USL News Release
Monday, November 17, 2008
TAMPA – Five days away from the 10th Annual North American Finals, one half of United Soccer Leagues SoccerFest which will infuse Tampa Bay with thousands of the top U13-U17 boys and girls in the U.S. and Canada – USLSoccer.com’s focus shifts to the U15 girls championship where Arsenal SC has advanced to the league finals with a unblemished regular season record of 11-0-0. As a club, Arsenal has won three Super Y-League titles in two seasons. One of the three, a U13 girl’s championship in 2006, belongs to these U15 girls.
Mid Atlantic Division
Quickstrike SC finished the regular season with a record of 9-1-0, winning the Mid Atlantic Division by three points over Rage SC. Coached by George Vizvary, Jesse Kolmel, Mike D’Agostino and Moose Dzielak, the side’s lone defeat of the season was an out-of-character 5-1 loss to the Rage. Minus that match, Quickstrike has outscored their opponents by a margin of 36-6 this season.
Despite topping the division leaders on their home pitch, the Rage dropped a season opening decision, 2-0 to the Washington Freedom and lost 5-2 against the South Jersey Barons to succumb to Quickstrike in the standings. As the second seed out of the Mid Atlantic the Rage will occupy a fourth of Group B during the group play stage of the North American Finals. Their competition through the first three days of competition will be the Ottawa Fury, Diablo FC and Coastal WFC, in that order.
Midwest Division
While the Cleveland Internationals claimed three Super Y-League Championships in 2007, the U14 girls division was not one of them. However, two holdovers from last season’s U15 North American Championship side remain with the 2008 U15 Cleveland Internationals girls, who ended the regular season with a record of 7-1-0. Devon Saini and Amanda Sivic will look to instill the championship fever as these ’93 girls look to add to the Internationals Super Y-League record of five girls titles.
Kalamazoo’s only female qualifiers in 2007, the ’93 team lost only one match this season, an entertaining 4-3 match with the formidable Cleveland Internationals. That game was the first of Kalamazoo’s season and since, the team has put together a seven-game unbeaten streak. “We are looking forward to playing some of the top teams throughout North America,” said Kalamazoo Head Coach Chad Wiseman. “We have North American Finals experience which we hope will help. We have proven we can compete with the best throughout the past three years. Our goal this year is to be the best. We have a great group of girls attending this year’s final.”
New England Division
Coached by James Hamblin, the U15 Boston girls have gone from strength-to-strength in their 2008 season. Finishing third with 22 points in the Super Y-League in 2007, a record 7-4-1, the Renegades have excelled to a first place finish in 2008 with 31 points. Their record this season improved to 10-1-1, taking them to the North American Finals. The Renegades got off to a great start by tying, then beating the 2007 New England Division Champions, Seacoast United, in league play. To cement their position at the top of the league, they managed to beat close rivals Ottawa mid-season. However, it was not until the last day of the season that the region was won with a good performance against the Lady Crusaders.
For the Ottawa Fury, this was a season that seemed tragically flawed from the outset. In May, only seven healthy players’ remained, which quickly dropped to six, making training for a three-week span challenging at best. With the challenges of injuries, new systems, new positions and other unforeseen dilemmas, Coach Mike Lanos message inspired the girls as the health of the team improved and the recipe for success came together. Some phenomenal goalkeeping, some clutch goals, a tireless midfield, a staunch defense and a great mid season addition, who almost seemed to fall from the sky at just the right moment, led to a season ending nine-game unbeaten streak, the best record among their Fury sister teams that resulted in the team landing a ticket to “the big dance.”
Northwest Division
Coached by Colin Elmes and Brendan Quarry, Coastal WFC finished 6-0-2 in the Super Y-League’s Northwest Division, topping fellow Whitecaps affiliate Mountain WFC by seven points. The team was a defense-first unit all season, allowing an average of 0.50 goals per match. Their offense ranked third in the division, netting 12 goals in eight matches. The team began the season by winning their first four, including a vital 2-1 win over Mountain WFC, a score they replicated on Mountain WFC’s turf later in the season.
Northern California Division
Coached by Richard Weiszmann, Diablo FC did not lose a Super Y-League match until their 11th game of the season, a 3-2 loss suffered to Bayside Soccer Academy. The best offense in the division, Diablo scored 2.75 goals per game while their defense allowed just nine all season, second-best in the division. The team’s first match at the North American Finals will be against Coastal WFC, the only unbeaten team in Group B.
South Atlantic Division
CASL RailHawks finished the 2008 season with a mark of 7-2-1. Coached by Danny McManamy and Sean Nahas, the team’s offense led the division, averaging 2.5 goals per match. The team’s defense allowed 1.6 per game, which tied the Richmond Strikers for fourth best in the eight-team division. The team opened the regular season with a 2-2 draw with fellow qualifier, Alpharetta United, but lost their next encounter with the team, 2-0. CASL won the division due to their ability to handle Triangle FC, who they went, 2-0-0 against.
Alpharetta United on the other hand, had CASL’s number, but not Triangle’s. The first-year club dropped a 1-0 decision at home and lost a 2-0 match on the road to finish two points behind CASL in the South Atlantic. The team finished with a 6-2-2 record on the season, allowing the fewest goals per game of any team in the division, 0.80 per match. Coached by Allan Davie and Mark Lomas, Alpharetta had a rollercoaster season, winning their first two, losing their third and drawing their fourth before rattling off another three in a row. After losing their second match to Triangle the team finished on a high-note, going unbeaten in their last two.
Southeast Division
Sunrise SC’s U15 girls are one of the three teams the upstart club has qualified for their second-ever shot at the North American Finals. Sunrise was undefeated during the Super Y-League regular season, a mark of 8-0-2. The team, littered with SYL ODP Selections, dominated the offensive and defensive categories in the Southeast. They scored 49 goals in 10 matches, 22 more than the second-best offense of Kendall SC. They also allowed just 0.60 goals per game.
Southern California Division
Arsenal FC, the 11-0-0 undefeated champion of the Southern California Division will be among the favorites in the U15 girls competition. Rarely does a team emerge from the Coast Soccer League with a perfect record but Arsenal has. They come into the North American Finals with a defense that has allowed an average of 0.54 goals per game. Their offense is not far behind, averaging nearly three per match. Last season the champions of the Southern California Division went 5-0-0 at the 2007 U14 North American Finals.
