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Nationally Ranked #2 DeMatha (Maryland) Beats #1 Jesuit (California) in Penalty Kicks

Toni L. Sandys/WASHINGTON POST - DeMatha's John Lopes, shown here during a Sept. 13 game against Gonzaga, scored for the Stags against Jesuit (Calif.) on Saturday, October 1, 2011

Silver Spring, MD -- The end of the USL Super-Y League regular season means the end of the road for many players and teams. However, many of Real Maryland FC players are still playing High School Varsity Soccer and getting together on the weekends to stay together for the United Soccer Leagues Super Y League’s North American Finals being held in Tampa, Florida this December.

One of the teams heading to the USL’s North American National Finals is the Under-16 Boys who finished first in their respective group. Coach David Edlow led the RMFC SYL U16 Boys to a 10-2 record while scoring 26 goals for and conceding only 10 goals against.

This past weekend, one Real Maryland FC’s SYL U16 players, John Lopes, and his DeMatha Stags team mates downed former #1 Nationally ranked Jesuit in penalty kicks, snapping the Sacramento school’s 67-game unbeaten streak and extending their own 34-game winning streak in the process.

DeMatha (10-0) took the lead in the 35th minute on a goal from John Lopes, who finished a rebound after a previous shot hit the post. Jesuit answered in regulation, but the Stags pulled out the win in PK’s.

John Lopes has spent two years on Varsity and is a 100 meter champion. In December, he and his Real Maryland FC team mates will travel down to Tampa, Florida to compete for the SYL U16 National Championship

DeMatha Catholic Boys Soccer is coached by Daffyd Evans and is located in Hyattsville, MD. Currently, the squad is 10-0 and ranked #2 in the Country and #1 Regionally by the NSCAA and Adidas Poll.

“I believe High School Varsity Soccer is important to a player’s development,” said Real Maryland FC’s General Manager David Noyes. “It allows them to develop and embrace a sense of school spirit. This allows a player’s psyche to have a rest from Club play for a short period and then they come back with a renewed and invigorated approach to the game. It’s Unique.”

The 2011 Super Y-League North American Finals presented by Umbro - one of the top college recruiting events in the country – is set for December 2-6 in Tampa, Florida. This year’s event will see the first day of matches begin on Friday, December 2nd, and the Championship matches scheduled for Tuesday, December 6th.

Tryouts for Real Maryland FC Super Y League will begin Mid-December after the USL’s SYL North American National Finals.