CARSON, Calif. (July 17, 2010) — Two second half goals by Vardar’s Derek Schrauben helped the Michigan side come from behind to defeat Crossfire Premier and win the 2009-10 Development Academy U-17/18 national championship at The Home Depot Center. Liam Kelly lit up the scoreboard in the 12th minute for Crossfire, but Vardar recovered and tied it in the 29th minute before winning with Schrauben’s heroics late in the game.

“We were confident that there were things we could do better in the second half and get back to doing things the way we know how,” said Vardar head coach Demir Muftari. “The boys really responded well and had a really good second half. It was good not only to get the second one, but also to get that third one and put them away.”

The championship match was the first for both teams in their first appearances at Finals Week. Vardar earned a spot in the final through offensive fireworks, scoring seven times in group matches—with one of those goals being the difference between them and Real So Cal that got them into the championship match. Crossfire Premiere went the other way, rebounding from an opening game loss to FC Dallas to respond with two straight shutout wins to finish at the top of Group 1.    READ FULL GAME SUMMARY SUMMARY