RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA – Play resumed here at the WRAL complex, as 184 teams in four age grops kicked off their season this weekend in conjunction with the NCAA College Cup.

This venture has secured participation of most of the top clubs in the country, with the remainder expected to join for next year. The league members met again Thursday night and the organization is moving toward something like a 30-match season with a much greater percentage of games taking place at home club sites rather than most of it being at these showcases as is currently the case.

{mosvideo:350}FC Milwaukee’s Christian Lavers, a leading organizer of the competition, said the organization should be announcing the hiring of a full-time commissioner soon.

On the playing field, I watched a couple of good games before a bonafide snowstorm hit the area in mid-afternoon.

In U16 play, St. Louis Scott Gallagher took a well-deserved 4-2 victory over Long Island club Albertson SC.

Fernando Hernandez’s team started brightly as Danielle Tolmais had a snap header on target that Albertson goalkeeper Christina Mangels did well to save.

Mangels played in the 1st half for the New Yorkers and was good between the sticks plus quick off her line.

Albertson’s Sydney Arestivo is tenacious on the left side while Amanda Rooney is very good on the ball in the middle of the park for her team. For St. Louis, Alexandra Sotak is a no-nonsense defender while Molly Ream puts in tough tackles, has a good left foot and never seems to be out of position.

Albertson’s Jamie Kator got loose for a 1st half header that St. Louis goalkeeper Paige Brown did well to tip wide. On the resulting corner, Brown made another good save, this time on an effort by Krystina Iordanou.

Both teams showed a little more urgency as the 2nd half began. Gallagher’s Colleen Dierkes had a good chance early but her effort was saved at point blank range by Albertson’s 2nd half goalkeeper Jensen Wiedmer. Minutes later, Gallagher’s Ashley Parks hit a good pass to Dierkes and the attacking midfielder’s shot beat the keeper, but hit the post, with Wiedmer alertly pouncing on the rebound to keep the match scoreless.

But that was a warning sign as Gallagher were moving forward with purpose. The first goal came when Sotak sent in a long free kick, setting off a scramble in front of goal that Danielle Tolmais got to and fired into the back of the net to make it 1-0. Soon afterward, Dierkes played a good pass to

Adalie Schmidt and she fired a shot inside the far post to make it 2-0. Dierkes then played another good pass down the right for Schmidt, who poked the ball past the goalkeeper for an onrushing Tolmais who fired home again and Gallagher had 3 goals in 5 minutes.

Albertson responded to this superbly. First Rooney hit a 40-yard striker that snuck under the crossbar to make it 3-1. Then Jamie Kator went on a fantastic weaving run, beating three defenders, showing great close control and rolling a perfect setup for Jaclyn DiMartino who buried the finish to make it 3-2. Albertson looked good bets to complete the comeback as they were buzzing the Gallagher net, but Brown made a good save and then the St. Louis side put the game away when Tolmais hit a good cross and Alex Schmitz provided a good finish to make the final score 4-2 for St. Louis Scott Gallagher.

This year is the first for ECNL to have a U18 competition, and if the girls on hand Saturday are thinking more about their college futures or high school graduations, they didn’t show it as both San Diego Surf and PDA put forth a strong effort, with Surf coming out on top 3-2.

Surf scored a clinical opening goal, with Cori Deason hitting a good cross from the right and Hannah Wissler heading home emphatically to make it 1-0 for the Californians. Ada Greenwood’s team scored another goal when Jacey Birtcher drove a low serve into the area and Wissler redirected it into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead.

PDA countered with an excellent goal by USC recruit Jessica Mussmano, who finished from a sharp angle. Mike Gould’s New Jersey side equalized when Stefanie Scholz played a good pass for Morgan Kennedy whose finish made it 2-2 at halftime.

The 2nd half featured a lot of 50/50 balls, with players getting stuck in battling for possession like it was a cup final. Unfortunately it also brought repeated loud shouting at the referee by certain parents of both sides, and they really should know better by now.

In the end, Surf got a winner as Katie Trees slipped a pass to  Nicole Pappalardo who finished inside the near post for the game-winning goal and a final scoreline of 3-2.

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