Finals Results | Day 2 Results | Day 1 Results

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REDMOND, WASHINGTON – There was more drama then you could shake a stick at here Saturday at the ECNL National Finals, and in the end, three teams managed to be the first age group champions for the new league.

In the end, it may have been the entire 40 (now 52) club organization that won, as the advertisement for the league’s quality and competitiveness was loud and clear. Each of the three championship games produced at least 4 goals, and the sounds from the fields and player reactions, for relegation, promotion and 3rd place games as well as with the title bouts, once again told you everything you needed to know about the importance of this event to the participants.

The final day of the game even brought a little Hollywood with it. Tied 2-2 after 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime (and having gotten off to a late start due to overtime games earlier in the day on the same field), PDA Tsunami and Stars of Massachusetts went into penalties to decide the U17 Championship. With the sun well behind the horizon and only twilight left at the beautiful 60 Acres Soccer Park, Stars’ Morgan Andrews, basically playing on one leg after injuring her knee during the match, went out  to take a penalty and scored it. In the movies, that would have been the winner, but PDA goalkeeper Lauren Viverito saved two other efforts and another Stars’ attempt went wide of the target, and so Kaitlin Hogman’s successful attempt for PDA clinched the title for the New Jersey side, setting off a wild celebration in the near-darkness.

It was a classic ending to a great match between two great teams, and that pretty much sums up the trio of title games and the event itself this weekend, with a big assist from hosts Crossfire Premier.

The next season starts next month.

U17 Final: PDA Tsunami defeats Stars of Massachusetts on penalties
There was some dispute about the number, but everyone agreed PDA had defeated Stars a number of times in a row in their eastern rivalry, but Stars gave no quarter here Saturday and looked more than once like they would be snapping that string.

After Kiki Foushee had put PDA up in the 1st half with a rebound effort from a shot off the bar by Stefanie Scholz, Stars were left to search for the equalizer. Marie Margolius came close with a header that PDA’s Viverito did well to tip over the bar. Margolius is an extremely industrious left back and defends and gets forward equally well, something she will be doing for Harvard after her 2011 high school graduation.

PDA was getting quality midfield play from Amanda Flugstad-Clarke, equally industrious and skillful with her passing. Shannon Roche was also strong in central defense after having shaken off a bout of food poisoning over the weekend.

Stars managed to score a late equalizer when Andrews latched onto a rebound from a drive by Stephanie McCaffrey that struck the upright. PDA’s Daphne Corboz nearly scored the winner just before regulation ended, but the Georgetown recruit’s drive went narrowly over.

In overtime, Stars’ explosive forward Hayley Brock ran onto an exquisite through ball from Emily Manoogian, made a lovely touch to round the keeper and then finished to put her team up 2-1. Less than a minute later, Hogman’s shot took a deflection and fell to Corboz who put the ball in the back of the net despite receiving a heavy challenge and the match was tied again at 2-2.

In post-match spot kicks, Stars’ goalkeeper Alex Johnson saved the first effort, but her teammates failed to convert their first three attempts. Johnson had made a couple of fantastic saves early in the overtime to go with her fine play throughout the weekend. Jordan Downs, Daphne Corboz and Kaitlin Hogman were the successful penalty takers for PDA.

“It was pretty epic. It was one of the biggest games we’ve played, and for it be for a national championship just made it even better,” Viverito said. “The darkness wasn’t a problem as far as seeing the ball. It’s always a great game playing them. They know everything about us just as we know everything about them. It’s always just an intense battle.”

U16 Final: Mustang Rampage defeats PDA Charge 3-2

After a scoreless 1st half, Mustang got goals from Tiffany Geer, Celeste Boureille and Briana Gaines, which seemed to put the Northern California team on cruise control.

In a comeback fitting the intense nature of these championships, PDA grabbed two goals back in the closing minutes, as Cassie Inacio knocked in the rebound of a blast from Rachel Cole, and Amanda Dailey scored via a long-range deflection. Kristen McNabb came close with a last-gasp attempt to equalize, but Mustang held on.

Their coach Joe Owen said the team showed a lot of toughness, mentally and physically to eke out a win despite being shorthanded for the weekend.

“I thought in the 1st half we weren’t ourselves. I thought in the 2nd half we showed our true colors and an early goal then gave us life,” he said. “We only had one sub and it is a true testament to their commitment to being fit and getting the job done against a great team. You’ve got a proud team over there and they made it interesting so we just tried to manage the rest of the time and get through the last few minutes.”

Owen agreed that midfielder Celeste Boureille was exceptional for Mustang this weekend.

“Celeste is a difference-maker for us. She plays in the midfield. She’ll play on the wing or up front. She has a great soccer intelligence,” he said. “We wouldn’t be at this point without players like her, for sure.”

U15 Final: Dallas Sting prevail on penalties after draw with Arsenal
The runaway freight train that is Tatu’s Sting U15 team had the brakes applied to it temporarily Saturday, but in the end got on track again to win the title game on penalties over Cle Kooiman’s talented Arsenal FC team from Southern California.

In doing so, Sting lines up a chance to win a double national title, as they are qualified from Region III to play in the U.S. Youth Nationals beginning later this week in Kansas City.

Saturday’s win was in part due to good scouting, as defenders Morgan Williams and Natalie Calhoun effectively marked standout Arsenal forward Kaitlyn Johnson, greatly limiting her chances to run with the ball. The Dallas side was moving the ball quickly on the other end, with Caity Heap, Katelyn Mountjoy and Maddy Crabtree all looking dangerous at times.

The team broke through late in the half with a goal when Glory Williams sent in a corner and it went in off an Arsenal defender. Arsenal appeared to have tied the game minutes later when Sarah Coy set up Kayla Tucker for a strike, but the assistant referee ruled the goal out for a foul against the Sting goalkeeper.

The Dallas team doubled its advantage early in the 2nd half when Heap remarkably curled a corner directly inside the far post for a wonder goal.

Rather than crumbling, Arsenal showed immense intestinal fortitude, building on the examples of Brooke Boothe, who was working like a dog and winning headers in midfield, and Oksana Nicholls, who put in some crunching tackles to help her team get more possession.

Armed with the ball, Arsenal managed to score a goal from a Johnson corner kick, the ball apparently going in off a defender amidst a scramble in front of goal. Faster thanyou could say “This game isn’t over yet” the Southern Californians equalized on a goal of the year candidate struck from 30 yards out by Sarah Teegarden, the ball sizzling into the upper 90 to send the match into overtime.

Sting had better chances in overtime however, with Glory Williams forcing a good save from Arsenal goalkeeper Alanna Guzman, and Heap making a run into the box before going to the ground, with claims for a penalty not heeded.

In post-match spot kicks, 9 of 10 efforts went in, but Sting goalkeeper Miranda Larkin made the one save she had to so that Mountjoy’s successful conversion set off rapturous celebrations from the Texas team.

Coach Tatu paid tribute to his team.

“This group are true champions. They have a big heart,” Tatu said. “Any other team would have folded at that time (giving up the lead). They were definitely disappointed because they gave up those goals, but we are a great team and fought hard. Those girls are just incredible.

“We talked about making history here because this is the first ECNL, so that’s big. Now we want to be the first one to win both,” he continued. “They are mentally prepared for that. We don’t want there to be a letdown because sometimes after you win that happens, and this is an emotional victory. So we’ll have to settle down again and get ready for the next one. Physically we’re prepared.

:The competition here is excellent,” Tatu said about ECNL. “This is what we need as a team. This is the only way soccer in America is going to get better is through the quality of the competition, and we had three good games to play here against strong opponents. I wish we had this a long time ago. Games like this make you a better player.”

Team captain Glory Williams said the team survived despite a rare mental lapse, and added that the squad will take a serious mindset into Kansas City for the U.S. Youth Nationals.

“We came up and thought we had it in the bag, I’m not going to lie. When they got those two goals we thought ‘Wow.’ It was like a bullet to us because that doesn’t usually happen. Teams usually give up on us but this team didn’t do that. We had to overcome that and we had the mindset to do that,” she said. “We don’t want to get too overconfident about winning both championships. We have to take a strong mindset into that event too.”

Key Saturday Results

U15 Championship Match: Dallas Sting 2 Arsenal FC 2 (Sting wins on penalties, 5-4)
3rd Place Match: CASL Spartan Elite 2, Eclipse Select 1
Promotion Match: Solar SC 3, Soccerplus Connecticut 2
(San Juan SC and Lonestar SC have been promoted by virtue of league position)
Relegation Playoff: D’Feeters 3, Stars of Massachusetts 1

U16 Championship Match: Mustang Rampage 3, PDA Charge 2
3rd Place Match: Stars of Massachusetts 3, Crossfire Premier 1
Promotion Match: Connecticut FC 2, Challenge SC 0
(Arsenal FC and SC del Sol have been promoted by virtue of league position)
Relegation Playoff: Sereno SC 1, Birmingham United 0

U17 Championship Match: PDA Tsunami 2, Stars of Massachusetts 2 (PDA wins on penalties, 3-1)
3rd Place Match: Ohio Elite 1, Lonestar SC 0
Promotion Match: San Juan SC 1, FC Virginia 0
(Albertson Fury and SC del Sol have been promoted by virtue of league position)
Relegation Playoff: Colorado Rush 1, Charlotte Soccer Academy 0

Finals Results | Day 2 Results | Day 1 Results