Disney Showcase Qualifiers: Day 2 recap

Disney Showcase Qualifiers: Day 2 recap
by Andy Villamarzo
September 4, 2017
ORLANDO -- The second day of the Disney Qualifier Soccer Showcase at the ESPN Wide World of Sports started off with overcast weather, but would eventually go back and forth between sunny skies and raining conditions. The day's action was filled with competitive games and players hoping to lead their respective clubs to Monday's final slate of games. Here are some of the key matchups from Sunday's 
 
FKK 9900 Krush Black U19 (FL) 1-0 Kendall SC United 1999 Blue U19 (FL)

With the skies providing overcast in the early morning, teams had the advantage of not having to endure through tough humid temperatures throughout. One of the closely contested U19 matches was between Kendall United and FKK 9900 Krush Black, whom both entered needing a win to put themselves in a better position heading into Monday's finals. 

The line score of the entire match was scored early on when FKK 9900 Krush Black's Ryley Shapiro put one in the back of the net to put her club up 1-0 in the eighth minute. After Shapiro's goal, it was a struggle the rest of the match for either team to gain a real edge over the other. The defenses played well and challenged every attack. 

In what was likely Kendall United's best scoring opportunity in the second half, Tiffany McBrayer's free kick just outside the box would bounce off the left crossbar and her follow up shot would sail just wide right, leaving the game 1-0 in the 43rd minute. 

"I thought we did a fantastic job of attacking the goal," FKK 9900 Krush Black coach Antonio Brimmo said. "The defense did a great job getting back and I thought our goalkeeper really stepped up and made some big saves." 

Space Coast United 1999 Travel U19 (FL) 2-1 2001 Windy City Pride 1998/99 U19 (IL) 

Already knowing that a win and a draw would put them through to the finals on Monday, Space Coast United 1999 Travel knew what it would have to do in order to advance ahead. On the other side, Windy City out of Chicago needed to pickup the victory to keep its chances alive. It would be the Florida-based team coming away with the 2-1 win and moving forward. 

After taking a 1-0 lead, Space Coast United started to put the pressure on Windy City's defense and were able to break through in the 33rd minute when Emily Bodi's perfect pass skid in between two defenders and Elena Barr finished it off to put her team up 2-0 heading into intermission.

Space Coast's Megan Nemec and Windy City's Johnnie-Joy Bryant had some good 1-on-1 battles on the edges, with Nemec setting up some strong opportunities for her teammates. Windy City would eventually get on the board when midfielder Eileen Murphy hit home a follow up shot late in the match.

"Our possessions were good," Space Coast United 1999 Travel coach Teresa Moon said. "I honestly thought we should have put them away in the first half. I thought we should've scored a few more goals."

Miami Beach Soccer 2002 U16 (FL) 2-1 GPS Orlando I 2002 U16 (FL)

In what seemed more like a ho-hum matchup because of the possession time, turned into a hotly contested matchup down the stretch between nearby GPS Orlando I 2002 and Miami Beach Soccer 2002. Stakes and the heat temperatures high, both teams put out maximum effort in this contest played in the early afternoon. 

Miami Beach Soccer 2002 wasted little to no time in scoring its first goal of the match, when Victor Carrillo blasted a shot in the back of the net in the 11th minute. About 13 minutes later, Miami Beach was on the attack again and this time it would be Robert Sosa putting his name onto the scorer's sheet, putting his club up 2-0 in the 24th minute. 

Because of the dominating control of possession and 2-0 lead, Miami Beach Soccer took a step back in its attacks and GPS Orlando was starting to find some dents in the armor, as scoring opportunities starting to arise for them. In the 58th minute, however, a penalty kick score by Mason Covelli would give GPS Orlando new life. The search for the equalizer was on, but wouldn't be found in the final 12 minutes.

OCYS 2002 Purple U16 (FL) 0-0 Clay County SC 02 USA Rangers Red U16 (FL) 

There was also some scoreless games that went on over the first couple of days in the Disney Qualifier and the matchup between local OCYS 2002 Purple and Clay County SC 02 USA Rangers Red was a prime example of a contest with plenty of action, but no goals. The game would end in a 0-0 tie, despite numerous chances on both ends. 

With the match being a defensive slugfest, both clubs were reliant on free and corner kicks to help setup scoring chances in both halves of play. Clay County's Mason Doherty made some strong runs at goal, nearly scoring in the 25th minute, only to see his shot sail wide left. 

In the second half of play, OCYS saw several opportunities it would just miss out on, as Ryan McDevitt and Tyler Zoucha both had scoring chances that would go just high over the net. OCYS goalkeeper Austin Dunlap was kept on his toes all afternoon and played a solid match in goal. 
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