U20 Team News
2008 U20 Team Tryouts To Be Held In Spring
Interested Players Should Email Win Puffer For Details or Call The Freedom Office at (301) 515-3803
Washington Freedom's Tiffany Brown Named to the USL Super-20 All-League Team
Women's Super-20 All-League Team |
| Coach | Jesse Kolmel | Quickstrike |
| GK | Lauren Tupman | Hampton Roads |
| GK | Alexa D'Agostino | Quickstrike |
| D | Jen Orlando | Parsippany |
| D | Caitlin Marple | Hampton Roads |
| D | Brittany Taylor | Quickstrike |
| D | Kristen Walker | FC Frederick |
| D | Tara Ricciardi | Parsippany |
| D | Meredith Brown | Hampton Roads |
| M | Ingrid Wells | Parsippany |
| M | Alli Rozelle | Seacoast United |
| M | Jess Carnivale | Parsippany |
| F | Brianna Wilson-Bryne | MPS U20 |
| F | Katie Ryan | Parsippany |
| F | Amanda DeCosta | Quickstrike |
| F | Tiffany Brown | Washington Freedom |
| F | Anna Torregiano | Brooklyn Knights |
Super-20 Semifinal's Set
Women's final: Parsippany SC and Quickstrike, Sunday 10 a.m.
Saturday, August 4
By: Jason Minnick
EPPING, NEW HAMPSHIRE – What could have been a very simple Saturday for many teams in the third day of United Soccer Leagues Super-20 League action turned very complicated. The matches began a full hour ahead of the past two days schedule at 9 a.m. On field two, the Toronto Lynx faced MPS U20. The winner owned the Group B Championship and a place in the semifinals.
In the 38th minute Toronto's Luke Stedmond put the Lynx ahead with a shot from just inside the area. On the goal, Stedmond beat MPS goalkeeper Nick Nybo to the near post, the ball bounced near the six hit the post and spun backwards into the far side netting. The one goal lead lasted until the 60th minute when MPS striker Andrew Olsen picked out the far post with a sharp roller. The goal knotted the match at 1-1.
"Our left back pushed and was able to draw a couple defenders," said Olsen. "He got me the ball in space and I did a step-over to shake the defender and hit it with my left to the far post."
The goal's implications: Group B fell to the defense of the Reading Rage. The tie leveled the Lynx, MPS U20 and Bakersfield at five points each. The tiebreaker going to goal differential, Toronto was poised to advance as long as the Reading Rage held Bakersfield in check. The Californian's needed a three goal win. MPS U20, despite not losing a match in these North American Finals, was eliminated.
"That is just how it goes," said Olsen. "I felt like we were the best team in our group but it came down to us not being able to finish yesterday against the Rage. The competition in the Super-20 Finals was excellent. The game today against Toronto was a battle. They were the best competition we faced, big in the back and very organized."
The Rage's match kicked off on the same field following the MPS/Toronto match.
During the morning, another Midwest representative, Penn's Forest woke up two days into the tournament. They effectively
eliminated the Brandon Flames via a 5-5 draw on field four. The exciting result closed the door on a possible Southeast Division Super-20 Championship repeat. Another implication, a PDA loss to Seacoast United would send the host through to the next round. That match was also part of the 11 a.m. package of which the temperature and the implications came to a boil. The winner advanced in three of the four matches: D.C. United and the Chicago Fire Premier, Red Bull New York and Super Nova FC and Seacoast United and PDA.
Super Nova opened the scoring when William Byrne out of Bucknell University beat his defender with a fake shot and buried one to the far post past Red Bull goalkeeper Brendan Dunn. Red Bull answered almost instantly. A goal from Matt Kassel by way of a free kick set just outside the area. A simple set piece, a left footed player ran over the ball before Kassel bent a downward twisting shot with his right, over the wall and into the far side netting. The goal set the table for the remainder of the half, a back and forth battle played primarily in the middle.
"I knew Super Nova would be a tough game heading into the match," said Red Bull New York Director of Coaching Paul O'Donnell. "Anytime a team knows they can advance with a win, they are going to play you tough. We understood the situation but we still came out flat. Super Nova scoring early may have been the best thing that could have happened. We woke up and played well afterwards."
Just before the conclusion of the half, the roar of the crowd could be heard from the Major League Soccer U20 Academy grudge match being played on field one. United's 11-goal-in-two-match output rendered far off spectators inaccurate – it wasn't D.C. doing the goal scoring.
The Premier took a 1-0 lead off a goal by the Fire's Keith Simpson.
"We had just made a substitution and brought on Simpson," said Fire Head Coach Paul Cadwell. "One of our backs brought the ball up and picked him out – he made a nice play and found the back of the net."
The goal was a subtle reminder to all that there are no matches at the Super-20 North American Finals that do not carry deadly implications.
The Fire quickly pulled all 11 behind the ball to defend, full-out, their one goal advantage.
"We had seen them play in an earlier match and scouted them well," said Cadwell. "We knew they were a very fast, very talented offensive team. Pulling our boys behind the ball gave them full procession of the ball, but that was something we had to do."
The strategy worked thru the 64th minute. But in the 65th D.C. United's relentless pressure broke down the Fire wall. United earned a corner kick which they converted into a goal off the foot of Jordan Graye.
Red Bull now at 2-2 with Super Nova on field three, the key to the next round for both D.C. United and Red Bull New York became tie and advance.
It did not happen.
The Premier shifted gears like a well-oiled machine, charging from their fortress into attack. They controlled play with growing strain on the D.C. United defense and netted a go-ahead goal in the 74th minute. The strike was a game winner. It punched their ticket to the semifinals. They are the representative from Group A and will face Red Bull New York in the semifinals. Red Bull finished 2-2 with Super Nova, earning the right to represent Group C. Group D was swept by PDA, dashing the hopes of Seacoast United on field four 4-1. The Rage held up their end of the bargain and finished 2-1 against Bakersfield. The resulting point total gave Toronto the bid out of Group B. Toronto and PDA also square off this evening.
The men's semifinal set, the women took the field at 1 p.m. The matches: Quickstrike and the Brooklyn Knights on field two, the Washington Freedom and FC Frederick on field one.
A fresh team in the Super-20 League, Quickstrike utilized their two veteran players, one sewing up the back line, another scoring goals. They opened up a 3-0 lead over the Knights and never looked back earning a trip to the finals.
"Today went well for us," said Quickstrike Head Coach Jesse Kolmel. "Yesterday we started slow but today we knew we had to go for it. Being a first year club we are very young but our two veterans really bring together this young group of girls."
"Brittany Taylor, our center back is the anchor and soul of our defense," added Kolmel. "Up front we have Amanda DaCosta scoring goals. Those girls being experienced with the U.S. National Team they are able to provide that leadership for us here. "
The defending Super-20 League women's champion prevailed 5-0 over FC Frederick. The win boosted the club's record to 10-1-0 this season. Unfortunately, their first loss came yesterday to Parsippany 2-1. Without help from MPS U20 in the 3 p.m. match, the Freedom would not return to the finals.
Their fate in their own hands, Parsippany remained as solid in the back as they were all weekend. They allowed zero goals in a 2-0 win over MPS to advance to their second consecutive Super-20 Finals. They will face the upstart, Quickstrike SC, tomorrow at 10 a.m.
"We played Parsippany twice during the regular season," said Quickstrike's Kolmel. "We traded wins with them. They are an excellent side. They have the program, the tradition. We view ourselves as a bunch of nobodies from nowhere with a chip on our shoulder."
Super-20 North American Finals Begin
DCU, Red Bull, Fire Premier, Lynx, Kalamazoo, PDA, Flames, Freedom, Parsippany, Quickstrike and Hampton women 1-0
Thursday, August 2
EPPING, NEW HAMPSHIRE – United Soccer Leagues Super-20 League North American Finals began here today at Seacoast United's sprawling soccer complex in Southern New Hampshire. The 10 a.m. matches: the Washington Freedom and MPS U20's women, Quickstrike FC and Seacoast United's women, D.C. United and Beachside's men and the Toronto Lynx and Reading Rage men.
The reigning Super-20 League semifinalists, D.C. United took field three against fellow Mid Atlantic side Beachside to begin the day. The two sides traded procession in the early going, Beachside starting and holding the ball for nearly five minutes. D.C. United owned the next ten after gaining the ball for the first time, the wide pitches allowing their wingers full supremacy in the run of play.
Nearing the 20th minute of play a brilliant through ball from D.C. United left back Adam Graiz sprung a race between D.C. forward Abimbola Pedro and a Beachside defender. The two bearing down on beachside goalkeeper Micah Camly, the Beachside defender lunged in a last attempt to knock the ball out of danger but, just as Camly arrived, the defender brought down Pedro, the referee instantly calling for a kick from the mark. The ensuing free-kick was knocked home by D.C. United midfielder Drew Yates for the 1-0 lead.
The goal seemed to steady D.C. United's advantage, which may have been hidden behind anxious legs, and the side's level of procession increased exponentially. The sharpest edge of D.C. United's attack was their wings. Outside midfielders Jordan Graye and Brian Brady patrolled the flanks and provided endless swerving crosses, thru-balls and support in defense.
The 35th minute saw Beachside gain some pressure. They earned a
free kick from a foul about 30 yards out and wide to the right. After coming set, Beachside played the ball to the back post, over the head of all targets. For a second, the cross looked to have D.C. United goalkeeper Andrew Quinn beaten, but the Notre Dame University product leaned back, tipping the ball just over the crossbar. Quinn was also equal to the subsequent corner-kick, punching it out of the area. The save sent the two sides into half, D.C. United holding a 1-0 lead.
D.C. United Head Coach Gene Mishalow stressed two points during his halftime talk. The first was keeping defensive pressure tight on Beachside's players wide. The second point was simple – relax.
"We are trying to build a lead too quickly," said Mishalow. "Take your time. Set your feet and place your shots. Receive the ball first and then look to turn on your defender. We are hurrying our shots and our touches. Expect the unexpected from your teammates as well as your opponents. Your teammates have the speed to catch up to those balls played into space."
"They are going to come out strong in the second half," added Mishalow. "If they get a goal it is going to be a fight because they are going to feel like they can play with us. If we score first it is over."
D.C United scored first.
Guided by forward Jimmy Carroll who netted two second half goals and one assist, D.C. United exploded to a 5-0 finish.
"The first goal I scored was on a play very similar to a chance I had in the first," said Carroll. "During halftime, coach talked to me about taking my time. On the play in the first half I hit the shot first time and it was not my best effort. In the second, I could hear coaches voice in the back of my head and I took that extra touch. It paid off. Once we got the second goal we calmed down and finishing seemed much easier."
Meanwhile on field one, the defending Super-20 women's champions, the Washington Freedom used the first 40 minutes to compile a 2-0 lead. However, the second half started in advantage of MPS U20's as the side drew within one goal on an airborne thru-ball played in by Molly Allen. MPS striker Brianna Wilson tracked down the pass, outran a Freedom defender, and placed a shot in the right corner of the net for a 2-1 score line. The match finished 3-1 in favor of the Freedom.
On field two, Quickstike FC's women also compiled a 40 minute lead. Their lead was 3-0 over host Seacoast United. The players of the match were forward tandem Elise Fugowski and Amanda DaCosta. The duo netted a total of four goals and three assists in the match, which ended 5-1 in favor of the New Jersey based club.
Down in the hallow of field four, the Toronto Lynx and the Reading Rage fought, almost literally, to a 0-0 halftime.
The second 40 began as brutally as the first ended, both teams playing a similar, direct and aggressive style. In roughly the 65th minute of play, the Canadians struck first on a play that could have gone one of two ways – a penalty kick or a free-kick from just outside the area. Either way, the Rage were under pressure as Toronto's Luke Stedmond stood over the ball. He took the wall out of play with a low bending ball the snuck by the Reading goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.
Five minutes later Toronto extended their lead following another free kick awarded in unison of the sending off of a Rage defender for a harsh tackle. On the play, the Rage were pressing forward in an attempt to net an equalizer when Toronto won the ball in the back and quickly went forward. The abrupt ball sent a forward in on goal with two defenders trailing. The first defender on the scene dragged down the attacker and was shown a straight red. Toronto took full advantage, knocking the ball around before sending it wide to the left. From there it was centered to target forward Alexander Trujillo, who checked to the ball, let it run past his shoulder and impressively first-timed a side-volley into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead.
Toronto added a third goal just before the final whistle when Mackenzie Wilde put to use an open look from long range. Noticing the keeper was off his line to cut down on the angle of the shot, Wilde looped a shot over the keeper's head for a three goal lead.
"We had a lot of opportunities in the first half," said Toronto Head Coach Paul Deabreu. "We should have finished but the Rage held tight in the back. In the second half we switched to a 3-4-3 to get more players in their area and it paid off."
Tomorrow the Toronto Lynx face California's Bakersfield Brigade in a North-South, U.S.-Canada match up for Group B supremacy.
"They're from the sunshine of California and we are from the cold of Toronto," added Deabreu. "It is not too often we get to face a team from California so I look forward to the match. I don't know much about them going in, other than the fact that they are from out west."
Super-20 Women's Finals Set
Field set for top annual U20 tournament in North America
Tuesday, July 24
EPPING, NEW HAMPSHIRE – The four teams that fought their way to the inaugural Women's USL Super-20 League final in 2006 are back for more. The defending Super-20 League Champion Washington Freedom, currently at 8-0-0 and allowing only one goal this season are the heavy favorites to repeat while the only team ever to defeat the Maryland based Super-20 heavyweights, New Jersey's Parsippany SC (7-2-0), will surely have something to say about that when the two teams meet next week at the 2007 league finals.
North American Finals Information
Winning the New England Division for the second straight season was MPS U20 (8-2-0). Host club Seacoast United, always tough on their home pitch, round out the clubs present at both versions of the Super-20 Final.
"We look forward to the competition at the Super-20 North American Finals," said Washington Freedom Head Coach Winn Puffer. "We were happy to see the size of the event raised to eight teams because playing against the best teams in the country is great for the development of our players. This event gives us a good indication of where we stand as an organization."
"Depending on the performance of our W-League side this weekend in Ottawa, Chante Sandiford, the 2006 Super-20 League MVP may be with us," added Puffer. "She serves as the top reserve on our W-League side. If the W-League side wins we will have to make due without her."
Besides Sandiford, a goalkeeper who made several key stops in a penalty-kick shootout final against Parsippany in last season's finale, the Freedom returns the majority their players from last season's championship side.
"We always looked at this age group as the foundation for our senior teams," said Puffer. "Even when we did not have a Super-20 team, this age group served as a reserve team to our senior division team. Now that we have that club development structure in place, adding the U13 and U15 Super Y-League teams this past season, we are able to cultivate players and allow them this stepping stone up to our senior teams."
The newest obstacle for the Freedom in 2007 will be the South Atlantic Division. The representatives, FC Frederick (5-1-1) and the Hampton Roads Piranhas (7-1-0) will mix up the league finals with competition from a region with the deepest history of women's soccer in the world.
Last season, the league finals revolved around the Freedom/Parsippany Mid Atlantic feud. Those two clubs will certainly impact these finals, but with the 2007 Mid Atlantic expansion to the current 11-team format, fellow Mid Atlantic competitors Quickstrike FC (7-2-1) and the Brooklyn Knights (6-2-2) will aggress this eight team fight for a North American Finals Championship.
"We were quite surprised to see Parsippany had two losses during the regular season," said Puffer. "That side of the division must have been very strong."
"Quickstrike FC, who also qualified for the North American Finals was our strongest competition during the regular season," said Arthur Wells, Technical Director of Parsippany SC. "In the first match we won handily 6-1, pulling away in the second half. One week later, Quickstrike turned the tables on us, 4-1. They took the initiative with two early goals."
About the Women's Super-20 North American Finals
Four teams larger than the inaugural finals, the 2007 Super-20 North American Finals is already better in size and competition. The teams are slated to arrive in Epping, New Hampshire on Wednesday, August 1 for team check-in. Group competition begins the following morning at Seacoast United Soccer Complex. Group play continues through Saturday. The 2007 Super-20 League North American Finals will be held Sunday.
U-20 ROSTER ANNOUNCED
The Freedom is proud to announce its roster for the Summer 2007 U20 program. The decisions have been very difficult and competitive, but the Freedom SC staff feels that this is the most talented youth team that the club has put on the field since we started the youth program in 2003. With the interaction between the U20's and the senior W-league team, this will be a unique and special experience for all involved. All player selections made were unanimous decisions from the entire Freedom coaching staff. Beyond this named list, there may also be some other college players who are rostered with the senior team who also may be eligible to play games with the U20 team.
The players who have been selected to the Summer 2007 roster to this point are as follows (roster subject to change):
- Anagnospolous, Vicki
- Arndt, Christy
- Balogun, Wendy
- Bolten, Megan
- Bowers, Kristin
- Brewster, Liz
- Brown, Tiffany
- Carroll, Liz
- Casey, Mary
- Clark, Lisa
- Damren, Victoria
- Edgar, LeAnne
- Fennell, Grace
- Grant, Jordan
- Hammer, Dani
- Hattan, Eliza
- Hickey, Cailtin
- Hollenberg, Eva
- Kaiser, Lauren
- Keller, Madison
- Krnjaic, Melissa
- Laco, Katharine
- Locoe, Brandi
- Malan, Lauren
- McCarty, Tiffany
- McCoy, Lauren
- Mills, Meghan
- Newman, Vanessa
- Nixon, Larkin
- O'Steen, Kelly
- Palmer, Cara
- Rusch, Anna
- Sandiford, Chante
- Toulouse, Kika
- Warren, Alex
- Weigel, Diana
- Wright, Erica
- Yu, Laura
