Sierra Mist MLS Dribble, Pass & Score national champs to be crowned Saturday

A boys and girls national champion will be named in each of three age divisions: 8-9, 10-11 and 12-14. The finalists will be making the all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles with their families (a complete list of participants and individual details follows). The 30 participants represent all 10 of Major League Soccer's current markets.

The national finalists have already advanced through three previous levels of competition within their local markets to reach the Sierra Mist MLS DPS National Finals. After emerging from Local and Sectional Competitions, they moved on to the Team Championship with the top five scorers nationwide in each age division winning the opportunity to compete at MLS Cup 2004.

Some of the stories to look forward to this weekend include the quest of local participant Franchesca Vasquez, age 13, of North Hollywood to win a title on her home turf while Erica Jonasson, also 13, of Wrentham, Massachusetts, hopes to capitalize on her experience in last year's National Finals to win the title on her second trip to the Home Depot Center. For the first time in DPS History two brothers, Ben and Brian Truax, ages 14 and 9 respectively, will both be competing in the National Finals.

Sierra Mist is the official sponsor of Sierra Mist MLS Dribble, Pass & Score, the largest national grassroots soccer skills competition in the country. Sierra Mist MLS, Dribble, Pass & Score challenges kids between the ages of six and 14 in a nationwide event that culminates with the crowning of the winners at MLS Cup. Since the program kicked off in 1998 as Dribble, Pass & Score, more than one million kids have participated in the fun and free opportunity to test their soccer skills in the areas of dribbling, passing and shooting.

Sierra Mist is the refreshing new lemon-lime soft drink brand from PepsiCo, an Official Sponsor of Major League Soccer since the League's inception in 1996. Sierra Mist, in its first year as title sponsor of Dribble, Pass & Score, also title sponsored the 2004 MLS All-Star Game. The Dribble, Pass & Score competition will return next year with the 2005 edition beginning in February. Individuals interested in bringing a local competition to their community may call the DPS hotline (888) MLS-9008 or visit the Youth Soccer section on www.MLSnet.com for more information.

Digital images of all 30 participants are available by e-mailing Dave Richardson drichardson@MLSnet.com. What follows is an outline of the various stages and elements of the competition:

SKILLS AND SCORING: Points scored from the following three events are combined to create a cumulative total:

Dribbling - Participants are timed as they dribble a ball through a slalom-style course of flags.

Passing - Youth players pass three balls through a line of flags set 10 yards away. Distances between flags vary. The participant receives a specific point total based on accuracy.

Scoring - Participants take three shots at a goal covered by a bounce-back net with marked targets. Points received are based on the targets that are hit.

FORMAT: The program includes four levels of competition:

Local Competitions - Approximately 100 first-round competitions take place in each MLS market from February to August. The top scorer in each of the three upper age divisions advances to the Sectional Competition.

Sectional Competitions - Each MLS market holds a sectional competition in late August and early September. The top four scorers advance to the Team Championship held at an MLS Stadium in conjunction with the local MLS team.

Team Championships - All 10 MLS teams host one Team Championship at their stadium during a regular season game in September or October.

National Finals - The top five scorers (first-place only) in each division from the 10 Team Championships advance to the National Finals at MLS Cup 2004 November 14. Each finalist, along with a parent, receives an all-expense paid trip to MLS' championship game.