CORAL SPRINGS, FLORIDA - Players from the 1994 ODP birth year took center stage Thursday, and are learning good lessons as well as applying lessons previously learned from good examples.

Region IV 94s 3, Region III 94s 0

A good example is Region IV and Slammers striker Makenzy Doniak, who paced her team to a 3-0 victory with a couple of nice goals in the 1st half of Thursday’s game.

After Alexis Selman opened the scoring on a lovely combination play engineered by Isabel Farrell and Kate Bettinger, Doniak earned a penalty with a good run into the box on the left before being brought down with a hard foul. After dusting herself off, she clinically dispatched the spot kick to make it 2-0.

She then made it 3-0 by powering a header into the back of net on a good corner serve from Bettinger, providing the final margin of victory for UNLV coach Kat Mertz’s team.

Now I usually don't mention siblings when I do these stories because I want standout players to have the chance to shine for themselves when they achieve things on the soccer fields, but perhaps as a writer away from his family on Thanksgiving Day, I was a little more impressed than usual at Makenzy’s comments when I complimented her on having above average soccer intelligence and asked if her if she watched a lot of professional soccer.

“I do watch WPS, but mostly it’s from watching my sister. I watched her play a lot of games over the years and I learned mostly from watching her.”

Makenzy’s sister Kylie was also a standout at the Orange County club and this fall was the leading scorer at Texas.

Makenzy acknowledged she took a heavy hit on the penalty, but wanted the chance to finish what she had started.

“I took the girl on and I felt was my battle to win. I knew any of my teammates could have stepped up and taken it, but I wanted to take it myself,” she said. “I just needed a little time to recuperate so I could score that PK.”

Along with an excellent overall game from Doniak, Region IV featured good performances from Marin FC forward Bettinger and Avalanche Premier midfielder Selman. 2nd half goalkeeper Sarah Cox, a clubmate of Doniak’s at Slammers, made a couple of brave saves in the 2nd half to retain the team’s big cushion.

Region III was much better in the 2nd half, getting good play from Georgia attacker Gabrielle Seiler, who has very good technical speed and close control, plus Oklahoma forward Krissi Killion and Tennessee defender Malinda Allen.

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Region IV 94s Lineup
GK: Cassandra  Sternbach
D: Mariah Powers-Young, Sheaffer Skadsen, Brecken Holbrook, Stephanie Amack
M: Isabel Farrell, Alexis Selman, Katlyn Johnson
F: Kodi Lavrusky, Kate Bettinger, Makenzy Doniak
Subs: Sarah Cox, Zoe Kilmer, Stella Norman, Jamie Fink, Maddison Kiebel, Cassidy Nangle, Alex Anthony

Region III 94s Lineup
GK: Rachel Ames
D: Sidney Morales-Parodie, Shelby Soldat, Tina Shakes, Marisabel Cirilo
M: Jackie Stengel, Jana Jeffrey, Paulina Speckmaier
F: Gabrielle Seiler, Anna McClung, Krissi Killion
Subs: Jane Campbell, Malinda Allen, Jordan Hatler, Caity Heap, Bria Washington, Soraya Martinez, Colby Maffei

Region I 94s 1, Region II 94s 0

Empire United’s Leah Emaus scored the match’s only goal in the 2nd half from inside the penalty area, lashing a shot into the back of the net to give the victory to Lisa Cole’s team.

The match was fairly even and struggled to develop a rhythm until the 2nd half. Scorpions forward Lauren Berman had a good match, showing good running ability on and off the ball. Emaus’ clubmate Tessa Devereaux was active in the forward third and showed a good soccer brain with her positioning and the timing of her runs, which unfortunately were not picked up on by teammates. Hershey Kitkats’ fullback Lauren Damico also had a strong game, distributing well and showing good skill on the ball for the easterners.

Region II forward Nicole Breece had a good 2nd half for Mark Sheldon’s Midwesterners. Breece made some probing runs off the ball to create a few nervous moments for the opposition backline, and also exhibited a willingness to get stuck in on tackles, which led to more Region II possession in the 2nd half. Also playing well for Region II was midfielder Crystal Thomas, who won some balls and played some good through passes, and Internationals outside back Reagan Robishaw, who tracked back well and showed good technique on the ball.

Click here for more ODP Interregional coverage

Region I 94s Lineup
GK: Nicole Pond
D: Lauren D'Amico, Carly Black, Erica Sousa, Stephanie Campo
M: Kara Wilson, Lauren Berman, Taryn Tomczyk, Rhea Barghash
F: Tessa Devereaux, Jamie Kator
Subs: Lina Granados, Caroline Casey, Natalie Cikos, Leah Emaus, McKenzie Meehan, Katherine Rigby, Kayla Shea

Region II 94s Lineup
GK: Kylie Morgan
D: Reagan Robishaw, Courtney Kobashigawa, Olivia Jester, Alexandra Gjonaj
M: Taylore Peterson, Melissa Bomberger, Corinne Harris, Crystal Thomas
F: Leah Haidar, Mallory Weber
Subs: Taylor Saucier, Nicole Breece, Morgan Proffitt, Elaina Musleh, Grace Holmes, Laura Rose, Karlie Mueller