Youth Soccer

Soccer SCYA Storm 5, Maryland City Mustangs U-9 girls 2 (Samantha Ferrer, Sophia Bellofatto, Zoe Butler) U-12 Mustangs 3 (Sara Crouch, Brittany Johnson, Jaila Canzater), Storm 0 5-6 Mustangs Mini-Kicks: Blue Jays (Luke Dahlen, Jaidyn Alford, Maurice Ray Jr.) played Green Dragons (Cristian Sosa-Rodriguez, Jose Quintanilla) Mustangs U-14 boys 4 (Caleb Likekele, Jay Venit, Danny Castillo), Bayshore Cosmos 2 Mustangs U-8 Super Strikers 5 (Elias Jones)

A member of the top-rated youth soccer program in the country, Mike Gamble was asked what it felt like to put on the Baltimore Bays' jersey. Gamble, currently on the club's under-16 team and one of the U.S.'s most promising players, hinted that the better question may have been whether he ever takes the jersey off. "In my house and everywhere I go, I'm always wearing Bays stuff because I feel so much pride," said Gamble, the team's top...

The Baltimore Police Department kicked off its spring soccer league yesterday afternoon at a municipal park that was once a haven for drug dealers.More than 500 children packed Frank C. Bocek Park, on East Madison Street at the edge of some of East Baltimore's most dangerous neighborhoods. Provident Bank of Maryland donated $25,000 to pay for referees and uniforms."I came to have fun," said Shatel Veazy, 10, a fifth-grader at Frederick Elementary School. "I have no experience with soccer, but I like to kick things."

Two June graduates have been selected to the girls U.S. national youth (under 19) soccer team after tryouts in Colorado Springs, Colo., Aug. 1-8.Sweeper Terri Rich (Dulaney, University of Maryland) and midfielder Julia Malinowski (John Carroll, Arkansas) will attend two more training camps before the team embarks on an international tour next year.Rich played defense for much of her high school career, but still finished with 74 goals for the Lions. Malinowski, John Carroll's third all-time scorer with 50 goals, switched to defense midway through her senior year to spark a seven-game, season-ending win streak and a second straight Catholic League championship.

A NEW ERA in area youth soccer begins this weekend at Roberts Mill Park in Taneytown.Francis Scott Key Junior Eagles Soccer Club kicks off its regular season at its new home Saturday, and the group has a morning ceremony planned to dedicate its fields, show appreciation to the city for their construction and celebrate opening day.Action at the new park starts with an 8: 30 a.m. game between the Francis Scott Key under-10 boys B team and Reisterstown/Owings Mills,...

It seems that there's no rest for weary sports parents. The baseball bats and gloves are barely cool to the touch, and suddenly it's time for fall sports.Drive anywhere close to Eldersburg Elementary School and you'll realize that soccer season is fast approaching.Soccer goals have sprung up seemingly overnight, as the Freedom District Optimist soccer program prepares for its fall season.This year, about 1,400 boys and girls 5 to 18 years old will participate. The program has 102 recreational teams and 11 travel teams.

While Italy and Brazil kicked their way to the World Cup final in the Rose Bowl, two Glenelg High School graduates have been chasing a soccer dream of their own.Russell Payne and Dan Gartner, whose GHS soccer team won the Maryland State Championship in 1993, are on their way to the semifinals of the Snickers United States Youth National Championship as members of the Baltimore Spirit under-19 team in Blain, Minn., near Minneapolis.The team will play Southern California Salsa in a semifinal match.

The Brooklyn Park Youth Athletic Association is accepting registrations for soccer from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays at the Sugar Shack on 10th Avenue. Children ages 5 to 15 are invited to play. Registration fees are $25 for one child or $40 for two or more.For more information, call Frank Shipley at 636-1343.*You still have time to enroll your children for swimming lessons. The YWCA of Greater Baltimore offers swimming lessons for preschoolers to advanced swimmers at the North Linthicum Recreation Pool at Overlook Park.

THE BULGARIA Futbol Club (BFC), an under-14 boys' select indoor soccer team sponsored by a Crofton diamond merchant and coached by an Arundel Middle School teacher, is headed to the North American Indoor Soccer Championship March 14 and 15 in Detroit.The team, which took its name to honor Dimitar Dimkov, a Bulgarian soccer coach, and the Bulgarian diplomats who helped get it started, will compete against the best teams from the United States, Canada and Mexico.Led by coach Sean Tettemer and manager Charlie Dolan, the BFC swept the Maryland Regional tournament, held recently in Columbia, to qualify for the North American championship tournament in its inaugural.

Two teams with different soccer lineage are within a pair of victories each of bringing national boys soccer championships back to Baltimore from Phoenix, Ariz., later this week.Columbia City United, a team formed essentially with the objective of trying for the U.S. Youth Soccer Association's top prize, carries an obvious pedigree.As last year's Under-17 national titlist, United flew into Phoenix yesterday looking for a second straight national crown, at U-18 this time, having back-to-back Maryland and Maine-to-Virginia regional titles among its honors.