Vail Valley Soccer Club U14 boys win U.S. Youth Soccer Presidents Cup national title

Alex Mellin has been a nice addition to the Vail Valley Soccer Club U14 boys team.

The future Glenwood Springs freshman joined the squad prior to the U.S. Youth Soccer Presidents Cup Far West regional tournament in Boise, Idaho last month and has demonstrated a knack for coming through in the clutch ever since. On Tuesday in Tampa, Florida, Mellin punched home the game-winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Chelsea East 11B Barrios of North Texas to help Vail capture the U.S. Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup championship.

“It’s really a surreal experience,” said Mellin, who also notched the game-winner in a 1-0 semifinal victory on Monday over SFC Academy. The Arizona-based team played Vail in the Far West Regional championship last month. The score was 0-0 with five minutes to go when Mellin came through with two goals to send his team to Florida.

“It’s just an amazing opportunity, being out here, sharing the field with friends,” Mellin continued. “The team has felt like family.”

“I could not be more proud of these boys,” stated head coach Jeremy Thelen in a press release. “They 100% earned this championship with their hard work and effort — not only today but through the entire process to get to the national stage.”

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The team is comprised of players from seven different middle schools in the Vail-area and nearby regions. Two teams from each of the country’s four regions advanced to the national tournament, where they were divided into two groups for the preliminary rounds. Vail topped its group with a 4-0 win over Barrios, a 2-2 draw with Virginia, and a 3-1 win against Illinois. That set up a rematch with SFC Academy.

“They were a great team,” said Nathan Trejo, a rising Battle Mountain freshmen. The final was another rematch. Trejo said even though his team had beaten Texas 4-0 in the prelims, Vail’s energy wasn’t where it needed to be to start the final.

“We started falling off a little bit,” he stated.

“It was a much harder game in the final,” added Mellin. “I feel like their mindset was just a lot stronger the second time we played them. … they wanted it just as bad as we did.”

A few clicks past the 15-minute mark, Trejo found Mellin from midfield.

“Me and him have a lot of chemistry together,” Trejo said. “Alex is a pretty quick player, so he just got to the ball and shot it.”

“Nathan crossed it in and I controlled it and chipped it over the keeper,” Mellin said.

The win was the culmination of a cross-country victory parade that included undefeated marks at the Colorado state qualifier, regional and national tournaments. The club’s U17 squad was also in Tampa, but fell 3-2 to New Jersey in a hard-fought semifinal match. Last summer, the U16 team played to a national runner-up finish in Wichita, Kansas. This U14 national title is the first for the Vail Valley Soccer Club in that age group.

“It was a little nerve-racking, not going to lie,” Mellin said. “But it was just an honor to be there out on the field.”

“This is a special group of players who have talent, but are also great kids on and off the field,” Thelen added. “They play for each other. They play for themselves. And they play for their community.”

“They’ve been working toward this moment for years, and to see their growth, resilience, and dedication pay off on a national stage is something truly special,” added assistant coach Jaime Najera. “Thank you to the Vail Valley community for cheering us on.”