Nevada Youth Soccer Association

LAS VEGAS, NV. (January 16, 2015) – What are the odds that two talented young soccer players would both come up through the ranks of Nevada Youth Soccer Association affiliated teams, attend the same college to play collegiate soccer, and then both get drafted by Major League Soccer? Well, such is the tale of Matt Polster and Christian Volesky.

Defender Matt Polster, 21, a Palo Verde High School graduate, was chosen as the seventh pick in the first round by the Chicago Fire. Forward Christian Volesky, a Foothills High School grad and a teammate of Polster at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, was selected by the Portland Timbers with the 11th selection in the second round (32nd overall).

Matt Polster started playing soccer at a young age and participated in the many soccer opportunities offered by Nevada Youth Soccer; from competitive team play to the Olympic Development Program (ODP).  Matt completed his prep career at Palo Verde High School with 24 goals and 12 assists, including 10 goals and an assist his senior season. He was named the Gatorade Nevada Boys Soccer Player of the Year, and helped Palo Verde to a 13-2-3 record as a senior and a spot in the Class 4A Sunset Region semifinals. As a member of NYSA, he was a group ODP All-Star in 2009, Inter-regional Winter Super Group ODP All-Star in 2009 Region IV ODP Captain, and played on the U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV Olympic Development Squad in 2010. He was a two-time All-4A South Nevada and All-4A Sunset Region player, and played in the Colorado Rapids Academy U17 Sum Cup in 2010.  

Christian Volesky led the state of Nevada in scoring with 32 goals as a senior at Foothill High School. He was named Most Valuable Player of the Southeast Region and earned first team honors by All-Southern Nevada, All-Sunrise Region, and All-Southeast League. He was the two-time team Most Valuable Player and three-time Scholar-Athlete Award winner. As a player for the NYSA affiliate club team, Downtown Las Vegas Soccer club he led the team to the Rocky Mountain Showcase title and Nomads Championship, winning the Nevada State Championship four times.

Both Matt and Christian attended Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottom land and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of nearly 14,000.

While at SIUE, both players continued as stand-out players that exhibited the talent and the drive to play soccer at the highest level.

In 2013, Christian was a First Team All-MVC performer for the second year in a row; named MVC Player of the Week for the week of 9/2, along with being named to College Soccer News’ National Team of the Week. Started in 18 of SIUE’s 19 games as the team’s target forward, and led the team in scoring for the second straight season, finding the net six times. Christian led the Cougars in points (12), shots (57), shots on goal (21), and game-winning goals (4) and scored the game-winner in matches against Santa Clara (8/30), San Jose State (9/1), SMU (9/6), and Loyola (11/13); scoring in each of the Cougars’ first three games of the season. He was on the preseason watch list of the MAC Hermann Trophy, the highest individual honor in men’s college soccer.

In 2011 Matt as named Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, selected to honorable mention All-MVC team and tabbed team's Newcomer of the Year. He led team in assists with six, scored game-winning goal at UMKC and added goals against Eastern Illinois and Evansville and was second on the team in shots with 35.

The competition for a place on a professional MLS team is fierce, but Matt and Christian are talented athletes that were coached, trained and nurtured through the Nevada Youth Soccer system, taking advantage of club soccer and the Olympic Development Program.

NYSA wishes Matt and Christian the very best as they embark on their professional soccer careers. 

Registration is now open for the 2015 Nevada National Championship Series Preliminary League.  This is the preliminary games for state cup.  All teams in Las Vegas intending to compete in state cup must register for this event.  Follow link for registration:  https://www.gotsport.com/forms/app/?EventID=41800.  Registration closes December 31, 2014.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (July 13, 2014) – After four days of play, champion teams were decided Sunday at the 2014 US Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup finals in Greenville, S.C.

Region IV teams took home seven titles with winners from Cal South, Utah, Washington, Nevada and Alaska. Region II was represented by two champion teams from Illinois and Ohio South, and Region III had one champion team from South Texas.

The US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup is designed for teams seeking additional challenges to play for a national title against teams of similar abilities. The cup provides a progressive, competitive experience to teams that might not otherwise get the opportunity to participate in a series of unique experiences highlighting competition, camaraderie and community from the state to regional to national levels of US Youth Soccer.

Daily reports and complete results from the tournament are available onwww.USYouthSoccer.org/PresidentsCup.

Highlights from the Championship Matche:

Under-17 Boys: LV Neon 97 Boys (NV) 2-0 SASA Spirits U17 Blue (IL) 
Nevada team LV Neon won the U-17 Boys title, after defeating SASA Spirits Blue from Illinois 2-0. Genaro Corona opened the scoring in the 27th minute, and Bryan Panameno secured the match with a goal in the 83rd minute.  Nish Yadav from LV Neon was named Most Outstanding Keeper of the tournament.

Under-16 Girls: Classics Eagles Girls Black 97/98 (OH-S) 2-0 Lady Nomad (NV)
Classics Eagles Black from Ohio South didn’t lose a single match in the tournament, and their hard work paid off earning them the U-16 Girls crown. Classics Eagles defeated Lady Nomad from Nevada 2-0 with a first half goal by Nicole Wilcox, and a second half goal by Emily Kirchner.

The NYSA office will be open at 12:00 PM on Thursday, January 29.  Normal hours will resume Friday.  Thank you for your cooperation.

2605 S. Decatur Blvd. Suite 114
Las Vegas, NV  89102
phone: (702)870-3024
fax:  (702)870-9990
email:  usysnv@gmail.com

Nevada Youth Soccer
Monday-Friday
10am-3pm