Richmond Youth Soccer Association product Declan Rodriguez has helped the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers qualify for the NCAA National Championships for the ninth time in school history.
The sophomore midfielder scored in the 67th minute on Sunday as the Panthers captured the Horizon League championship with a 2-0 win over #23rd ranked University of Illinois at Chicago Flames.
Clinging to a 1-0 lead, Rodriguez got on the end of a 40-yard free kick from Luke Goodnetter. Severe storms in the Chicago area forced the game to be played at a different venue after a four hour delay.
Rodriguez played locally for the highly successful Richmond Madrid squad before moving onto the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency Program. He earned a scholarship to Wisconsin-Milwaukee and wasted little time in making an impact.
In his collegiate debut, he scored on a rocket shot from 25 yards out. It was later named the team's goal of the year. He went on to earned Second Team All-Horizon League honours, as well as being selected to the All-Rookie Team.
This season, he has started all 18 games and has three goals and two assists as the Panthers have rolled to a 15-2-2 overall record.
Meanwhile, another RYSA grad has played a leading role in the Simon Fraser University men's soccer team reaching the third round of the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Sophomore forward Colin Jacques earned an assist as SFU produced a 2-1 upset win over top ranked Cal-State Los Angeles on Saturday night.
His long throw in was headed home by Jovan Blagojevic in the 55th minute, setting the stage for Carlo Basso's golden goal in extra time.
SFU opened the tournament with a 5-0 win two days earlier over California Baptist University. Jacques closed out the scoring midway through the second half.
The McMath secondary graduate leads the team in scoring with 27 points, including nine goals. Earlier, he was a named a All-Great Northwest Conference Second Team selection.
