Among a plethora of Labor Day Tournament results on the Girls side of the ledger, one that stands out is a U14 final from the Atlanta Cup, where Campbell Chapman's GSA Phoenix Red team beat in-state rival NASA Elite 2-0 in the championship game.
A GSA player (red) competes with NASA over Labor Day weekend.
The win repeated a victory for GSA over the same squad in last year's Georgia State Cup final. Chapman expressed admiration for the NASA team and said he felt his squad were only slightly better than there opponents on the day.
For the tournament, GSA beat Roswell 3-2 after having a 3-0 lead, beat Concorde Fire 5-3 and losing a 3-0 lead then scoring two goals late, then lost to Virginia side Herndon FC 4-1 in a result Chapman said was thoroughly deserved.
The squad then bounced back with a solid performance in the semifinal against Birmingham United 4-1, before winning the title game. Forward Lauren Tanner and Rachel Garcia led the way to a 15-goal performance for the squad, with left-sided players Taylor Donahue and Taylor Wagmon, plus midfielder Cassidy Barker also receiving high marks for their weekend play. Chapman was emphatic however that the victory and the team's ongoing success are the result of solid team play.
"I've had this group for two years now. Apart from one player they all came through our Academy program (starts at U10). Many of the girls were playing up for a year and just now they are back with their age group in the state league," he said. "The forwards have had to learn to receive and play under physical pressure. The midifleder have to learn how to play under pressure and make quick decisions. The defenders were always dealing with players who were a true test physically. This group trains hard and they are always a hard-working team. They are also a good team to watch and will try to play soccer. As you can see from the scores they can score goals. We might need to work a little on the conceding goals part."
Chapman added that the team, which finished in 3rd and 5th in lower tiers of the statewide league while playing up a year, didn't worry too much about results.
"We were more than competitive, but like most parents are group was very gung ho about competition and the team's performances," he said. "I had to tell them we're going to base our assessment on how they play, not on the results. I told them we wanted them to learn how to be patient, to pass well, to be organized and have a good work rate. Now we can start to see the results as they are playing in their own age group."
An article on Boys Labor Day results was posted here .
Select Labor Day Tournament Finals
Blues Cup
U13 Girls – Arsenal FC 2, So Cal Blues 0
U14 Girls – So Cal Blues 2, San Juan Spirits 0
U15 Girls – So Cal Blues 2, San Juan Spirits 0
U16 Girls – MVLA Avalanche 1, Arsenal FC 0
U17 Girls – Tustin United 1, So Cal Blues 0
Atlanta Cup
U13 Girls – Atlanta Fire 2, NASA Elite 1
U14 Girls – GSA Phoenix 2, NASA Elite 0
Plano Labor Day
U13 Girls – Solar 3, Solar Red 1
U14 Girls – Tulsa SC White 4, North Texas Strikers 0
U15 Girls – Fort Worth SC 2, Challenge 1
U16 Girls – Austin Capital 3, Andromeda SC 2
U17 Girls – West Texas United 1, Andromeda SC 0
