A solid showing at the San Diego Surf Cup XXXI Girls U-13 soccer tournament on July 23-24 and a quarterfinalist placing in the 2011 U.S. Youth Soccer Far West Regional Championship tournament in Boise, Idaho in late June have combined to vault the NWN G98 Red team to a #29 national ranking in its age group, according to www.NationalSoccerRanking.com. The Nationals placed second in its four-team pool at the Surf Cup with a 1-1-1 record and a +1 goal differential. All four teams in the Nationals' pool at the Surf Cup had captured their respective state championship earlier this year and had likewise competed in the 2011 U.S. Youth Soccer Far West Regional.
The third-year squad began its initial Surf Cup tourney experience on July 23 with a 4-2 win over Santa Rosa United Ice 98, the reigning California - North champion and currently the #12-ranked team in the nation. Later that afternoon, the Nationals dropped a 1-0 decision to the #4-ranked San Diego Surf 98-99 White team, the California - South champion and the team that the Nationals had tied 1-1 on June 20 in Boise. On July 24, the Nationals earned a 1-1 tie with a last-minute goal against the Blitz 99 Girls Elite team, the nation's #1-ranked team and the Hawaii state champion. All three pool play opponents for the Nationals advanced to at least the semifinal round of the 2011 U.S. Youth Far West Regional, with the Blitz and Surf competing in the championship game.
For a look at the current national soccer rankings for U-13 girls according to www.NationalSoccerRanking.com, please see the list below:
GIRLS U-13 NATIONAL RANKINGS [Updated: 7/26/2011]
NWN G98 RED CAPTURE UNDER-12 WASHINGTON STATE CHAMPIONSHIP CUP WITH 2-1 WIN OVER WPFC 98 BLACK
On Saturday, April 30, 2011, NWN G98 head coach Eugene Poublon and his U-12 squad started their magical Washington State Championship Cup Final Four weekend with a resounding 6-2 win over the defending state champion Crossfire 98A (Reece) squad in its semifinal match. Fleet-footed forwards Alexis (3) and Nikki (2) combined for five goals and crafty midfielder BeBe scored her first goal of the season to cap the decisive win. Kai contributed two assists to the scoring onslaught while the NWN G98 Red midfielders and defenders combined to dominate the match and propel the squad into the State Championship Cup final the following morning.
On Sunday, May 1, 2011, the NWN G98 Red Girls battled a big, fast, and powerful WPFC 98 Black team that had defeated the Nationals 1-0 in the NWCL championship game on March 6. Nikki jumpstarted Coach Poublon's side by tallying first with an early goal in a closely-contested first half that saw WPFC 98 Black draw even 1-1 by the halftime break. The two teams battled relatively evenly in the second half. During the 60th and final minute of the match, right winger Mary dribbled her way into the WPFC 18-yard box with a series of nifty moves before being taken down and fouled. After the referee quickly pointed to the 12-yard mark to signify a penalty kick had been awarded, NWN four-year veteran Kai stepped up to take the possible game-winning penalty kick. In dramatic fashion, Kai laced a rocket into the back of the net over the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper, providing Eugene and his 15-player side the Washington State Championship Cup U-12 state title.
The weekend was truly a magical time and a total team effort for all of the NWN G98 Girls: Hannah, Kai, Jamie, Lindsey, Abby, Katie, Alexis, Mary, Mia, Sophie, Jordan, Bebe, Laura, Malia, Nikki, as well as their outstanding head coach, Eugene Poublon. The G98 squad's next task is to train and prepare itself to represent Washington in the United States Youth Soccer Far West Regional tournament in Boise, Idaho on June 20-26, 2011.
NWN G98 RED REACH WASHINGTON STATE CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS:
The team has advanced to the semifinal round (final four teams) after capturing its four-team pool by posting a 2-0-1 record in pool play and defeating the Whatcom Rangers FC 98 Gold squad 3-0 on April 16 in Lynnwood in its quarterfinal match. The Nationals advance to the State Championship Cup Final Four and will play the defending State champion Crossfire 98A (Reece) team on Saturday, April 30 at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila.
Regional Club (RCL) League Play
The Nationals finished third in Division 1 (D1) of the Washington Regional Club League (RCL) during the Spring 2011 season with a record of 5-2-0. The RCL is the highest level of competitive youth soccer in the state of Washington. The top eight teams in Washington in the girls U-12 age group each played a 7-game schedule during the Spring 2011 RCL season.
NWCL Finalist
The NWN G98 Red team finished second in the inaugural season of the Northwest Champions League (NWCL), competing against the top soccer teams from Washington and Oregon. On March 5, the Nationals blanked Eastside FC 98 Red 1-0 in NWCL semifinal action at Marymoor Park in Redmond. The following evening, the Nationals lost 1-0 to Washington Premier FC 98 Black in the Girls U-12 championship game.
Nationals Place Third in US Club Soccer National Cup XI Finals in Waukegan, Illinois on July 27-29, 2012
Game #1 – The girls played Mount Laurel United Flash (New Jersey) in the tournament opener. It was a great start to the US Club Soccer National Cup with a 3-0 win. The girls kicked off and within the first three minutes Alexis had scored. Next was a goal by Donnya, a guest player from the G99 team, off a corner kick from Hannah. The third goal came in the second half by Nikki, taking a pass up by Jordan. The midfield did a great job of distributing the ball, with defense holding the back line, and Sam ensuring the goal was well protected.
Game #2 – The girls played Minnesota Thunder Academy 99e Blue, the first ECNL team in Minnesota. They started out a little slow in the first half, but came on strong in the second half with some fabulous shots on goal by Nikki, Kendra and Alexis. The Thunder goalie was good and the game ended in a 0-0 draw.
Game #3 – The girls played Ohio Elite-Cincinnati in their final pool game. The girls came out strong once again, taking shots that just missed right, bounced off the crossbar, or went straight into the goalie. Then came a strong cross by Alexis, right to Donnya in front of the box, who then flicked it to Kendra for a beautiful goal and a 1-0 lead. Second half came with the Ohio team taking advantage of a missed call and mix up in front of the goal and scoring the equalizer, 1-1. Next came a mix up at the other end and a score by Alexis, 2-1. Then came the streak of goals, Kendra pass to Malia, 3-1; header from Hannah to Nikki off a goal kick by Ohio, 4-1; Malia took the ball up weaving around defenders for another goal, 5-1; Nikki takes ball up the middle, passes to Laura on outside in for a goal, 6-1; Laura takes the ball up, another pass from Nikki, with two defenders on her, draws the goalie out, keeps the ball, weaves around the goalie who is caught by the fake, and taps the ball into the middle of the goal, 7-1. Great end to a great second half of soccer.
The girls came out of pool play with a record of 2-0-1. Unfortunately, only the top two records amongst the six regional representatives advanced to the championship game. NWN G98 Red had a fabulous showing for their first US Club National Cup tournament, coming in third place in the national championship event.
The girls got to spend a few hours enjoying the ‘Windy City’ of Chicago. They visited Millennium Park and Cloud Gate, ‘the bean’, walked along the Navy Pier, and took a Seadog boat ride out on Lake Michigan. I’m sure none of them will forget the fun and how wet they all got!!
2012 US Club Soccer National Championships 3rd Place finish
2012 Far West Regional League