Washington Freedom

Super Y-League U14 Finals Preview

USL News Release

Thursday, November 20, 2008

TAMPA – The U14 girls finals preview, which is headlined by unbeaten Quickstrike SC (12-0-2), Alliance Academy (5-0-2) and the Atlanta Silverbacks (11-0-1), represents the last piece of the 10 tournament puzzle that kicks off tomorrow morning in Tampa, Florida. The 10th Annual North American Finals, the ultimate event behind a decade of youth soccer development in the U.S. and Canada, is less than 24 hours away.

Mid Atlantic Division

After missing out on the North American Finals with a 7-3-4 record in 2007, the Washington Freedom have worked very hard to qualify for the 2008 playoffs. The team finished 13-1-0 with a league-leading 59 goals scored and garnered first place in Group C. The Freedom’s only blemish came from the second place team in Group C, the City Islanders Academy.

“This is a highly talented group of young ladies who have worked hard this summer,” said Coach Clyde Watson. “Many of the girls have had the opportunity to play with our U-15 and U-16 teams through the summer as well and we can’t be more proud of the way the girls are developing.”

The Group B Champion of the Mid Atlantic, Match Fit Academy posted a record of 12-2-0. That mark tied this side with City Islanders Academy for the fourth best record in the humongous, 18-team Mid Atlantic Division. One of Match Fit’s losses came to the City Islanders, 3-1 on Saturday, June 7. The other was Match Fit’s only loss to a Group B opponent, a season-opening 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Junior Stallions.

Quickstrike SC won Group A of the Mid Atlantic with a record of 12-0-2. Led by club founder Jesse Kolmel, this side remained undefeated through 14 games by pounding the back of their opposition’s net. The dust settled after Quickstrike ended the season with 58 goals, second only to the Freedom. Quickstrike did however, have the best defense in the division, allowing on average, 0.642 goals per game.

Midwest Division
Alliance Academy is the second of three undefeated sides in this tournament and is the only team in Group C of the North American Finals without a loss. Their regular season record of 5-0-2 earned the side 17 points and the Group A Midwest Division Championship by a single point over the Chicago Magic. Alliance had the best offense in the region, netting an average of 3.57 goals per match. Their defense also was tops in the Midwest, allowing four in seven games.

Kalamazoo’s U14 Girls solidified their first trip to the North American Finals after falling to goal differential in 2007 to the Cleveland Internationals. The Internationals went on to claim the 2007 U13 Girls North American Championship as the top U13 team in both the United States and Canada, something the Kingdom are well equipped to do this season, heading to Tampa at the top of their game. The side finished the regular season with three straight wins in which they outscored their opponents 12-1. Solid defense that held the opponents to seven goals in seven games should help the team compete against North America’s best offenses.

The Chicago Magic finished second in Group A of the Midwest Division with a record of 5-1-1. Coached by Scott Fonfara, the team boasted the second-best offense in the Midwest, scoring 2.57 goals per match. Their defense did not lag too far behind, allowing just a goal per match. That total tied the club for second best in the division with the Kalamazoo Kingdom. The Magic started off the season with three wins, losing their fourth match on the road, 3-1 to Alliance Academy on Sunday, July 20. The teams broke for a late lunch, and then played again, resulting in a 2-2 draw, the only other non-win during the Magic’s season.

New England Division
Coached by David Burgess, Seacoast United won the eight-team New England Division with a record of 11-1-2. Their stiffest competition throughout the regular season came from MPS Boston, who defeated Seacoast 3-2 on Thursday, May 15. Seacoast rebounded, and has not lost a match in their last 13 games. That record includes a retribution draw with MPS Boston, 1-1 on Tuesday, July 29.

Seacoast bypassed their rivals by picking up four wins when facing BW Rhode Island or the Ottawa Fury. Against those two teams, MPS Boston managed a record of 2-0-2. The fact that Seacoast pulled 12 points away from those four games (a record of 4-0-0 against BW Rhode Island and the Ottawa Fury) instead of eight, handed the division to Seacoast.

Northwest Division
This Washington Crossfire team returns to the North American Finals after suffering a penalty-kick decision loss in the finals of last season’s U13 girls’ tournament. Just a few kicks short of the ultimate prize, the Crossfire, led by Head Coach Patrick Williams, have fought their way back to the Super Y-League post-season by winning the Northwest Division with a record of 9-2-3. Defense was the force behind this team’s success last season. They allowed just one goal in five matches at the North American Finals. The team put up impressive numbers again this season, allowing just 0.285 goals per game.

Coastal WFC finished second in the ultra-competitive Northwest Division with a record of 9-3-2. That record was enough for 29 points on the season, one point behind the Washington Crossfire and one point ahead of the third place Mountain WFC who finished the season with 28 points. Head-to-head with the division leaders, Coastal WFC went 1-3-0, losing twice by a 1-0 score to the Crossfire. They split their season series with Mountain WFC but fared slightly better than their counterparts against the remainder of the division to claim the second Northwest seed to the Super Y-League North American Finals.

South Atlantic Division
The Atlanta Silverbacks Juniors won the 2008 South Atlantic Division, earning them a return visit to the Super Y-League North American Finals. This team is comprised of many of the same girls that earned the Silverbacks U13 team a spot at last year’s North American Finals. Those girls include: Mackenzie Bailey, Allyson Baron, Mary Bleekrode, Alexis Connors, Diana Getzewich, Anna Hilpertshauser, Meghan Hussey, Autum Matthews, Emily Sonnett, Emma Sonnett, Katlyn Stevens, Claire Sullivan and Gabrielle Toner.

This years’ team had a very strong season, scoring an average of five goals per game, for a total of sixty goals and allowing only two goals against for the entire season. This bettered last year’s impressive total of fifty goals for and nine against. The success of the team can be attributed to many factors, but is mainly due to a strong core of returning players. This talented group of girls coached by Iggy Moleka, is looking forward to returning to Tampa and another strong showing for this year’s 2008 Finals.

The Richmond Kickers girls had another magical summer season. The girls set a team goal of qualifying for the North American Finals and then arrived at each training session willing to do the work needed to make this dream come true. After opening up the season by winning the first eight games, the girls had achieved their team goal and then were quickly humbled losing their first game to long time nemesis, the Atlanta Silverbacks. The girls bounced back to finish the season with nine wins and two losses, with a berth to Tampa in hand. While several individuals stood out throughout the summer, each player on the 25-player roster contributed to the team’s success as each player started at least one game proving the depth of the squad.

Southeast Division
Kendall SC claimed a tightly-contested Southeast Division with a record of 11-1-0. The team’s only loss came in a 4-1 decision to Schulz Academy on Saturday, August 9. Having spilt their head-to-head matches this season, Kendall needed to post better results against the rest of the division to earn the lone qualification position out of the region. They did so with the help of Sunrise SC, who tied Schulz 1-1 early in the season. Kendall, coached by Marcelo Valdivia, was able to get past the Sunrise hurdle twice, winning 2-1 on the road and 1-0 at home.