July 18, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Redshirt freshman defender Marco Ciarla (Potomac, Md.) will compete in the Under 19 Finals of the 2008 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships as a member of Freestate United, a club team based in Bowie, Md. The tournament, which is scheduled to take place from July 22-27, will be held at Burns Park Soccer Complex in Little Rock, Ark.
Ciarla and his Freestate United teammates earned a berth to the tournament after capturing the Region I championship earlier this month at a competition in Portland, Maine. The winner will receive the James P. McGuire Cup.
Freestate United will face the KC Wizards Juniors (Kan.) in first round action on Wed., July 23 at 7:30 a.m.
The 2008 US Youth Soccer National Championship Series is the country's most prestigious national youth soccer tournament, providing approximately 185,000 players on more than 10,000 teams from US Youth Soccer's 55 State Associations the opportunity to showcase their soccer skills against the best competition in the nation while emphasizing teamwork, discipline and fair play.
The James P. McGuire Cup is the oldest trophy in youth sport dating back to 1935 with the inaugural youth championships. This is the 73rd anniversary of the storied cup.
With the graduation of long-time backline regulars Stephen Reihner and Geordie MacNeill, Ciarla, who redshirted the 2007 season, will have a prime opportunity to claim available playing time on the Penn State defense this year. The Nittany Lions kickoff the 2008 preseason on Tues., Aug. 19 when they host MAC opponent Marshall at Jeffrey Field in a 7 p.m. contest. Regular season action for Penn State begins on Fri., Aug 29 when it faces Central Florida in Columbus, Ohio on day one of the Ohio State/Wolstein Soccer Classic.