Saturday Coverage | Results

It was Championship Sunday at Striker Park and the atmosphere was festive and competitive.  The U15 Champions Bracket final was played on the Stadium field and brought together two teams that were familiar with each other.  Both teams went undefeated in their brackets with SAC United out of Maryland having three wins and FC Bucks Revolution from Pennsylvania coming in with two wins and one tie.

FC Bucks came out strong and ready to prove themselves.  Maxine New moved the ball well all over the field, creating opportunities for herself and teammate Megan Schafer.  Schafer was fast and strong, and took quality shots throughout the game.  Carly Hoelsworth was tenacious, going in hard and winning balls.

FC Bucks played tough and found themselves up against a very fast forward in SAC United’s Margaret Purce.  Purce used her speed and ball skills to move in and out of the defense, and once played the ball to herself for a shot that was saved for a corner.  Her work rate was impressive and soon paid off when Karli Cirovski received a throw in and played a beautiful ball to Purce who beat the goalkeeper for the first goal of the game.  

FC Bucks did not back down and their coach subbed frequently to keep his players fresh.  They played well out of the back.  Caitlin Jackson was very strong on defense and was challenged throughout by Purce.  Taylor Dillon and Annie Axenroth read the field well and distributed the ball with skill through the midfield.  Nicole Pannella had exceptional poise and control at holding center midfield.  Purce continued to threaten and stretched the defense.  A long ball was played by SAC United’s Margaret “Maggie” Furlong and Casey Martinez took a shot that was deflected by the keeper, but Danielle Hogarth was right there to gather the ball and put it in the back of the net to give SAC United a 2-0 lead.

Both teams pressured the remainder of the half as FC Bucks’ Schafer made numerous runs and Katie Suchodolski displayed impressive foot skills and quick movement.  Morgan Crable played tough on defense for SAC United and shut down many of the Bucks opportunities.  SAC United sent a long ball to Hogarth who took the ball into the box but was well defended by Danielle Robinson to keep the score 2-0 as the first half ended.  

The second half started the way the first half ended with both teams pressuring the ball.  SAC United’s Jennifer Gavigan showed great vision and moved the ball incredibly well.  Gavigan played a long ball to Sheridan Street who took a solid shot that was saved.  Bucks continued to get great play from Schafer, Hoelsworth and New.  The pace was quick and both teams showed good energy up until the end.  The last play of the game was a great ball from Purce to Hogarth that hit the crossbar.  Purce and Hogarth combined for all of their team’s goals this weekend.

SAC United won the championship today without forward Imani Dorsey who had to leave the tournament early to attend the U15 National Team camp in California this week.  Coach Shannon Cirovski credited the success of her team to the camaraderie of her players and the competition they face in their leagues.  The team is constantly challenged by these teams, and their hard work and training has been rewarded by winning the 2010 Maryland State Cup and U.S. Youth Soccer Region I title, and placing third at Nationals.  The team has already qualified for the 2011 National Championships in Phoenix this July by winning the National League.  Cirovski, former head coach of the Maryland women’s program and wife of current Maryland men’s coach Sasho Cirovski, has been coaching this team for three years and is very proud of her players.

Scores from other brackets, courtesy of the Jefferson Cup:

U13 Championship Bracket
Final
FC STING DYNAMITE (FORMER     1     
ASHBURN ASC FREEDOM 97G (     2     


3rd Place Game
SCORPIONS ELITE (MA)     1     

CRUSA/FC BUCKS FREEDOM (P     0     


U14 Championship Bracket

Final
PALM BEACH MAGICJACKS 96/     3     

PENN FUSION SA '96 GIRLS     1     

3rd Place Game
FREESTATE STORM (MD)     2     

CONCORDE FIRE NORTH ELITE     1     


U15 Championship Bracket

Final
SAC UNITED PREMIER (MD)     2     

CRUSA FC BUCKS REVOLUTION     0    

3rd Place Game
NORTHERN VIRGINIA SC JR M     3     

HOCKESSIN SC BLAST (DE)     1     


U16 Championship Bracket

Sunday, March 20, 2011
VSA HEAT BLUE     2                PDA CRUSH     1
FREESTATE ELITE 94     3                BEADLING SC BEADLING 94/95     0
BETHESDA SC FREEDOM 94/95     2                SCORPIONS ELITE ECNL     1
CHANTILLY YA FIRECATS     0                SDFC 09 LYNX     1
FC VIRGINIA 94 HOTSPUR     4                CRUSA FC BUCKS PROWLERS     0
NORTH CAROLINA FUSION 94 ELITE G     0                NEFC U16 ELITE     0
 

U17 Championship Bracket

CHANTILLY SC BURN     3               QUICKSTRIKE FC 94'S     0
UNITED FA 94 ELITE     1               REAL NEW JERSEY SC POWER     1
MCLEAN STRIKERS     0                  ALBERTSON SC FURY 93     0
SCORPIONS SC ECNL     1                 CRUSA FC BUCKS XTREME     3
EAST MEADOW EXPRESS     3             TRIANGLE FC TFC 93 NAVY GIRLS     1
BALTIMORE BAYS BAYS     1                FC VIRGINIA CARDINALS ECNL     3


U18 Championship Bracket

PENN FUSION SA (SPIRIT UNITED) '92 GAELS     3        FC VIRGINIA ECNL FCV EXPLOSION     0
SYOSSET / FC STING STING 92 ELITE     1                FC FREDERICK U19      1
ALBERTSON SC FURY PREMIER     2      MCLEAN MPS AZUL 92/93 (FORMERLY BRYC AZUL)     3
ISA STING 92'     2               LOUDOUN U18 (FORMERLY 91 RED)     1

 

Saturday Coverage | Results