For the first time, four Eastern New York teams are vying for titles at the U.S. Youth Soccer nationals.  The teams competing in Lancaster, Mass. include three boys teams -- the Dix Hills Thunder (Under-14), Hicksville Strikers (U-16) and East Fishkill Thunder (U-18) and one girls team -- Syosset Rough Riders Elite (U-16).

"It’s tremendous," East Fishkill coach Eddie Evans said. "It’s a testament to the development of soccer in Eastern New York. Everything is getting stronger. The competition is getting stronger."

Dix Hills coach Bart Nason agreed. "That’s just great stuff," he said. "I am excited for New York and I am excited for the team."

Hicksville coach Kenny Parker called it "a special time."

"I hope we can represent Eastern New York well and hopefully bring home some trophies," he said.

Here is a look at the four teams:

Dix Hills Thunder Right On Schedule For Boys U-14 National Title

Coach Bart Nason figures the Dix Hills Thunder players have been playing their young soccer lives for this -- a chance at a national title. "Our goal when we put the other together was to win a national championship as a U-14 team," he said.  And as it turns out, the Dix Hills Thunder Boys Under-14 team is playing at the U.S. Youth Soccer nationals in Lancaster, Mass. starting on Wednesday.

"You don’t get a lot of chances to get there," Nason said. "We’re there. We’ve got to take advantage of it."

He told the team, "Guys, this might be our first and only chance to get there."

The Thunder is ranked No. 1 nationally in the Got Soccer national rankings. "I think our chances are good," Nason said. "They know we’re the team to beat."

But Nason isn’t taking anything for granted.

"Hey, it’s us against the world," he said. "We’re going to go out with a gung-ho attitude."

Dix Hills will kick off its participation against West Coast FC (Cal-South) at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

"They’re from the west coast," Nason said of the early starting time. "It might give us a drop."

The Thunder plays Scott Gallagher S.C. (Mo.) at 1:30 p.m. Thursday and CASL Elite at 11:30 a.m. Friday. The top two teams in the round-robin will meet for the title at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

"We’ve played them [CASL] before," Nason said. "Scott Gallagher -- that’s going to be a tremendous challenge. I know they’re a very well coached team. Eleven solid players. No weak links on the team."

No one has to remind Nason that the Thunder was fortunate to reach the Region I tournament in Huntington, W.Va. earlier this month.

"This year we had a bumpy road to get there," Nason said. "We didn’t win State Cup for the first time. . . . We weren’t automatic. We needed some help to get through."

The Thunder got through by winning the Region I League.

The season wasn’t an easy one as well. The team lost a National Team player, Dylan Greenburg, to the Albertson S.C. Academy team, and 6-2 forward Jonathan Jonathan Interiano, who was sidelined for fourth months with an injury.

"That shows the depth of the team," Nason said. "To go without two top players is a significant accomplishment by the kids."

Dix Hills reached the regionals for three years running. The Thunder lost in the U-12 championship game in 2007, 1-0, won last year’s U-13 final, although there wasn’t a national title at the end of the rainbow. U-14 through U-19 teams are eligible for a national championship.

"Our kids are veterans and have been there," Nason said.

It certainly helps in the pressure-cooker called the regionals.

The Thunder clinched a semifinal spot by winning both its games; the third group game was not played due to inclement weather and because it was non needed to find a Final Four team.

Donovan Fraser gave the Thunder a 1-0 lead against the Greater Boston Bolts. Nason said Dix Hills was dominating play and finding the back of the net, but for some reason they didn’t count.

"We were scoring goals and they were calling them back. Fouls. Offside," Nason said.

The Bolts equalized, but Richard Robinson gave the Thunder a 2-1 lead. With the Bolts trying to equalize once again, Boston pulled its goalkeeper. Fraser got the ball at the top of the box and went 80 yards with a player a step behind him before he scored.

For the semifinals against FC Delco, Nason decided to start a four-man backline. Dix Hills surrendered a goal four minutes into the match. At halftime, Nason switched to a 3-4-3 formation. With four minutes remaining, Fraser equalized. After the team traded extra-time goals, the Thunder prevailed in the shootout. Myles Bent scored a key penalty to keep Dix Hills alive and Donovan put home the game-winner. Goalkeeper Jordan Gross made two vital saves and the Thunder was going to the final.

That set up the final between the Thunder and the New Jersey Soccer Academy 04, which is coached by former U.S. National Team player and MetroStars midfielder Tab Ramos. Nason and Ramos are good friends.

On the day of the game, the local Huntington, W.Va. newspaper had a big story about Ramos and his son, Alex.

Nason said he told his players, "You’re not playing against the New Jersey Soccer Academy. You’re playing against Tab Ramos. I’m telling you right now. You’re playing against the legend of Tab Ramos.’

"The kids out there took care of business."

Indeed they did.

Robinson scored 20 minutes into the match and the Thunder made sure the goal held up in a 1-0 win.

"Even though it was a 1-0 game, we felt we were in control," Nason said. "We weren’t going to made a mistake that day."

The key to the Thunder’s success? The team’s work ethic. Nason admitted he uses a saying from the Liverpool FC locker room.

"Hard work will always beat talent if talent doesn’t work hard," he told a reporter.

Nason got his team prepared by playing in the regional league and tournaments against other top sides in the Thunder’s age division along the east coast.

"Every years we got out to play a lot of regional soccer to see what’s out there," he said. "We went in there and we had known every team."

The Thunder played at the Dallas Cup this spring.

"Why the Dallas Cup some people asked," Nason said. "Hey, we’ve got to get to the nationals. We have to see how the other teams are. Hopefully, the experience at the Dallas Cup will help us at the nationals."

Syosset Rough Riders U-16 Lone Girls Team At The Youth Nationals

The Syosset Rough Riders Elite team is the lone Eastern New York Girls,team to reach the U.S. Youth Soccer nationals in Lancaster, Mass. this week.

Syosset will play in the Girls U-16 Division.

The Rough Riders will take on Cleveland FC in its first game at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, play the Ponte Vedra Storm (Fla.) at 7:30 a.m. Thursday and the De Anza Force at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.

If the Rough Riders finish in the top two teams in their group, they will play for the national championship at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

Everything Is Falling Together For The Hicksville Strikers

For the Hicksville Strikers, life certainly can’t get much better these days.

They reached the Eastern New York State Cup finals for the third consecutive year and found a way to to win. They won the Region I Premier League Boys Under-16 championship.

The Strikers can add the Region I tournament to their trophy collection.

"Everything was falling into place," coach Kenny Parker said. "Things just happened to work out well. We played well."

Parker is hoping his Strikers will continue to play well at the U.S. Youth Soccer nationals in Lancaster, Mass.

Hicksville starts its participation against CESA 92 Premier (S.C.) at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday before taking on Arsenal FC (Calif.) at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday before meeting the Campton United Navy (Ill). at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. If the Strikers finish either first or second in their group, they will qualify for the national finals at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Parker admitted he wasn’t familiar with his opponents.

"Not really," he said. "We did some internal searching to see if there were any common opponents.

Parker said the Strikers were "going to go in there and play our games. Getting there is a big plus. If we play our game, we can give any team a run. It’s going to be tough. It’s not going to be easy.

"I would like to think our chances are good. If the ball bounce our way, I think the boys are up to the task. They’ve been playing good competition all year."

Such as at the regionals in Huntington, W.Va. Hicksville entered the final day of group play needing a tie or a win to reach the semifinals.

Due to heavy rain, good fields were at a premium.

"They found a turf field to play on," Parker said. "We consider ourselves a turf team."

The Strikers defeated West Hartford (Conn.), 1-0, and reached the Final Four. There, Hicksville edged Synergy (Vt.), 2-1, to set up the final confrontation against the McLean MPS Hurricanes (Va.).

Parker said the game was "one of the most exciting games I’ve ever been involved in. In the first 15 or 20 minutes, we could have been up 2-0 or 3-0. We hit the host and hit the crossbar."

Hicksville found itself down 1-0.

"It’s been a while since we’ve been down," Parker said.

But the Strikers battled back as Matt Wendelken equalized in the 70th minute.

"That kind of sparked our boys," Parker said.

The game had to be decided via penalty kicks. The Strikers managed to come out on top as Chris Campbell converted his chance and goalkeeper Chris Maierle made a key save, guessing correctly. Hicksville won the shootout, 6-5.

The Strikers celebrated.

"My son was one of the boys out there," Parker said. "it was a huge pile-up on the middle of the field. It’s almost getting to the point that its a very special year for us."

Parker said that he enjoys coaching this team.

"It’s just a really good bunch of kids," he said. "They’re spread out on the island a bit. We started as eight-year-olds and through attrition and subtraction the team was built.

"No one puts himself in front of the team. I told the parents that I would have no problem taking these kids from. They’re well-behaved. They’re very mature. It’s almost like they have a goal set for themselves this year."

 East Fishkill Thunder Gets Hot When It Really Counts

Go figure.

The East Fishkill Thunder struggled in the Boys Under-18 Division of the Region I League, but managed to win the regional tournament and reach the U.S. Youth Soccer nationals.

"Winning the regionals is always something you try to do," Thunder coach Eddie Evans said. "We were just excited to do that. We took the attitude, ’We’ll try to our best and see what happens.’ "

What happened was the first Region I title in club history.

"The biggest difference for us is that we didn’t approach the Region I [league] well as a group. We played them on Saturday and then in the State Cup on Sunday," Evans said. "We took the attitude, ’Let’s not not get hurt.’ "

That because there was always another day in the Region I League. In the Eastern New York State Cup, one loss and you’re out in the knockout competition.

But Evans realized that playing in the Region I league helped East Fishkill, which finished seventh out of eight teams in the league with a 1-3-3 record.

""It definitely toughened us up," he said. "We had a lot of key injuries this year. "Our starting centerback [Jeff Christian] broke his leg. We had to make some changes. We got healthy at the right time."

The right time meant reaching the U.S. Youth nationals in Lancaster, Mass.

The Thunder will start its quest for the national title against Javanon 91 (Ken.) at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. East Fishkill will meet DSC 90 Green (S.C.) at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday before taking on the WSM Internationals (Ore.) at 9:30 a.m. on Friday. The top two teams from the round-robin competition will qualify for the championship game, which will be held at 7:45 a.m. on Sunday.

"It’s just a whole different experience for our guys," Evans said.

But East Fishkill is ready.

"We’ve been training four-five days a week," Evans said. "Our training sessions have been going great. Anything can happen now."

It’s funny. After struggling in the Region 1 league, the Thunder won all five of its games at the regional tournament in Huntington, W.Va. East Fishkill outscored its three group foes, 13-1, setting up a semifinal encounter with Spirit United Premier (Eastern Pennsylvania).

The Thunder lost to Spirit United Premier in the Jefferson Cup, 1-0, on a late goal as East Fishkill played primarily with 10 men for a majority of the game.

But this time the Thunder was starting with a clean slate.

"We drew the second best team," Evans said. "We were pretty nervous. We didn’t think we’d get past them. that would be a great victory for us."

It was as East Fishkill recorded a 2-0 win as Jake Egan and Matt Martin scored goals. Egan, however, tweaked his hamstring in the match.

Next up was PDA Cruyff.

"We talked the night before," Evans said. "We’ve gotten this far, no one expected us to be in the final. We came in with the attitude that everything they did, we had to work three times as much."

The Thunder played without Egan for most of the first half.

Michael Dix converted a penalty kick for East Fishkill. PDA had one as well, but goalkeeper John Bryant saved that attempt with 15 minutes left to secure the victory.

Evans said the save "was a huge turning point for us. That’s when they realized they could win the game."

And when the final whistle was sounded, "All the kids were in disbelief they could pull it off," Evans said.

Egan, who scored seven of East Fishkill’s 16 goals in the regionals, is hoping to play at the nationals.

"He’s getting there," Evans said. "We hoping to have him 85 percent by Wednesday."

The key to the Thunder’s success?

"The majority of the guys have been together since they were Under-8’s and Under-10’s," Evans said. "They’re a great bunch of guys to work with. Every day is an adventure, I tell them."

Now the Thunder is living one of the best adventures in all of youth soccer.