Special Report from Jim Victor at the USYSA Region III Championships.

The U19 Aiken Fire boys team has won their group and has advanced to the semifinals of the USYSA Region 3 Tournament in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The annual tournament for teams that have won their respective state tournaments is being held in Little Rock for the second time in five years. In 2002, the then U15 Aiken Fire won the regional title and advanced to the national championship series, eventually losing in the national U15 championship final 1-0.

The U19 Fire is comprised of players who have played for the team over the years. Included on the roster are:

Eric Baffour (North Augusta HS) - Furman University
William Batson (Richmond Academy) - Colgate University
Rafi Berios (Pope Academy)
Jamal Geathers (South Aiken HS) - Will attend USC
Jordan Gilbert (Aquinas HS) - Clayton State University
Mike Gustavson (South Aiken HS) - USC
Sani Hadziahmetovic (Irmo HS) - Duke University
Gavin Hamilton (Evans HS) - Augusta State
David Hunter (Victory Christian Academy)
Markus Jackson (Richmond Academy) - Yale University
Marquintez Jackson (Richmond Academy) - Will attend Clayton State University
John Odum (Aiken HS) - Presbyterian College
Schuyler Reardon (Aiken HS) - Will attend USC
Parker Rogers (Richmond Academy) - Clemson University
Rob Victor (Aiken HS) - Furman University

The Aiken Fire won their group by defeating the South Texas state champions in the first game by a score of 1-0. Will Batson's direct kick from 20 yards out along the goal line was played low. Eric Baffour "dummied" the ball through is legs and before it reached the far post where Jordan Gilbert touched it in. The South Texan team mounted several attempts to tie the score but was denied by the defense of Gustavson in goal, Odum, Gilbert, Hunter, Rogers and Markus Jackson on defense.

The Fire lost their second game 3-1 to the Brentwood, Tennessee team. Although the Fire dominated play and had numerous chances to score, they could not finish their chances and eventually gave up a late counter attack goal in the final 15 seconds to make the score look worse than it really was. The lone Aiken goal was scored by Jamal Geathers after a throw in by Schuyler Reardon was flicked by Rob Victor and eventually made it's way to Geathers who poked it in.

After two games, all four teams in the group had one win and one tie. An Aiken Fire win in their third game coupled with a South Texas defeat over Tennessee would allow the Aiken Fire to win the group and advance to the semifinals.

Aiken Fire played the Florida state champs from Brandon, Florida in the third game. Brandon had defeated TN (7-0) and had lost (3-2) to South Texas. The game was played end-to-end with both teams knowing that a win was necessary for advancement. With the extremely hot temperatures reaching in the upper 90's the Fire rotated Batson, Hadziahmetovic, Hamilton, Reardon, Rogers, Q. Jackson and even Markus Jackson in the midfield to keep fresh players on the field. Both teams had numerous chances in a game. Some spectators described the match as a "heavy weight fight" with both teams throwing their best offensive weapons only to be denied by missed shots, goalkeeper saves and defensive stops. With 5 minutes to in the Aiken game, the South Texas game was final with South Texas winning 6-2. This set up the perfect scenario for Aiken Fire as a win would get them the top seed in the group based on head to head results with South texas. Aiken Fire had gone to three up top with ten minutes to go to try to get the go-ahead goal. Quality chances by geathers, Baffour and Victor had been either stuffed or deflected by the Florida keeper. As the 90 minutes expired the 4th official announced 5 extra minutes of time would be played. In the 94th minute, Sani Hadziahmetovic stole a pass, layed it off to Reardon who found a streaking Markus Jackson going down the right side. Jackson beat his man and turned into the box where he was knocked to the ground by the defender. The ref called for a penalty kick. Eric Baffour (Iceman) stepped up and promptly placed the PK in the upper right-hand corner to secure the 1-0 victory and put the Aiken Fire into the semifinals of the Southern Regionals for the fourth time in six years.

The Fire will play the U19 Dallas Texans Red in the semifinal at 11:30 on Tuesday, July 4. The Dallas Texans Red are the defending national champions. They are also the team that defeated the Aiken Fire in the U16 Southern Regional final (2003) to deny the Fire back-to-back regional championships. The Aiken Fire had won the Southern Regional at U15.

Aiken Fire will play without Mike Gustavson in goal as "Goose" has been called up to the U20 National Team training camp/games in Canada and had to leave on Monday, July 3 to report to that team.