’s historic win. The two captains were part of a nine-player roster that also included Oscar Brizuela, Keegan Ferree, Ethan Gosnell, Elijah Hoffman, Nyjah Ortiz-Yanez, Zade Tayyarah and Owen Torres, coached by Rose and his assistant, Carlos Garces.

The road to the finals started Saturday morning with a 5-2 loss to the Toros. The boys bounced back in their second game, shutting out region 779 champs Chino Hills, 2-0, to take second place in pool A. Claremont then beat The Destroyers, a wild card team from Chino Hills, 2-0, in Sunday’s semifinal match, setting the stage for the final with South Ontario.

The boys, at 12-1-1, now head to the AYSO Section 1 League playoffs in February, again at Ruben Ayala Park.

Boys 12-and-under
The 12U boys (9-3-0) didn’t make it out of pool A Saturday, losing to region 779 champion Chino Hills, 3-0, then to region 31 champs Diamond Bar, 3-2.

Boys 12-and-under wildcard team
Claremont’s 12U boys wildcard team also failed to emerge from pool B. After a 2-2 draw with region 583 champs South Ontario, the team was thrashed by region 67 title holders Chino, 6-2. Their record now stands at 7-3-2.

Boys 14-and-under
The boys (5-4-2) fought hard but couldn’t make it out of pool A. Play began Saturday morning with a narrow 2-1 loss against region 583 champs South Ontario before Chino Hills, the region 779 winners, sent Claremont packing with another 2-1 defeat.

Girls 10-and-under
The 10U girls fell short of making it out of pool A, falling 3-1 to region 31 champions Diamond Bar on Saturday before region 583 champs South Ontario sent them home with a 5-1 beatdown. The girls’ record is 7-2-1.

Girls 12-and-under
Claremont’s 12U Spice Girls made it all the way to the semifinals Sunday before losing on penalties, 4-3, to the Strikers of South Ontario, the region 583 winners. The game ended in a 1-1 tie before penalties decided who’d move on to the final. It was a tough way to go out after such a successful season.

“Shootouts are just, it’s probably the worst way to lose,” said head coach Monique Ott-Beacham. “These girls were phenomenal and the reason why they were so strong is they played for each other, not for themselves. And that was a core motto that we had for the team.”

Pool B action began Saturday morning with Claremont sinking region 31 champs Diamond Bar, 4-1, before playing out a scoreless draw with South Ontario’s wildcard team, the region 583 runners-up.

The team, 10-1-2, is made up of Liya Alex, Leah Balvanera, Halina Beacham, Nora Forester, Tiffany Fullen, Megan Marine, Angeline Nguyen, Daniella Rodriguez, McKayla Romero, Mila Solano, and Khloe Solis, and is coached by Ott-Beacham and assistants Alan Beacham and Elvis Solis.

Girls 14-and-under
Claremont’s 14U girls began pool A play with a 2-0 loss to region 67 champs Chino before a 2-2 tie with region 779 champs Chino Hills ended their tournament.

Full results from this weekend are available online at ayso.bluesombrero.com.