After losing to the Eagles Blue Under-17 boys soccer team 2-1 in a State Cup semifinal on May 16, Team Ohio faced a must-win situation if it planned on qualifying for a Midwest Regional Cup berth when the teams again collided June 7 in a Midwest Regional League game.

Team Ohio solidified its at-large spot in the Regional Cup with an impressive 3-0 win.

"We were pretty confident going in (to the rematch)," defender Jacob Eganhouse said. "We were focused a lot more. We realized what we had at stake and knew we missed our first chance, and we had to make up for it the second time."

Team Ohio finished tied with St. Croix Red Devils of Minnesota at 5-1-1 in the Midwest Regional League, but won the tiebreaker because of a superior goal differential.

Team Ohio will battle State Cup champion Vardar-West of Michigan in Regional Cup pool play Saturday, the first day of the tournament at Yankton Trails in Sioux City, S.D.

Other teams in the pool are FC Evansville of Indiana and Eastern Iowa United.

The top teams from the four pools advance to semifinals, with the tournament concluding Wednesday with finals.

"We've had an upturn in form and they're a good group of kids, so I'm not shocked at all," coach Chris Brown said. "There's no reason why this team shouldn't get out of their group. I will be disappointed if we don't."

This will be the team's third Regional Cup appearance. Two years ago, the team finished 2-1. Last year, it was 1-1-1.

"We're definitely one of the best teams in the region," goalkeeper Eric Osswald said. "We have the potential to win it. If we get out of our group, I think we have a chance of winning it. The third time is a charm."

"The key will be goal-scoring," Brown said. "We don't have a natural out-and-out goal-scorer, so if we can keep it tight in the back and not concede too many goals and we can just squeak in some goals, we can go far."

•The U-16 boys team also is hoping the third time is the charm.

Two years ago under coach Marc D'Auteuil, the Team Ohio U-14 boys finished 1-2 in the regional tournament. Last year, the U-15 team was 1-1-1.

"The depth is certainly going to help us and the experience factor is a plus," D'Auteuil said. "It's something that's unlike anything else in regard to club soccer. Going into it our kids know what to expect, they know what the games are like and know what it takes. It's exciting from that standpoint, but they still have to play. They still have to go out there and work hard and compete because the rest of the teams there belong there as well. There are no givens."

Team Ohio COSA captured the Midwest Region League title at 5-1-1 and then won the State Cup by beating CUP Crew Juniors Gold II of Cincinnati 1-0 on May 17.

Team Ohio COSA will open pool play Saturday against Woodridge of Ohio, the Ohio North State Cup champs.

Other teams in the pool are Heartland of Iowa and Capital Soccer Association of Nebraska.

A stifling defense and solid offensive pressure have been staples for the area team, as it allowed just two goals during Midwest Regional League action and one in State Cup play.

"Our defense is coming in solid and we have good players up top," defender Angelo Pagani said. "We have very good center midfielders. This is the deepest our bench has been. We've come in with a strong starting 11 these last few years, but this year our depth is huge."

Colin Evans has been impressive in goal for Team Ohio-COSA.

•The U-14 boys team will be making its first Regional Cup appearance.

Team Ohio earned a spot in the tournament by defeating the Crew Juniors Gold team 3-0 in the State Cup final May 17.

The impressive win helped Team Ohio avenge a 1-0 loss to the Crew Juniors in last year's State Cup final.

"We wanted to beat them this year after they beat us last year," midfielder Andrew McKelvey said.

It was the team's third State Cup in the past four years.

"There are a lot of strong personalities on this team," coach Brian Parsons said. "They have a lot of goals and winning the state championship this year was one of them. They were a determined bunch that weekend. This was probably the best team we had going into the tournament. We knew we had a good shot."

Team Ohio finished fourth in the Midwest Regional League at 4-3 behind first-place Lemont Raiders of Illinois (6-0-1).

Team Ohio and Lemont will meet in pool play Saturday.

Other teams in the pool are BVSC Stars Boca Juniors of Kansas and Everest SC of Hudson, Ohio.

"We're just as good as any team out there," Parsons said. "There are probably seven or eight teams that have the ability to win, and we're one of them."

Tyler Malone is the team's goalkeeper.

"He's probably the best goalkeeper in the state," Parsons said. "He'll show up and he'll be ready."

Marc D'Auteuil, coach of the Team Ohio COSA U-16 boys team, watches practice last Friday. D'Auteuil said that depth and regional tournament experience should be assets for his squad.

At a glance

U-14 Boys

Name, Pos., School

Alex Bumpus, D/MF, Hilliard Davidson

Dan Fitzpatrick, MF, Hilliard Bradley

Nick Gualtieri, MF, Dublin Coffman

Drew Hicks, D, St. Brigid

Austin Horton, MF, Olentangy Liberty

Miki Huber, F, Upper Arlington

Tyler Kidwell, D, Dublin Jerome

Bryan Luckscheiter, D/MF, Watterson

Tyler Malone, GK, Hilliard Bradley

Logan Manning, MF/F, Jonathan Alder

Andrew McKelvey, MF, St. Brigid

Jordan Messick, D, Point Pleasant

Kyle Moser, F, Dublin Jerome

Alex Polko, F, St. Charles

Ryan Prescott, MF, Dublin Coffman

Justin Stephens, MF, Dublin Jerome

Zack Vollmer, D/MF, Dublin Coffman

Mitchell Wiseman MF St. Charles

U-16 Boys

Name, Pos., School

Nick Anderson, D, Olentangy Orange

Colton Bloecher, MF, Olentangy Orange

Tony Boerio, MF/F, Pickerington North

Austin Dent, MF, Watkins Memorial

Jarvis D'Souza, MF, Olentangy Liberty

Colin Evans, GK, Olentangy Orange

Frazier Fernandes, F, Gahanna

Trevor Gates, D, DeSales

Zak Grady, MF, DeSales

Edward Harper, MF/D, DeSales

Anthony Hodge, F, Bexley

Abdullah Mulatawfia, F, Beechcroft

Angelo Pagani, D, DeSales

Max Rohda, D, Watterson

Brent Wahle, D, Hartley

Junior Besingi, MF/F, DeSales

U-17 Boys

Name, Pos., School

Saad Abdul Salaam, MF, Gahanna

Jeff Addis, MF, Dublin Jerome

Matt Asensio, F, Bexley

Brad Carrel, MF/D, Dublin Jerome

Jake Eganhouse, D, DeSales

Chris Green, D, Dublin Scioto

Max Hunter, D, Olentangy Orange

Joey Jameson, MF, Westerville North

Andrew Martin, MF, Columbus Academy

Eric Osswald, GK, Olentangy Liberty

Herman Paniagua, F, Hilliard Bradley

Taylor Reiger, MF, Olentangy Orange

Zach Schmidt, D, DeSales

Scott Schwartz, MF/D, Olentangy Liberty

Ryan Snashall, MF, Dublin Coffman

Jon Stegner, MF, Olentangy Liberty