The final day of round play came to a close at the Disney Soccer Showcase and teams await news if they made it to Saturday or not.

 

Buffalo Crusaders U16 (NY) 3-1 Northern Virginia Soccer Club United Blue U16 (VA)

Virginia controlled the ball for much of the first half and went into the second half up 1-0. The second half was all Buffalo, though, as they came out and tallied three straight markers to shut down Virginia.

“The second half we started marking and it paid dividends,” said Henrik Ambarchian, head coach of Buffalo. “We have some talented players … They’re 16 years old, they’re good they just have to keep getting reps.”

Virginia’s Sandra Brackett scored the first goal of the game in the 31st minute. Phoebe Dinga set up the play with a nice pass into the slot to a waiting Brackett who put the ball to left corner from point blank range.

Marissa Birzon tied the game out of the gate in the second half for Buffalo. She put in a rebound in the 41st minute on an original shot from Riley Bowers. Molly Preston added a goal for Buffalo in the 56th minute to make it 2-1. She sent it back left on a beauty of a pass from Sydney Gilmore from midfield that found its way into the box.

Christiana Davies put the game out of reach when she tallied Buffalo’s third goal in the 71st minute. The goal was caused by a rolling pass into the middle from Birzon that was one-timed into the back of the net.

 

Sunrise Sting U16 (FL) 2-1 NEFC Elite U16 (MA)

Sunrise won a tough match against NEFC in the sunshine after two days of cloudy skies hovered over ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. They put in the first two goals of the game before NEFC started on a late comeback that stopped just short.

“I think Sunrise is setting a precedent to where we’re going to make our claim for the No. 1 spot in the Southern Regionals,” said Russ Morgan, head coach of Sunrise Sting. “We’ve got a great group of girls with dedication and a hard commitment level, and we’re going to take care of business.”

Take care of business, they did. They managed to go ahead 1-0 in the sixth minute and they never looked back. The goal was scored by Brianna Austin from long range as she found the back of the net with a laser of a strike.

NEFC controlled the ball for the majority of the first half, though. But it was Sunrise’s goalkeeper, Laurel Ivory who played a phenomenal game as she controlled her team’s defense. 

Austin struck again for Sunrise in the 49th minute. Her teammate, Julia Grosso, played a perfect cross into the middle of the box which Austin made no mistake on as she finished it behind the keeper. Amanda Martin almost had a goal off a free kick that she sent off the keeper’s mitts and crossbar before the ball went out of play a few minutes later.

NEFC started to make a comeback in stoppage time, but fell just short. Maria DiMartinis played a left footed corner kick that was put in off the head of Bailey Conti.

 

WAZA FC East Juniors U17 (MI) 2-0 Space Coast United Storm Travel U17 (FL)

Although Space Coast controlled the ball for much of the second half, WAZA had already tallied two first half goals that made for a tough comeback. Space Coast couldn’t convert on anything they got their feet on and WAZA ran away with a 2-0 win.

“That’s our team. We don’t lose games because we’re very disciplined defensive[ly],” said Peter Langens, head coach of WAZA. “We have a hardworking team.” 

The scoring started early for WAZA – in the second minute to be exact. Chloee Foor put pressure on Space Coast’s defender when she was about to clear and the pressure paid off. The defender cleared it directly off of Foor and the ball then bounced backwards into Space Coast’s goal. 

WAZA’s ball movement paid dividends in the 38th minute when they made it 2-0. Foor was in the mix of things again as she sent a rolling ball into the slot that was tapped into the bottom left corner of the net by Elise Pollock.

The second half saw Space Coast controlling the ball but not getting opportunities for shots. The game was a stalemate and the scored remained 2-0 in favor of WAZA until the final whistle blew.

 

Pinecrest Premier Blue U15 (FL) 2-0 Central Brevard Cyclones White U15 (FL)

Pinecrest dominated ball possession and scoring chances throughout the games entirety and capitalized twice to walk away with a 2-0 victory over in-state rival, Central Brevard.

“It was nice to get that second goal to go two goals up and put the game away,” said Ramiro Vengoechea, head coach of Pinecrest. “We’re missing quite a few players, but it’s a solid squad top to bottom.”

Emily Lamas gave Pinecrest their first two chances, but neither could be converted. The first was a cross into the slot that rolled by two players, each waiting for the other to kick it, before rolling out of the opposite side of the box. Lamas had a chance of her own after a long run down the field, but sailed the shot slightly over the net.

Emma Bryan put Pinecrest on the board in the 41st minute. The play started with a throw in from Taylor Cosio that made its way into the box. Bryan cleaned up the loose ball when she roofed it top drawer.

Hard work paid off again in the 71st minute with the last true scoring chance of the match. Pinecrest’s Niki Molina crashed the net and put a loose ball in to give her team a 2-0 victory.