Portland, ME, Sunday July 1st; The Portland Phoenix U16 Boys beat Beachside SC (CT) 3-1 in a thrilling game at the US Youth Soccer Region 1 Finals in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The Region 1 Finals are the highest level of competition in the Northeast, and a number of Phoenix teams competed at the event.  To qualify for the Region 1 Finals, a team must win the State Cup or finish first in the Region 1 Premier League.

The U16 Boys went 3-0 in the group stages, and became only the third Maine team in history to qualify for the final four.

In addition, the U12 Boys went undefeated in their pool with one win and two ties, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the semi-finals.

Other Phoenix teams competing at the event were the U12 Girls, U16 Girls, U19 Girls, U13 Boys and U15 Boys.  This makes the Portland Phoenix the club that has more teams competing at Regionals than any other club in Maine this year.

The highlight of the weekend on the field was the victory over a powerful Beachside team.

“We are delighted to win against a team of their stature,” said Head Coach Paul Baber.  “It shows our players are developing and can compete at an elite level.  We are very proud of the effort and character shown by all Phoenix teams at the tournament.”

“In addition to the competitive success, we are delighted with the college exposure we are getting our players,” Baber continued.  “The U16 Boys alone had coaches in attendance from schools such as Lehigh, Cincinnati, Lafayette and Boston University among others.”

“Obviously we also have Bates College exposure every day in the form of Coach Flaherty, and he is making an active effort to help the boys through the recruitment process.”

As a club we are proud to have so many teams at the Region 1 Finals, and we aim to continue our success and have more participants next year on both the boys and girls side.

MPS will be holding tryouts for the 2012/2013 season and is excitement with the recent announcements of MCU Portland Phoenix, Southern Maine Phoenix, Mid coast Phoenix and LA Phoenix, during the month of June.  For more information on the tryout calendar please visit  http://www.mainepremiersoccer.com/ClubTryouts/index_E.html

For more information on playing opportunities in the MPS Premier Team program, please contact the Phoenix front office on 207 878 5780 or email the club at  for more details