Sunday saw sub-freezing temperatures and heavy snow, but several teams powered through for convincing wins on the final day of the Indianapolis College Showcase.  

 

ZYSA 00 Girls Select 2 – 0 PSG MI Gators 00 White

A goal in the opening minutes was all ZYSA would need to end the weekend with a win, but a second goal just a few minutes later added some insurance.

With two goals in the first ten minutes, the second coming off a highlight-worthy header from Lauren Miller, ZYSA was in position to route the Gators and eliminate any chance of losing, but no more goals would come.

The middle of the first half provided several opportunities for a third goal. Miller had a chance in the 22nd minute at another header on a cross from Natalie Parks in the right corner to the near post, but the ball was a little high and the goalkeeper came up with it.

Parks tried again in the 24th minute and found no one, but the defense cleared the ball short. Grace Ulmer took advantage and fired a 20-yard shot, but it was wide right. Then two minutes later, a couple of midfielders teamed up for a run down the middle. Margaret Carter found Hope Edens who dribbled towards the edge of the 18-yard box and had a shot on goal, but a lack of pace allowed the goalkeeper an easy save.

In the second half, ZYSA kept attacking, but had less success getting shots off and a big reason was Emma Coenen for the Gators. Three times Coenen made a clean tackle or stole the ball from Miller on runs or deep passes. She even made a save in the 64th minute when Miller beat the keeper and had an open net.

PSG had just four shots in the second with two on goal, but both were easy saves and ZYSA came away with the 2-0 win.

 

Appleton U17G Blue 2 – 0 Hawthorn Woods Elite U17

A scoreless first half kept the suspense high leading into the second, but a quick scoring burst from Applegate closed the door on any Hawthorn hopes and gave Applegate the 2-0 win.

Hawthorn Woods didn’t threaten much on runs down the middle, but created plenty of opportunities with crosses into the box and shots on set pieces.

Twice in the first half Samantha Biede made a deep cross from the left side of the field with multiple teammates in the area, but the Appleton goalkeeper came up with both. Hawthorn also had two shots on goal coming from direct kicks.

The strategy for Appleton was much more straightforward: get the ball to Miranda Natrop with room to run up field. She had one such run in the 17th minute that resulted in a shot to the upper left corner of the goal, but the goalkeeper made the save. Later in the 24th minute, she made an even better shot from the left side towards the far post, but the goalkeeper dove and got just enough on the ball to force it wide right.

Natrop came away scoreless, but set up a teammate for the opening goal when she drew a foul in the box on a corner kick in the 52nd minute. With position on several defenders on a ball from the left side toward the near post, she jumped for the header but was hit in the back of the head. Nicole Friis took the penalty kick and send it down the middle while the goalkeeper guessed left.

Friis followed up her first goal with an assist just three minutes later. After she dribbled into the left side of the 18-yard box, she cross to the far post where a waiting Marina Solberg headed it in.

There were just a handful of shots the rest of the way as the snow started to set in, but neither team managed another shot on goal and Appleton came away with the win.

 

Hawthorn Woods Elite U18 6 – 0 Indiana Fire Juniors 97G (2) White

Despite following up two 2-0 performances, Hawthorn Woods Elite had no problem proving they were the most dominant team of the day. They won 6-0 and outshot the Indiana Fire 30-2.

The Fire showed no ability to maintain possession and when they lost it, no ability to get it back. When the Hawthorn defenders had the ball, they were given space to dribble or pass up field. When the Fire defenders had the ball, they were pressured and forced into bad passes or just had the ball stolen away.

This dynamic played out for the vast majority of the match allowing Hawthorn Woods one scoring chance after another with almost no respite for the Fire defense or goalkeeper.

The first goal came in the 12th minute on a cross from Mikayla Abbeduto. The ball rolled into the middle of the box toward the left post. 3 was a tad slow to the ball and couldn’t connect, but the ball kept rolling and Gabrielle Mory got off the scoring shot.

After assisting on the first goal, Abbeduto scored the second on a set piece in the 23rd minute. A free kick from near the left corner flag bounced off a defender’s leg and she took a shot off the rebound. The shot wasn’t great, but the wall shielded it from the goalkeeper’s vision and it rolled in before they could react.

Hawthorn Woods headed into the break up 3-0 after Abbeduto assisted on another goal to 13 in the 35th minute.

Two more goals came in the second half putting Hawthorn Woods up 5-0. Normally a team up 5-0 in the final minutes might sit on the ball, content to pass it between the goalkeeper, defenders and midfield, but the Fire gave away too much space and could never move the ball back to the Hawthorn third.

So, threatening again in the 77th minute they scored again for a 6-0 lead that would hold until the final whistle.

Keep reading to find out who our top players of the day were.