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17

Feb, 2019

Rush Select at PDT

Phoenix, Arizona – February 17, 2019 – Over the course of the weekend, 22 Rush Select teams have been competing in the Presidents’ Day Tournament (PDT) in Phoenix, Arizona. Now two days into the tournament, several teams are in good standing going into the semi-final matches tomorrow morning.

 

Rush Select brings together the top players within Rush to compete together at an elite level showcase. Additionally, teams travel abroad to compete against some of the top youth teams around the world. This year, players traveled from all corners of the United States (HI, AK, PA, FL, and everywhere in between), plus a good handful of players came from Rush Canada as well. As diverse as the players that represent clubs across Rush, the structure of the coaching staff also unifies the networking power and soccer IQ of Rush coaches from across Rush Nation as well.

 

The coaching staff for each age group is listed below:

 

2001 Boys: Arian Hoxha (HI), Greg Cumstone (CT), Matt Tebo (WI-W)

2001 Girls: Ben John (WI), Sara Merrick (CAS-Oregon)

2002 Boys: Mark Zathey (MI), Adam Ritchie (SWVA), Andy Machin (WA), Nikolai Derek (PA)

2002 Girls: Juan Castellanos (GA), Lindsey Smith (MT), Dave Sorensen (CAS), Josh Tyler (MO). Kourtni Alcock (WI-W)

2003 Boys: Chris Panayiotou (VA), Hector Ortega (CAN), Ricky Garcia (NORCAL), Lori Bembnister (WI-W)

2003 Girls: Olly Frick (ID), Antonia Land (CO, Kylie Lownds (WI-W), Ed Greene (CT)

2004 Boys: Dan Highstead (PP), Michael Cockroft (CHI), Slobo Pavlovic (CAN), Katrine Connors (VA)

2004 Girls: Matt Mittelstaedt (VA), Nicole Lukic (WI-W), Jacob Hyler (SWVA), Jaclyn Jacover (CHI), Kylie Clark (CO)

2005 Boys: Kristian Bates (PA), Janny Rivera (GA), Rachel Chavez (CHI), Mike Montgomery (AK)

2005 Girls: Nik Penn (SPI), Liam Lacy (CHI), Matt Wurth (CAS), Katie Keeter (VA)

2006 Boys: Matt Saul (PP/SPI), Colin Spreag (CT), Jonny Collins (CHI), Armando Sosa (ID), Dana Streufert (CO/SPI)

2006 Girls: Lauren Meehan (AK), Jess Nash (WI), Ben Wilbor (CHI), Joe Reiniger (GATE)

 

A full list of schedules for PDT is available here. Many of the age groups represented by Rush Select will feature both a Blue and a White team.

 

Stay tuned for more information and updates on the final days of the weekend via social media at Rush Soccer’s Facebook and Twitter accounts, along with Instagram posts at the @rushsoccer and @rush_select accounts.

 

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The Rush Select Program is designed to give extended opportunities to the elite level players in Rush. This allows the top players in individual clubs to play with players at and above their level. Domestically it gives older players additional opportunities to be recruited at college showcase events that perhaps their local club will not be invited to, and allow the younger players to compete against the best players in the country. The Rush Select teams also have the opportunity to travel internationally, training and playing games against local, regional and youth professional teams from various nations. There are international training programs and international tournaments of which both often include attendance to professional games including Champions League games. The immediate goal of the program is to win, so players are selected based on their ability to help the team win and not necessarily for the long term potential development. The long term goal is to identify and put players in a competitive environment for the potential selection for a Rush men's and women's professional team.