Las Vegas, NV - On May 23rd 2010, Los Angeles Team Handball Club earned their first United States Elite National Championship in the club's history. The tournament is the largest and most respected tournament in the country. LATHC defeated New England Freeze in the final by a score of 25-20 to earn their National Championships. LATHC accomplished their goal using their very deep bench and intense focus on winning through defense.

The top 8 teams from the country competed throughout the season to earn births into the elite level of the National Championships. LATHC earned their birth by winning the West Regional Championship earlier in May.

Gabe Goodreau, from LATHC, proved why he was selected for the US National Team and earned the top award for goalies and was named the Most Valuable Goalie for the 2010 National Championships. After watching handball in the 2008 Olympics, thanks to hardwork, talent and dedication, Gabe went from hockey goalie to the Most Valuable Goalie in the United States in just 2 years!

Armen Amirkhanian played big time defense and very creative offense for LATHC and was recognized with the top award for court players and earned the Most Valuable Player for the Natonal Championshps. Armen showed patience when marked one on one and a great sense of teamwork to create opportunities for fellow teammates.

LATHC II competed in the Open Division with a mix of promising young players and crafty veterans and earned the 10th spot in the Open Division. Luis Palencia's 25 goals was among the goal scoring leaders of the Open Division.

LATHC congratulates all clubs involved in the tournament and hopes to represent the National Championships with the heart and class shown by NYTHC over the last 2 years.

For complete results and to watch the final online go to www.usateamhandball.org

In the first game, LATHC played the Midwest Region Champions Chicago Inter. In a battle of 2 expierenced teams determined to advance, the defense had moments of brillance as LATHC earned a hard fought victory 30-24.

In the second game of the day, LATHC was pitted against the Northeast Champions and the 2 time defending champions New York Team Handball Club. NYTHC showed why they were defending champions by starting strong and opening a 6 goal lead. LATHC lost 2 players to red cards, but managed to show some fight and fought back to tie the game by half. NYTHC started strong once again, but LATHC once again fought back hard to tie and battle back and forth the last 10 minutes, but NYTHC was able to pervail in the last minutes with hard defense and timely scoring for the victroy 31-30.

The third game of the tournament was against the second seed from the Southeast Division Carolina Blue. Carolina contains a variety of UNC students and alumni. There is a great mix of youth and expierence. LATHC was able to use stout defense and depth from the bench to build a 9 goal halftime lead and continue to expand that lead in the second half. North Carolina has some very talented young players that will definitely be a major factor in the near future, but on this day LATHC was able to earn the victory by a score of 35-16.

LATHC earned the 2nd seed out of their 4 team pool and faced the tope seed out of the parallel pool. LATHC fourth game was the semi-finals against the Southwest Champions Houston Firehawks. LATHC and Houston faced off in last years Nationals Championships in a semifinal for a birth into the finals. LATHC was unable to hold onto a 5 goal lead late and Houston made their 7m with no time left to earn the tie and dueto goal differential was placed inthe finals. Houston is a very good team with some very talented players. They play hard and always compete. The game featured tough defense from both sides. LATHC was able to use the depth of the bench and fresh legs on defense to build a 6 goal lead. LATHC held the lead and held on to the victory 23-17.

In the other semi-final, the 2 time champions NYTHC played against their familiar foe from the Northeast division New England Freeze. In a classic back and forth game featuring lead changes the last 5 minutes of regualr time and all 10 minutes of overtime, it came to a 9m shot with no time left on the clock for New England to earn the very hard fought victory and advance to the finals against LATHC.

In the finals, LATHC started off string building a 2 goal lead, but New England battled back to take a 2 goal lead. LATHC tightened down on defense and looked to run the fasst break and was able to build a 6 goal lead by halftime. In the second half, LATHC built their lead to 8, but a highly determined team from New England continued to fight and fight and chipped away at the lead to bring it down to 2. LATHC had some key goals down the final 10 minutes and was able to have the fresher legs and went on with the victory with a 25-20 win.

The tournament was a well organized event by the United States Team Handball Federation and all clubs showed exactly why they had earned a spot in the elite 8. NYTHC showed heart and class in defending their championship and earned some very hard fought victories. New England, Houston, Carolina and Chicago once again showed why they are the top teams in the country and continue to grow the sport here in the US.

LATHC also sent a team for the Open division. The team was a mix of veterans of the club and some promising youth palyers. LATHC II was placed in a difficult pool with 2 expierenced teams. In the first game LATHC II faced Knight Air. Knight Air was composed of the US National Team players living and playing in Europe under the World Class Athlete Program. LATHC II was able to stay with 7 at half, but was overwhelmed by the expierence of Knight Air in the second half. In the second game, LATHC II face the eventual champions of the Open Division in Miami Team Handball Club. After battling with the eventual champions and being tied at half time, Miami was able to pull away and earn the 6 goal vicotry in the second half. In the first cross over, LATHC II played together and showed improved defense to earn the vicotry against North Carolina Team Handball Club. In the final game of the tournament LATHC II faced a young and talented team NYTHC II. NYTHC II and LATHC II battled throughout the first half, but NYTHC proved to have more depth and earned the victory. LATHC II showed heart and determination in all their matched and ended up with a 10th place finish in the Open division.

LATHC also congratulates Cal Heat from San Francisco for a hard fought 5th place in the elite as well as Seattle (4th Open), Denver (3rd Open) and Santa Clarita (8th Open) for representing the depth and movement of handball in the West Region!