PORTLAND, Ore. – U.S. Soccer today announced that Timbers U-16 Academy forward Rubio Rubin was named the U.S. Soccer Young Male Athlete of the Year for 2012. Rubin is a member of the U.S. U-17 Residency Program and is one of the leading goal-scorers for the U.S. U-17 National Team this year.
Rubin (Beaverton, Ore.) has scored eight goals this year with the U.S. U-17 National Team. He tallied goals in four straight games during the month of October, including the equalizer against Mexico on Oct. 6 to earn the U.S. U-17 National Team a second-place finish in the 2012 ASG Cup in Spain.
READ: List of previous winners on USsoccer.com is impressive
Rubin was one of five nominees for the award, a list that also included forward Terrence Boyd, midfielder Joe Corona, defender Shaquell Moore and midfielder Danny Williams. All nominees were eligible for U.S. youth national teams in 2012.
The U.S. U-17 National Team is preparing for the upcoming 2012 Nike International Friendlies in Lakewood Ranch, Fla., where the team will face Brazil, Turkey and Portugal from Nov. 28-Dec. 4.
Timbers Academy teams earn three wins during California road trip
The Timbers Academy teams earned three wins out of four games during a weekend trip to California, where they played against Cal Odyssey and San Jose Earthquakes Academy.
Forward Christian Desir (Portland, Ore.) and midfielder James Nosack (Ridgefield, Wash.) each scored two goals over the weekend to help the Timbers U-18 Academy (3-4-2, 11pts) split their matches against Cal Odyssey and first-place San Jose Earthquakes U-18 Academy.
Led by a brace from Desir, the Timbers U-18s defeated Cal Odyssey 4-3 on Saturday. After going down a goal, the Timbers U-18s responded with three consecutive goals by Desir, defender Abdiel Morfin (Canby, Ore.) and Nosack to take a 3-1 lead in the 46th minute. Cal Odyssey would score twice in the second half, including a goal in the 89th minute, but Desir scored what would prove to be the game-winner in the 59th minute, lifting the Timbers U-18s to their third victory of the season.
Nosack scored his second goal of the weekend in a 2-1 loss to the Earthquakes U-18s on Sunday. The Timbers U-18s were able to level the score in the 49th minute on Nosack’s second goal of the season, but Roberto Mendoza delivered the game-winning goal for San Jose in the 60th minute. In the first half, Timbers U-18s goalkeeper Mitch North (Medford, Ore.) made save on a penalty kick attempt shortly after the Earthquakes U-18s’ go-ahead goal in the 33rd minute. Portland finished the match with 10 players after midfielder Foster Langdorf (Vancouver, Wash.) was sent off around the 60th minute.
The Timbers U-16 Academy (4-1-4, 16pts) swept their two matches over the weekend, defeating the U-16 sides for both Cal Odyssey and San Jose Earthquakes, to move into sole possession of third place in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy’s Northwest Division. Forward Rolando Velazquez (Junction City, Ore.) scored in both matches – his first two goals of the season.
The Timbers U-16s picked up their first shutout of the season, defeating Cal Odyssey 4-0 on Saturday at the College of the Sequoias in Visalia, Calif. Forward Alejandro Segovia (Beaverton, Ore.) opened the scoring in the 30th minute and midfielder Jesse Garcia-Aguilar (Hillsboro, Ore.) notched his team-leading fourth goal in the 42nd minute to give the Timbers U-16s a 2-0 lead at halftime. Following an own goal by Cal Odyssey in the 68th minute, Velazquez tallied the final goal in the 74th minute to seal the team’s largest win of the season.
The Timbers U-16s capped the weekend with a 2-0 victory over the Earthquakes U-16s at the Nutrilite Training Facility in San Jose, Calif. After a scoreless first half, the Timbers U-16s scored twice in the second half on goals by Velazquez and midfielder Octavio Hermosillo (Portland, Ore.) to capture the win. Goalkeeper Joseph Martin (Terrebonne, Ore.) recorded both clean sheets on the weekend to help the Timbers U-16s remain unbeaten (3-0-3) on the road this season.
The Timbers Academy teams will take a short break this week for Thanksgiving and return to training next week ahead of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Winter Showcase in Lakewood Ranch, Fla., from Nov. 29-Dec. 4.
