Monday, July 16 MUNICH, GERMANY – The first update of the Super Y-League Select Teams’ Tour of Germany left the sides on a day of rest, Thursday. The sides utilized the free time to gel.
In their first post-match practices in Germany, head coaches John Hannan of the ‘92’s and Neil Megson of the ‘90’s tweaked the setup of their talented Super Y-League Select rosters. The results: a 4-0 victory for the ‘92’s and a 3-1 win for the ‘90’s on Friday. Megson’s side added a second win Sunday, 3-0 over the Unterhaching ‘91’s. The wins improved the Super Y-League Select Team overall record to 3-1-0.
Speaking volumes toward the talent contained on the ‘92 Super Y-League Select roster, the side hasn’t been touched. The team won their initial match on Wednesday, July 11, 6-3 over the best German side SSV Jahn Regensburg had to offer. Their match on Friday was even more of a breeze. They netted four more goals while reinforcing their defense against the Eastern Bavaria Select Team.
“The first two matches we played, we were a bit too much for the competition we faced,” said Hannan. “We had two matches in the first four days we were over here so we were well prepared and played a very attractive style of soccer that the spectators appreciated. In the next four or five days we have games each day and the teams are of a higher quality. I expect our abilities to be tested.”
Leading the way offensively has been Reed Losee from VardarStars.
“Losee has been our most consistent scorer so far,” said Hannan. “If nothing else I can certainly say he can finish, he has done quite well in that respect.”
In Plzen, the ‘90’s spotted SV Zenting, a.k.a the Lower Bavarian Select Team, a one goal advantage by again opening slowly against undersized competition.
“We came out sluggish,” said Super Y-League Select Team Manager Sean Trask. “Our boys underestimated the team, judging them based on their size. It nearly cost them.”
In only the fourth minute, the Super Y-League Select ‘90’s succumbed to the full-field defensive pressure of the quick SV Zenting side and let up a goal off a defensive miscue. The 1-0 deficit lasted through halftime where Megson reminded the side of their duty to represent not only the Super Y-League, but North America as well.
The team responded with severe retaliation in the second stanza.
The ‘90’s lit up the scoreboard led by Washington Crossfire striker Fernando Monge. The ‘90’s struck for three second half goals in a period of 15 minutes, Monge having a hand in all goals, netted two of his own and assisted on a third.
The first goal came in the 51st minute when Northern Virginia Royals midfielder A.J. Sheta knocked a cross into Monge from the left flank. Monge corralled the ball at the top of the penalty area before getting a step on a defender and slotting a ball past the SV Zenting goalkeeper to knot the match 1-1.
A few minutes later Marc Godelman of Parsippany SC found the back of the net when he broke in on goal with Monge on his left. Godelman dished to Monge, who dribbled the lone defender off of Godelman before handing it right back to the New Jersey native. Godelman finished off the chance precisely to give the ‘90’s a 2-1 advantage.
An insurance goal came in the 66th when Ohio Elite Soccer Academy’s Cody Clark picked out Monge at the top of the 18. Always a good target, Monge beat two defenders, got knocked off-balance but stayed on his feet and forced a toe-poke goal past the keeper while on his way to the turf.
“The halftime speech energized the team,” said Trask. “Megson did not employ any new tactics from the first half to the second; we stuck to the same 3-4-3 system we have been playing. The boys merely seemed motivated. If anything they gave up on the long-ball and played through the midfield.”
Following the match, SV Zenting invited the ‘90’s to a festival, a sort of mock-Oktoberfest named Jakobifest held in the town of Zenting. The teams mingled with one another in international celebration.
That same day, the ’92 Super Y-League Select Team dispatched the Eastern Bavaria Select Team 4-0.
“Other than Reed [Losee], we have been able to spread out our scoring,” said Hannan. “The Eastern Bavaria Select Team was a bit younger than we were but judging from the result it is obvious we have a very strong squad and a good group of kids. To adjust to a new form of everything: friends, food, and competition, to gel as they have, I am very impressed with their spirit.”
Saturday, July 14 began with the ‘90’s packing up shop and heading to Munich to meet up with the undefeated ‘92’s. The two sides spent the day recovering from both their matches while touring the nearby city of Regensburg. The 90’s prepared for Sunday’s match with Unterhaching ‘91’s. A Munich based club, the match was inserted onto the tour itinerary to provide the boys with as much playing exposure to German club soccer as possible.
The Sunday match began following both teams’ tour of Allianz Arena, home to TSV 1860 Munich and Bayern Munchen of the German Bundesliga. Fernando Monge quickly picked up where he left off, scoring his third goal of the tour when he got free in the box and slid a ball to the near post, under a sprawling Unterhaching keeper. The first of two first half goals by the ‘90’s, teammate Marc Godelman netted his second of the trip to put the side up 2-0 just before the halftime whistle. On the goal, Godelman took matters into his own hands, beating two defenders off the dribble and dropping a controlled shot under the outstretched arms of the Unterhaching keeper for a 2-0 lead.
The Super Y-League Select ‘90’s controlled the ball for much of the second half, adding a third goal from Cody Clark to finish off the home side. The strike came near the 70th minute when Clark knocked a one-two ball to teammate Pridham Mackenzie of De Anza SC. Continuing his run off the ball, Clark sprinted to the area vacated by teammate Philip Da Silva (San Francisco United FC) and retrieved the ball from Mackenzie with a one-time blast into the far netting. The space freeing run from Da Silva provided as much assistance to Clark as Mackenzie’s pass and the side, scary-good when on the same page, took a 3-0 lead and never looked back.
That same day the 92’s toured the famous Neuschwanstein Castle while simultaneously accepting an invitation to face the ‘92 side of the Unterhaching club just dispatched by the Super Y-League Select ‘90’s. That match is scheduled for tonight. The 90’s showdown with the youth academy side of TSV 1860 Munich is tomorrow.
About the Super Y-League Select Tours of Germany To become eligible for these tours players underwent a full season of evaluation through Super Y-League regular season play. Appraised by their club coaching staffs, the most elite players from the 2006 Super Y-League season were invited to attend the 2007 Super Y-League ODP National Camps in Cocoa, Florida. An Olympic Development Program sanctioned event, these camps serve dual purposes. Players are first evaluated directly by U.S. National Team Staff Members or recommended for inclusion in U.S. National Team Programs. The second motive of the SYL ODP National Camps, the top 20 players from every age group U13-U17 boys and girls, are named to a Super Y-League Select Team. These are those teams.
“These annual tours of Europe are yet another example of United Soccer Leagues’ emphasis on the importance of international development,” said USL President Francisco Marcos. “The most important component missing in the maturation process of American players is a lack of meaningful international competition. Players should take advantage of every opportunity to compete internationally. The Super-Y-League Select Team tours are one more step in the process of making USL a true international organization.”
Super Y-League Select Team Report ISuper Y-League Select Team Report II
