SENECA SOCCER ASSOCIATION

"Preferred-player" discounts for premier-level soccer camps are being offered to Seneca SA members exclusively by VanWinterSoccer -- voted one of the best summer sports camps in the D.C. Area by Bethesda Magazine.

Camps begin June 25th and run through Aug. 10th at Timberlawn Local Park in N. Bethesda -- convenient from both I-270 and 495 -- from 9-3:00 daily, with nightly "high school prep" fitness sessions for players comitted to making the "next level." VanWinterSoccer also offers age-appropriate "Team Camps" and individual training for aspiring players throughout the summer. 

For sign-up information, go to VanWinterSoccer.Com.

All sessions are personally supervised by Coach Lance Van Winter (Whitman HS State Champion and later JV Coach; University of South Carolina Men's Soccer; former MSI Vice-President and Seneca Soccer Association President). Coach Van Winter previously led the Region-I U19 Seneca Strikers to the 2010 State Cup Finals. He is also the Head Coach of the three-time State Cup Quarterfinalist U18 Seneca Rapids, and trainer of the NCSL Div.-III U15 Seneca Thunderbolts, winners of the 2012 Baltimore March Mania and 2011 Columbia Fall Classic college showcase tournaments).

The Seneca Storm U19 Girls (whose players come from 17 different schools) won the 2012 FPYC Liberty Cup Invitational Tournament.  They opened the tournament in a rematch of last year’s championship game where the Storm, this time, came out on top.  Congratulations Storm!

The Seneca “Bolts” went undefeated in the 2012 Baltimore March Mania college showcase tournament on March 17-18 in Owings Mills, MD -- besting teams from four states by a goal differential of 9-3, including two shut-outs, in an exhausting run to the championship.

It was the Thunderbolts’ second major showcase title in four months.

Featuring players from nine area high schools in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, the Rockville-based Bolts previously won the Columbia Fall Classic in November. After sitting-out the fall season for high school ball, the Seneca boys return to action this spring in D-III of the National Capital Soccer League.

The Thunderbolts, who have advanced four divisions in less than 3 years, previously won the August Cup in 2010 and were finalists in 2011. Four-time indoor league champions, they are trained exclusively by Van Winter Soccer under Dale Rodman (Dickinson College; Walt Whitman HS).

“Dale pushed our boys all winter indoors at Champ’s Field House,” said Head Coach Jim Haner, “but he really got after them the minute we stepped outside. As we say on the team, ‘Dale is Dale.’ The kids love him, but there’s no slack in our program – and it showed over four games. We were dogged by the end, but we out-lasted everyone we played.”

Game One set the pattern of the tournament:

Down by two in the first half against the Elite Soccer Academy Strikers of Plainfield, NJ -- who had allowed only one goal in their preceding nine games – Seneca roared back in the 2nd half and lit up the Jersey boys for three unanswered strikes under the crossbar in 24 minutes to win the match.

“Win the first game,” former Seneca President Lance Van Winter told the boys in a text message before their 8 a.m. kickoff at the Garret Forest School, “and you become favorites to win it all … pride matters.”

Said Coach Haner at half-time: “Are they better than us? Have they shown us anything we haven’t seen before? Okay, then. If we want to wear these colors, fellas, and call ourselves a Seneca Team, now is when we prove it.”

Final score:

SSA: 3.

ESA: 2.

SSA Magic, U13 Girls, were the runner ups in the Stafford St. Patrick’s Day Tournament.  Highlighted by a nice come from behind victory in the semifinal game that went to 7 rounds of PKs.  The girls played hard all weekend and lost the close Championship game 1-0.  Congratulations Magic!

SSA United 99, U12B, won the 2012 Good Counsel Futsal Tournament with the perfect record of 3-0-0. Congratulations SSA United 99!

SSA United 2000, U11B, won the 2012 Good Counsel Futsal Tournament with the perfect record of 3-0-0. Congratulations SSA United 2000!

Rob Kurtz, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and U19G SSA Eagles head-coach, has been selected as the Coach of the Year in the State of Maryland for his fourth consecutive state title!

Here’s the quote from one of the papers:  "Led team, which lost more than 75 percent of scoring from 2010, through one obstacle after another to record fourth consecutive state title." Also from the article, Rob coached two seniors who were named to the First Team, and a Junior and a Sophmore who were nominated to the Second Team All-State!

Congratulations Coach Kurtz on this prestigious award.  It embodies the essence of what it means to be a good coach who makes a difference in the lives of our athletes, and Seneca is very proud that Coach Kurtz is one of our own.

On a perfect weekend for soccer (Nov. 11-13), four Seneca squads took division championships in the well-attended Columbia Fall Classic tournament – which featured 185 teams representing 5 state associations in Region I, and attracted college coaches from throughout Maryland.

“The results sort of speak for themselves,” said out-going SSA President Lance Van Winter. “To have four teams from one club do this well at such a competitive event hardly ever happens. It speaks volumes about the quality of our kids, and our coaches.”

The U14 SSA Venom, led by coaches Ron Loube and Winston Gomez, allowed only one goal (and scored 8) to win their flight after a 2-0-1 run. The Venom have won seven championships since forming at the beginning of 2009 – including an NCSL divisional title in Fall, 2011 (9-0-1).

The U15 SSA Thunderbolts went on a four-game undefeated tear – finishing with a goal-ratio of 12-1 and three “clean sheets” behind one of the most consistent defenses in D.C.-area soccer. Their win in Columbia advanced them three slots in the state rankings to no. 12.

Since last year, the Bolts rose two divisions in the NCSL, allowing a total of only 9 goals (while scoring 33) with coaches Jim Haner and Dave Milligan. Trained by Dale Rodman of Dickinson College (formerly, Walt Whitman HS), the Bolts won the 2010 August Cup and were finalists again in 2011. Thunderbolts were selected for 8 high school teams in two counties in the fall.

The U16 SSA Arsenal, led by coaches Oscar Amaguana and Mark Banfield, secured their second title of 2011 with a 3-0-1 campaign in the Columbia tournament -- and zero goals allowed. The Arsenal previously won the OBGC Capital Cup over Labor Day weekend and currently are ranked 17th in the State with a 63 percent win rate.

For the U19 SSA Rapids under Coach Lance Van Winter, it was their second championship in five months after previously taking a division title (8-1-0; 32 goals-for; 4 against) in the Spring 2011 NCSL season. In the past year, the team also were finalists in both the Richmond Capital Cup and Baltimore March Mania tournaments – as well as State Cup quarterfinalists for the second year in a row. With a win percentage of 70 percent, the team is now ranked 10th in the state of Maryland at U19. Five area high schools are represented on the Rapids.

Tryout information for these squads can be found on their team pages. Congratulations to the boys, their families and their coaches!

Please click here for more information!

Please click here to visit Blink’s official website for more details and tryout information

Front row L-R:Santiago Sosa,Samuel Zuniga,MIguel Aguilar,Dalton Zuniga
Back row L-R: Ricky Ruiz,Evan Judge,Triston Price,Jason Medrano,Jordan Walker,Nick Ratra coach Luis Zuniga

Front row L-R:Nick, Dalton, Evan, Jordan, Jason
Back row L-R:Jack, Alex, Mackenzie, Coach Luis Zuniga

Second row: Darwin R, Darwin M, Julio M and Henderson R.