ISSUE 7! AUGUST 15, 2010 PAGE 1 Yankee United News On th e Thr eshold of a DreamAcademy Stars F all One Point Short of T itle Bi d in National Cup IXVirginia Beach, VA. July 27, 2010 -- At the team dinner on Sunday night, Coach Wayne Mones was verydirect about was needed to make it to the Championship game on T uesday mor ning: with one game left the Stars had six points, compared with four points each accumulated by the two other contenders: the Chicago Eclipse and Jacksonville Fury. Each team had alegitimate chance to make the final but only two would advance. One point (adraw) would guarantee it for the Ac ademyStars. The Stars had reached this point by playinghard-nosed defense in their first two games and using the counter -attack to set up goal scoringopportunities. T he defensive third wa s anchored bykeeper Megan FitzGerald, and centerbacks Megan Manzo, Jill Scholler and Dana Cosmedy. They were assisted by a platoon of outside defenders, including Siri Andrews, Sabrina Toole, Taylor Pratcher , and Katie Danaher. Over the three days of tournament play, the defense recorded two shut - outs and had an excellent shot at a third straight were it not for an untimely penaltykick. In the opening game, the Stars faced the Khona Krushas, a Hawaii-based team that was the U-16 Champion from the San Bernardino, CA Regional. The Stars dominated play in both halves but were unable to finish when they had opportunities until late in the first half when Alysa Christo took athrough ball down the left side of the field and lofted a beautiful shot past the Krusha s keeper who had come off her line. The k eeper collided w ith Christo just after she shot but it was too late as the ball tucked inside the left corner of the net for the only score of the game. From then on it was up to the defense, with assistance from the midfield, to
Academy Stars Fall One Point Short of Title Bid in National Cup IX
Virginia Beach, VA. July 27, 2010 -- At the team dinneron Sunday night, Coach Wayne Mones was very direct about was needed to make it to theChampionship game on Tuesday morning: with one game left the Stars had six points,compared with four points eachaccumulated by the two othercontenders: the Chicago Eclipse and Jacksonville Fury. Each team had a legitimate chance to make the final butonly two would advance. One point ( a
draw ) would guarantee it for the Academy Stars.
The Stars had reached this point by playing hard-nosed defense in their first two games andusing the counter-attack to set up goal scoring opportunities. The defensive third was anchored by keeper Megan FitzGerald, and centerbacks MeganManzo, Jill Scholler and Dana Cosmedy. They wereassisted by a platoon of outside defenders,
including Siri Andrews, Sabrina Toole, TaylorPratcher, and Katie Danaher. Over the three daysof tournament play, the defense recorded two shut-
outs and had an excellent shot at a thirdstraight were it not for an untimely penalty
kick.
In the opening game, the Stars faced theKhona Krushas, a Hawaii-based teamthat was the U-16 Champion from the
San Bernardino, CA Regional. The Starsdominated play in both halves but were
unable to finish when they had opportunitiesuntil late in the first half when Alysa Christo took a through ball down the left side of the field andlofted a beautiful shot past the Krushas keeper whohad come off her line. The keeper collided withChristo just after she shot but it was too late as theball tucked inside the left corner of the net for theonly score of the game. From then on it was up tothe defense, with assistance from the midfield, to
preserve the victory, a challenge they collectively were up to.
In Game 2 against Ohio Elite, a familiar patternemerged: strong defensive eff ort, excellent passing by the midfield and difficulty converting the many
scoring opportunities available to them. In nearly the same type of play, Alysa Christo took a throughball deep down the left side, drawing out thekeeper. Then a shot and a collision with the keeperresulting in a goal. However, this time theiropponent would not go quietly, pressuring theYankee defenders with a very direct off ensivestyle that made ample use of though balls andcounter-attacks off of failed Yankee scoring opportunities. Elite had an apparent goal nullifiedby an off side call and several shots on goal flying just wide of the goal. With the final whistle and
the victory preserved, the stage was set for a showdown with Chicago Eclipse in Game 3.
Another bright spot in the play by the Academy Stars was the play of their midfielders: Autumn Sorice, Carly Cugine, Keely Lockwoodanchoring the center midfielder positions. Withthe wide, low -cut grass fields at Hampton RoadsSoccer Complex, the perimeter of the pitchbecame the fast lanes for the Stars and theiropponents. Outside midfielders Turner Block, Eliza Paltauf, Lyndsey Macri, Abby Fagan worked hard getting upfield to assist in scoring opportunities,
only to hustle back to their own 18 moments later when the inevitable counter-attack ensued.
With the temperature in the mid-90s for theentire tournament and a heat advisory for the area,coaches worked hard to shuttle players on and off
the field every ten minutes. Mandatory waterbreaks were instituted by the US Club TournamentDirector. Iced towels and gatorade helped butthere was no real escape from the blistering heat.
Those conditions persisted for the Stars whenthey faced off against the Chicago Eclipse, thenumber 3 team in the State of Illinois and theMidwest Regional Champion. Eclipse began theday with 4 points, which meant a loss or a tie wouldnix their chance to play in the final. The sweltering heat and their size of their roster were not in theirfavor.
Soccer is a sport that requires skill, intelligence,hustle and, above all, a passion to win. From theopening whistle the Eclipse played like champions with their backs against the wall: they were fiesty,daring, skillful and smart. They spent most of thefirst half parrying with the Yankee defense.Working the ball down the sidelines to the cornersand lofting crosses in front of the net. But anequally strong group of defenders thwarted eachforay, sending those crosses skyward and out of play. At half -time, with the mercury holding in the
In the second half, the two sides played moreevenly, with the Stars doing a better job of preventing Eclipse players from crossing the ball intheir defensive third. Yankee also was moving theball much better in the off ensive thirdand in the midfield.
Withjust ten minutes left inthe game and thescore tied 0-0, it
looked as though the game was headed for a draw, which wouldhave vaulted the Starsinto the final.
However, theEclipse managed toforce a series of corner kicks thatproved pivotal to theoutcome of the
match. One afterthe other thecorners were thwarted by theStars, who had everybody back to help out.However, putting that many bodies in the box makes for more contact and the potential for theball to take a bad bounce. On one such corner, theball ricocheted off several colliding players and was
bouncing out of the PK area when it accidentally struck the hand of a Yankee player. Every Eclipseplayer on the field yelled “Hand ball !!” pointing at
the off ending player and a PK was awarded.
& On the ensuing kick, the Eclipse
shooter buried the ball in the corner witha hard strike that Stars keeper MeganFitzGerald had no chance for. Having secured the lead, the Eclipse thenproceeded to put on a clinic on how torun out the clock: clearing balls fromtheir defensive third to the other endof the field, taking the ball to thecorners and holding it while the Starsdouble teamed to regain possession,the keeper waiting to pick up the balluntil challenged by a Yankee player.
& To their credit, the Eclipseplayed a smart game that creatednumerous opportunities to score. They were able to capitalize on onemistake and then manage the clock
to ice the win.
“This was a very goodexperiencefor the girls,and I am
very proud of the way they played.”observedCoach WayneMones.“They came very close tomaking thefinal. Often atthis level thediff erence
between winning andlosing can be
very small, perhaps one call or one play. That wascertainly the case here. Even though the finalresult was not what we hoped for, it was still a greatfinish to our Academy Program training and I thinkeveryone that participated learned a lot.”
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