SAN DIEGO, California – The final day of the ECNL National Event in San Diego featured teams looking to get one final win before wrapping up the action. The day’s action from the games watched by TopDrawerSoccer featured one commanding win and two others decided very late. 

Below is a recap of the games that TopDrawerSoccer watched on the third day:

 

San Diego Surf Composite U16 0-4 Orlando City U16

 

The day kicked off with the most complete performance by a team, as Orlando City completely controlled proceedings and played a quality passing game throughout in a commanding win. Orlando kicked off the scoring around the 12^th minute as Carolyne Davidson received a pass in the box and sent a shot to the far post that beat the Surf goalkeeper. And from there, Orlando kept knocking, with a timely clearance from the San Diego defense on one chance, and no one in position to finish a nice cross from Margot Cockerell on the right on another. Still, the game remained 1-0 through the break.

San Diego tried to play on the counterattack all game long, but could not find the final pass and open look due to the strong team defense from Orlando. And the Florida side put on a clinic in the second half, as they put together a good build-up en route to Sarah Thrush’s confident goal from the middle of the box in the 53^rd minute. She later added to her tally, on a play in which she created separation from a defender on a cut-back and struck another sweet finish in the 62^nd minute. 

Orlando City added their final goal around the 70^th minute, although this one was pretty unlucky for San Diego’s defense, as Kaley Verpaele’s shot deflected off a Surf defender and beat the goalkeeper, who could do nothing to stop it. The final goal did come while Orlando was down to 10 players, after Thrush could not continue following an injury.

 

Eagles Soccer Club U15 0-1 Eclipse Select Soccer Club U15

A match that was mostly played evenly between the two clubs was decided by a second half extra time goal for Eclipse Select. From Eagles’ perspective, the result is perhaps a bit harsh, although Eclipse did have the edge in quality chances.

Eagles had the first two looks on the day, as Isabella Pariente sent in a pair of dangerous corner kicks. But Eclipse goalkeeper Haley Leanna had sure hands and saved both.

Both teams showcased considerable speed in attacking on the flanks throughout the game, but could not find the final ball to convert into a goal. In the second half, Eclipse turned on the pressure and had nearly all of the shots, including an early shot from Skylar Kingsley that required a save from Eagles ‘keeper Kathryn Meyer. Isabella Cook and Amanda DiNardo both had shots on target that forced saves from Meyer.

The best goalkeeping play of the game took place in the second half, as a shot from Eclipse’s Mia Milazzo was partially saved by Meyer, and her block did enough to deflect the shot off the crossbar and out of play.

But the turning point in the game came at the death, as DiNardo fed Skylar Kingsley a pass in the middle, and Kingsley quickly brought the ball out from under her feet and coolly finished. It was a dramatic winner for a game that seemed destined to be a defensive stalemate.

 

FC Bucks U17 1-0 San Juan Soccer Club U17

This game was also decided late, though not quite as dramatically as the previous result. FC Bucks were rewarded for their persistence in the final third with a penalty converted about five minutes from full time courtesy of Julia Panko.

The game started out at a frantic pace, with both teams searching for rhythm. While San Juan were able to dribble through the midfield almost at will, Bucks linked up as a team better as the game wore on, and the attacking tandem of Gabrielle Farrell and Meghan Wachira kept San Juan’s defense occupied all game.

In particular, Farrell was the standout on the afternoon, as she had three good looks on goal in the first half, then became more of a creator on the wing in the second half, setting up Wachira and other teammates again and again after the restart.

Though Bucks looked to be the stronger team overall in the second half, San Juan had opportunities of their own, including a pair in the final 15 minutes of the match from Caleigh Hufana, including one that was bobbled by the Bucks’ goalkeeper before being eventually caught.

The turning point in the game came late, as Panko was brought down in the box for a penalty, and she stepped up to take it herself, giving Bucks the lead. Despite a late scramble from San Juan to find a very late equalizer, Bucks emerged from the game the winners.