|
| Surf GU15 White Crowned with National League Title |
Over March 13 -15th Jose Ocampo’s San Diego Surf White GU15 traveled to Las Vegas to compete in the second leg of the elite National League. On Sunday they returned to San Diego undefeated champions of the highest level youth soccer opportunity given to GU15 teams.
One of the biggest challenges the team faced was the overlap of high school soccer and club. All of the players fulfilled their commitment to their club and contributed to the opportunity of gaining a berth to the National Championship Series by training one day on Tuesday prior to the Las Vegas trip. With only one training day under their belts to prepare them for the biggest weekend of the season, spirits were high and everyone reunited with big smiles.
The team arrived in Vegas on Thursday to prepare for an evening game Friday night vs. Wall Wombats (NJ). Going into the weekend Surf was 2 points behind the Dallas Texans (whose club captured the U16 and U17 League Championships) and with 3 games to play, the team knew that with a win, it would guarantee them a spot in National League again next season in addition to the possibility of playing for the league title.
March 13
While the Wombats were athletic and tenacious, Surf tried to create a rhythm early by establishing possession. With one practice under their belts, cohesive play wasn't their strength that day, but phenomenal goals highlighted the evening. In the first half, Sarah Adams stole the ball outside of the box and ripped an upper V shot to open the score. A spectacular goal from Cassie Collin’s volley from mid air also shook the net while again hitting upper V. The goals hadn't stopped as Cece Ortega chipped the goalie from 20 yards out with Her "cheeky" first touch of the ball. After Pennsylvania Strikers beat the defending National Champions San Juan Spirits Blue 2-1, Surf realized that they would be heading to the most prestigious national youth soccer tournament, US Youth Soccer National Championship Series held in Lancaster, Massachusetts in July.
March 14
The second game versus the defending National Champions San Juan Spirits Blues was on the agenda. San Juan had beat Surf last year at Regional’s in a game that allowed them the momentum needed to capture the National Title. This match would be one of the toughest faced by Surf but by matching their physical play, Surf again came away with a victory. Neela Mohan tenaciously fought through a box full of players to send her shot to the upper right corner in the second half. Surf still maintained the momentum while the defense didn't allow San Juan to get a clear look at the goal. In the last minutes of the game, Jackie Friedman drove from the left to the right and smashed another goal that flew into the right side
piercing again the upper right corner.
March 15
Even though both San Diego Surf and Pennsylvania Strikers had already qualified for Nationals each entered the final game eager for a League championship. With no goals against, the last game meant that the top teams from National League would meet and was highly anticipated knowing that each would attempt to play a possession style of soccer high caliber soccer game. The game exceeded expectations. Both teams attempted to assert themselves and control the game. Surf almost opened the game with a goal as Allie Bailey broke down the defense and saw her shot barely miss the opposite corner. Again, Surf kept on knocking on the door as they were awarded a free kick that was quickly restarted by Katie Perry to Bailey whose shot and was deflected by the Penn keeper. Kendall Kraus followed the shot in but missed wide. After a scoreless half, both teams regrouped and continued an intense second half battle, Surf knowing that with a tie they would be crowned the National League Champion due to a better goal differential. After a scoreless first half, Surf finally broke the defense down and created a 2 vs 1 against the goalie. Lauren Keoning intelligently got behind the defense and committed the goalie as she perfectly set up Allie Bailey for the only goal of the game as Surf won 1-0.
As an illustration of the team’s offensive depth, the weekend’s 6 Surf goals were scored by different players. Surf also demonstrated their overall strength and deepness, by not allowing any goals. That was thanks the rock solid defense lead by keeper Ari Zargarian, Cassie Callahan, Neela Mohan, Laura Leidel, Maya Theur.
Ocampo will travel with his team to Lancaster, Massachusetts for the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series Over July 21 – 25th. |
|
|
|
| Surf Knocks Down FC Irvine |
IRVINE—It took just one shot for the FC Irvine G-U17 Gold to lose all the momentum it had gained in three previous wins at this past weekend’s Slammers Futbol Classic.
Irvine cruised to a finals date with the Surf 91 Blue on Sunday evening by outscoring their first three opponents, 9-1. The team got off to a strong start in the championship match as well, controlling play in the middle of the field for the first 10 minutes, but then the Surf made their first trip up the field. A long throw-in landed at the feet of the Surf’s Kathryn Murray, who took half a turn and tucked the ball inside the right post. It was the first shot her team took and the only one it needed to earn a 1-0 victory at UC Irvine.
| "I didn’t think we’d be able to pull a 1-0 win [in the finals], but we progressed very strongly throughout the tournament." -Surf Coach Greg La Porte |
FC Irvine’s Tori Browne nearly caught the Surf sleeping in the opening minutes when she broke behind the defense and got past goalie Sarah Rohman. Her shot was cleared off the line by a Surf defender, however, and the team from San Diego escaped an early scare.
“I think we fell behind kind of surprisingly,” FC Irvine head coach Martin Lippens said. “We played as a team and even though we fell down, 1-0, we didn’t stop and tried to create chances. They were able to take advantage of their chances and we were not. Overall, I’m just happy with the progress we made in the last four games.”
The goal only seemed to ignite the Surf attack. The team began to consistently attack the FC Irvine net, outshooting its opponent, 8-2, in the first half. The Surf had two really good chances to increase its lead, but Irvine keeper Dani Moore (three saves) made a nice stop on a shot by Murray and another goal by Kelsey Doyle was taken away when a Surf forward fouled Moore in the box.
Irvine increased their offensive pressure in the second half, while the Surf tightened up their defense. This resulted in a 5-2 edge in shots for Irvine, but Rohman and the rest of the Surf defense didn’t budge. They got a break when a cross by Alli Carlton found an open Sarah Ratigan on the left wing early in the second half. Ratigan’s shot missed to the right, though, and Rohman later stopped another chance when she came out of her box to disrupt a breakaway by Carlton. Rohman forced her into making a wide touch, allowing her defense the chance to recover enough to protect the goal. Rohman later sealed the shutout in the final minute of the game by diving to her right to stop a direct kick by Nichole Smith. The Surf keeper finished with three saves on the day.
On the other side of the field, FC Irvine sweeper Marissa Clow was a steady thorn in the side of the Surf forwards all game. She did a good job of shutting down the Surf after the break until Doyle redirected a ball into the back of the net. An offside call however, had her second goal of the game taken back.
The Surf finished the tournament with a record of 3-0-1, tying FC Murrieta, 1-1, before beating both the NHB Black and the Oranje Voetbal, 2-0.
Surf head coach Greg La Porte admitted his team’s best game came against the Oranje in Sunday morning’s semifinals, but he was still very pleased in the fact that the Surf has won two out of the last three tournaments they entered.
“I didn’t think we’d be able to pull a 1-0 win [in the finals], but we progressed very strongly throughout the tournament,” La Porte said. “I kept the back four in place this game because the chemistry was there, and they did such a good job. Our bench is so deep that it’s a good position to be in.”
Lippens also like the position his team was in at the end of Sunday’s game.
“I’m very happy with our team,” he said. “It was our first time playing in a tournament this summer, so I was happy. We just got a little tired at the end.” |
| Last Updated ( Monday, 20 April 2009 18:35 ) |
|
|
|
| Surf Takes Inaugural Red Bull Title |
| ZAREPHATH, NJ - Championship matches were played in sunny but breezy conditions here at the PDA facility Monday, and after the matches were complete a pair of Southern California teams, Surf SC in the U16 division and Slammers in the U15 age group, had won the inaugural championships awarded in the Red Bull National League. Following are match details. U16 Girls Championship: San Diego Surf 2, Eclipse Select 1
After a series of three weekend-long tournaments this season, the U16 Girls final match came down to San Diego Surf and Chicago-area side Eclipse Select. From the start of the game, Surf came out strong, including 2 corner kicks in the first minute followed by an open net chance by Kylie Facinelli that went just wide. Just 6 minutes into the match, midfielder Facinelli passed wide to Sarah Gangstad who took the space and crossed the ball in to forward Shelby Murphy to tap into the net, giving Surf an early lead. But that was not enough for Surf. Just 4 minutes later, Gangstad added to the score when she received a through ball on the right side of the field and fired it far post past the Eclipse goalkeeper. Only 10 minutes into the game, the score was already 2-0.
Eclipse then rebounded. A series of corner kicks and free kicks soon followed that kept the Surf on their toes. Eclipse’s center midfielder, Vanessa Laxgang, led the team in the attack producing several near scoring opportunities with her great field vision and first touch.
The game continued back and forth into the second half. Eclipse started playing high pressure by pushing marking backs up and playing high with the midfield. Surf responded by playing more defensively. “I played a little more defensive than aggressive after the first two goals because there was too much on the line,” said Surf coach Ada Greenwood. “Going against the wind in the second half made it tough for me to want to go for a third goal. If it came, it came, but I was not going to force it.”
In the 49th minute of the game a corner kick for the Eclipse resulted in a fumble around the box and a near goal, but the Surf defense was able to clear it out. The 73rd minute marked another near scoring chance when Eclipse midfielder Kayla Paoulos dribbled around a Surf defender and sent a cross directly to the head of Alexandra Heller, who hit the crossbar. With 3 minutes to go, confusion in the box left Eclipse forward Kelly Kalkofen open at the top of the 6-yard box to place the ball in the lower left hand corner of the net, putting Eclipse on the scoreboard.
Both teams battled until the final minute, but Surf managed to remain on top becoming the first Red Bull National League U16 Girls champions by a score of 2-1.“It’s one of the toughest things to win in the country," Greenwood said. "That’s why it means a lot to us.” Written by Diane Gantenhammer May 27, 2008 |
| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 17 March 2009 09:22 ) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Page 1 of 3 |
