ECNL Showcase wraps up in Florida

ECNL Showcase wraps up in Florida
December 30, 2010

SANFORD, Fla. — On day three of the ECNL Winter Showcase, Virginia Rush Nike came from behind to win 3-2 over Connecticut FC in the U16 division.

Interim coach Matt Dacey said it was the second consecutive day that Virginia used last minute heroics to pull out a victory.

In the 80th minute, Kelly Chesson eyed the Connecticut goal before breaking the 2-2 draw with a penalty kick, her third score of the morning.

“We were under a lot of pressure early and gave up some goals,” Dacey said. “It wasn’t pretty, it’s not our style of soccer but it’s one of those where you have to dig deep and good things happen.”

girls youth club soccer playersU15 Sereno vs Eclipse (Photo courtesy of Darla Sipolt)
Connecticut scored first two minutes into the second half with a goal from Gabriela Reis. She took a great cross from Sarah Pandolfi inside the box before lacing it in.

Although Virginia tied the match with a rocket shot from Chesson into the upper corner in the 58th minute, the celebration was short lived. Just two minutes later, Krystina Jackson took a shot shy of midfield and found the back of the net to give Connecticut a 2-1 lead.

It was not long before Virginia had another chance to even the match. In the 67th minute, Chesson scored on a penalty kick.

Connecticut FC:

Sydney Aldrich had some great possessions throughout the match. She had good foot movement with the ball and also pushed the offense up on attacks.

Sarah Pandolfi provided some great crosses from the right wing. Pandolfi was able to defend her space when Virginia was on the attack.

Gabriela Reis not only scored the team’s first goal of the match, but also was consistently pressuring the Virginia defense for much of the first period and early on in the second half.

Virginia Rush:

Hannah Velloney faced a tough task on Wednesday with a lot of traffic coming her way. Even so, her defensive play helped keep Connecticut from scoring early on and for much of the match.

Riley Mahoney helped get the Virginia offense going in the second half by setting up some scoring opportunities. On the defensive side, she helped keep Connecticut out of Virginia’s box for much of the second period.

Kelly Chesson scored three goals against Connecticut. Two came on penalty kicks, and her first was a screamer that hit the upper 90. Chesson was aggressive in the second half, pressuring the Connecticut defense.

Birmingham wins thriller versus Minnesota:

In another U16 matchup, Birmingham United defeated Minnesota Thunder 2-1 after giving up an early goal.

With less than four minutes remaining in the contest, Charley Simone finally found an opening in the Minnesota defense by sneaking in a goal in the 76th minute.

Minnesota was awarded a penalty in the first five minutes of the match, with Simone Kolander connecting on the attempt.

Although Minnesota was the more aggressive of the two, a mistake by their defense led to an own goal in the 31st minute.

The second period saw Birmingham take over on the offensive front.

“As the game worn on, we had more momentum,” said David Alberti. “I think in the second half we had more of the ball and positive possession.”

With the combination of Simone Charley, Antionette Payne and Kayla Dowler, Birmingham was consistently on the attack on the Minnesota side of the field.

Even then, none of their attacks resulted in goals until the 76th minute as Charley, who came off the bench, took advantage of another Minnesota miscue.

The goal kick went straight to Charley’s feet and she took the ball and delivered it into the lower left corner of the goal.

Birmingham United:

Abigail Clausen was part of a defense that faced plenty of challenges from the Minnesota front. With her on the backline, the defense was able to shut out Minnesota the rest of the game.

Antionette Payne helped set up many of the attacks for Birmingham in the second half. She had some great possessions passing the ball to both Charley and Dowler.

Simone Charley scored the game winner in the 76th minute, but produced many chances at the goal in the last 20 minutes of the game.

Minnesota Thunder:

Tiana Khamvongsa set up some great attacks for Minnesota in the first period. Also had a couple great crosses.

Kelly Pannek played well on both the attacking front and defending. She limited any chances against her.

Anastasia Medellin was instrumental in helping defense against Birmingham’s strong attack in the last half of the second period.

U15
Ohio Elite Soccer Academy    5-0    Albertson Fury
PDA    0-1     Carmel United
Eclipse Select Soccer Club    0-0     D'Feeters Soccer Club
CASL    1-2     St. Louis Scott Gallagher
KCFC    3-0    Sereno Soccer Club
Charlotte Soccer Academy    1-2     San Juan SC
FC Stars of Massachusetts    0-1     Michigan Hawks
Birmingham United    2-1     Minnesota Thunder
Lonestar SC    3-0     FC Virginia
FC Dallas    4-0     Freestate Soccer Alliance
CESA Premier        4-0     Utah Avalanche
Scorpions SC        2-1     Concorde Fire
Virginia Rush Nike    0-1     Challenge SC
Atlanta Fire United    3-4     Vardar
Connecticut FC    0-3     Solar Soccer Club

U16
Eclipse Select Soccer Club     2-0     Lonestar SC
San Juan SC     0-0     Michigan Hawks
Sereno Soccer Club     1-1     Concorde Fire
D'Feeters Soccer Club      0-1     FC Virginia
KCFC     2-4     Real Colorado
Atlanta Fire United      0-3     FC Dallas
CASL          2-0     Challenge SC
Charlotte Soccer Academy     0-1     PDA
Connecticut FC     2-3     Virginia Rush Nike
Albertson Fury      3-1     Utah Avalanche
Solar Soccer Club     0-1     Scorpions SC
Birmingham United    2-1     Minnesota Thunder
CESA Premier    2-0     Ohio Elite Soccer Academy
Carmel United    2-0     FC Stars of Massachusetts
St. Louis Scott Gallagher    0-2     Freestate Soccer Alliance

U17
Solar Soccer Club    1-1     Michigan Hawks
FC Stars of Massachusetts    2-3     Challenge SC
Concorde Fire    1-0     Virginia Rush Nike
Birmingham United    1-3     FC Virginia
Connecticut FC    3-5     Minnesota Thunder
Charlotte Soccer Academy    1-3     KCFC
Lonestar SC    0-1     Carmel United
Vardar        0-0     Freestate Soccer Alliance
St. Louis Scott Gallagher    0-4    D'Feeters Soccer Club
Ohio Elite Soccer Academy    3-1     San Juan SC
Atlanta Fire United    1-1     Utah Avalanche
CASL    0-0     Real Colorado
Eclipse Select Soccer Club    0-1     PDA
Sereno Soccer Club    0-1     Albertson Fury
CESA Premier        1-0     FC Bucks

U18
Ohio Elite Soccer Academy    2-2     Albertson Fury
Eclipse Select Soccer Club    3-2     Minnesota Thunder
Atlanta Fire United    0-0     Virginia Rush Nike
Charlotte Soccer Academy    2-0     St. Louis Scott Gallagher
FC Virginia    2-1     Vardar
Birmingham United    0-2     Freestate Soccer Alliance
CASL ECNL    3-1     FC Bucks
CESA Premier        1-2     Carmel United
Concorde Fire    0-0     Challenge SC

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