MOBILE, Ala.-University of South Alabama soccer signee Kristyn Thacker and her club team will represent the South Region in the 2010 US Soccer National Championships in Overland Park, Kan., July 20-25.

The Ellenwood, Ga., native helped her club team AFC Lightning 92 White defeat Sting 92, 2-1, to win its first regional title just six weeks after claiming the squad’s first state title.

Each team will play three round-robin games and the top two teams will advance to championship match. AFC Lighting will face Region 2 winners Eclipse Select 91/92, located in Oak Brook, Ill., in the first round on July 21.

Thacker was a four-year letterwinner at Union Grove High School in Ellenwood, Ga., where she earned first-team all-county honors. She is the school’s career leader in goals (82), assists (34) and points (198), and holds the single-season records in goals (37) and points (87).  

The US Youth Soccer National Championship Series is the most prestigious national youth soccer tournament, providing approximately 185,000 players on more than 10,000 teams from US Youth Soccer’s 55 state Associations the opportunity to showcase their skills against the best competition in the nation while emphasizing teamwork, discipline and fair play.

The National Championships cap a yearlong series of competitions for boy’s and girl’s teams in multiple age groups as teams earn their way from state to the regional tournaments. The champions in the Under-14 through Under-19 age groups from each regional event will converge for the finals in Kansas.

Thacker and the USA soccer team will open up the 2010 season when it takes on Jackson State in Jackson, Miss. on August 20.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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