4 good U15 Girls teams came to Rancho Capistrano this past weekend to fight for the Far West Regional League’s prize to go to Hawaii for this year’s U.S. Youth Soccer Region IV championship.

“Anyone could have won this thing, this past weekend,” said Real So Cal coach Kristi Walker. “You just saw the best 4 teams at this age group. The competition at this age is getting better and better each year and every game is extremely competitive, every time. I am so glad to see the level get here.”

It was Walker’s team who walked away with leis around their necks however, after punching their ticket to go to Honolulu this June.

It was Real So Cal’s 2^nd game against Cal North side Mustang Earthquakes that actually decided the winner of the bracket, with Real winning 1-0. RSC striker, Shanelle Simien received a pass inside the box, with her back to the goal, she turned on her defender and shot a left footed rocket into the back of the net, a goal similar to the one Liverpool’s Fernando Torres scored last week in the Champions League.

The win, combined with Real’s 2-0 win over Southern California rival Arsenal the day before sealed the league title for the squad. Eagles meanwhile were already out of contention following a win and a draw in their 1^st 2 matches of the weekend.

The first half of the Real-Eagles match started out slow in the 90 degree heat, and no goals were made in the first half. Eagles and Real faced each other twice this past season in the Coast Soccer League, with the Eagles having their way each time. Eagles came out early with a 25 yard free kick that looked as if it was going to go right under the cross bar. But Real goalkeeper, Heather Haney sprung up and punched it over for an amazing save.

“All I kept thinking was no goal, no goal, no goal”, said Haney when asked about her stellar save.

Eagles pushed play into the attacking third with smart play by Jaciara Mello to serve a great cross in and have it finished by Kathryn Prati to put the Eagles up 1-0.

The goal seemed to light a fire under Real, and a wave of seriousness came across the players’ faces as they began to string several passes and get some good looks of their own at goal. Finally, the moment arrived and Real got a goal from Shanelle Simien. Confidence grew and Real delivered  2 more goals, including another strike by Simien and the 3^rd one 4 minutes after that, a bullet shot to the far post by Bridget Berman.

With 4 great teams coming to Rancho Capistrano for the Far West Regional League Spring Playoff finals, what is the difference among these teams? How was it that RSC had a perfect record winning all 3 matches and the right to go to Hawaii?

If you look at the talented players, it is true, any of these teams could have claimed the title. The coaches are all premier, but one stood out this weekend, Real’s Kristi Walker, who has to be a strong candidate for coach of the year.  She walks, breathes and loves soccer. You can see her passion on that side line. It’s as if she is waiting for some coach to put her into the game and get out there with her team. She has amazing spirit and is a true professional. She is serious and fun at the same time.

I think this team has the potential to reach the Nationals in July. Walker doesn’t see anyone player on her team as the focus of the team.

“It’s a team effort every time,” she said after receiving the ceremonial water bucket drenching from her squad. “Once we got our goal we became confident and played as a team, the difference in our team is that we have so much character. We are playing at such a high level right now and winning these kinds of games is continually improving our confidence. Knowing that even when we go down a goal, we can come back to win anytime. We have so much character.”