Another great weekend of competitive games on a beautiful day at WRAL. The fields are in really good shape at all of the league sites and the soccer has been really good. Keep an eye out for announcements concerning the winter indoor season and a tournament update coming soon. Here are this week's results...
Barcelona YTS-Coach Jill Fulton
The U9 Barcelona girls continued to play great soccer this weekend against FCC Sol. The team shows a great work rate and continues to do well connecting passes on the field. McKenzie Davis scored the first goal of the game off a free kick after the first 2 minutes of the game. Magen Proudfoot and Kristen Jensen also found the back of the net to secure a 3-1 victory. All of the girls played extremely well as they take turns rotating through every position.
Juventus-Coach Nick Cerullo
CASL Juventus played host to FCC Aston Villa on Sunday for a very high paced , physical soccer game between two evenly matched teams. Julius McPhun showed some great moves and put some great shots on goal. Daniel Crawford played a great game as well contributing in the goal and winning the loose balls in the middle of the field to help Juventus get forward and create offense. Overall Juventus got a great result, but will continue to work on ball control and passing this week . The boys have grown a great deal and will continue to get even better as we progress through the season.
Fire, Coach Tommy Retzlaff
The Fire played FC Cary Crew on Sunday who had more athleticism than we had seen in the previous opponents. I felt that play was a little sloppy for us during the first 8-10 minutes of the match before we got things settled down. The Crew struck first with an unfortunate handball penalty, but the shot from the spot was well taken. We then started to get into the flow with quality play and passing from Kaitlyn in the midfield and Hannah out of the back. After inserting Brianna into the game we really picked it up. Brianna continuously set up Kendall for shooting and crossing opportunities. Kendall was very good running the ball up the right side against very good defending. Finally Heather was able to score off Kendall's corner kick. Despite have a strong run of play early in the second, the Crew found the net again. We found ourselves a little frustrated, but continuing to compete. Once we showed a little patience, Kendall was able to find Grace on the weakside for an equalizing goal. We pushed it for the final 5 minutes, but the match ended in draw. It was good to see us challenged.
Madrid-Coach Kelly Miller
The game got off to a slow start for the U9 Madrid girls this weekend.
Paige Morrision did a great job of creating good passing angles and was able to create goal scoring opportunities. The girls had a lot of shots on goal, but had trouble finishing them. Brooke Finnessy used her strength this weekend to get in between the ball and the attacker. This helped the team transition from defense to offense. Caroline Vithalani had numerous shots on goal and did well to finish a few. The energy level and work ethic was much improved in the second half.
Everton-Coach Eric Bratager
The fans got a show from both teams in a high scoring game that had a little of everything. Jacob Steinberg opened the scoring about a minute into the game off a great assist from Daniel Wu. Owen Perez also added a goal in the first half showing some great individual skill beating three defenders before calmly slotting the ball past the keeper. In the goal, we got a great first half effort from Carson McCorkle playing in the net for the first time this season. Micah Thorp played a good game up front creating a number of good scoring chances and Adam Armour also created a number of problems for the defense with his pace and tireless work rate. The second half saw goals from Jacob Steinberg on a great defensive effort and shot, and John White followed up a long range Daniel Wu blast to close out the scoring. Defensively in the second half, Ethan Armour did a great job in the goal for the second time this season and Carter Diehl did a good job winning balls and finding open teammates in the midfield. Overall great effort from the entire team as they continue to improve and play better soccer each week.
Chelsea-Coach Dwight Findlay
The boys started suprised by the speed and technical ability of FCC. The first half was all FCC 2nd half we fought back and only got 1 or 2 goals against us. I was proud to see the boys fight to the end.
Arsenal-Coach Fabio Suarez
Out numbered and playing against a tough FC Cary team, this game could easily be predicted to be a blow out or great victory for CASL Arsenal. Even though FC Cary managed to get on board first, Arsenal would not back down. Risking going down by more then one, Arsenal launched a full attack unleashing an offensive pressure that would almost prove to be too much to handle. Getting off shot by shot, it can only by FC Carys GK playing the game of his career that Arsenals advances forward would only produce one goal in the half leaving the score tied at 1-1. Going into the second half Arsenal knew that although they had pushed hard in the first, hard work during the week at practice prepared them to continue they attack. With both teams unwilling to quit, the fans started to get the feeling that this game would come down to the wire. Gabe Meyer found the net for the second time in the match with 6 minutes left, but with just one sub all game, 6 minutes would feel like a lifetime. Cranking it up for the remaining time was FC Cary as Arsenal GK Christian would feel every minute swatting away shot after shot not allowing them to score and tie the game. While Gabe and Jackson will be credited for Arsenals three goals, all who bare witness will tell you this was your classic example of team effort. Arsenal played as a team.
Roma-Fabio Suarez
CASL Roma vs FC Cary proved to an exciting showdown of offensive mastery as both teams put on a clinic Sunday afternoon. With both teams flexing their muscles during warm ups and neither backing down, this was bound to be one for the books. It would not take long for the fans to enjoy some quality goals as the first strike would come in the 7th minute as FC Cary forward smacks a ripper in the corner. The score would not stay in FC Carys favor for long as Robert put Roma on his back while taking on 3 defenders and knocking in the equalizer only a minute later. This would be the storyline of the game as goal after goal both teams would respond almost immediately with a strike of their own keeping the score level or up one. Roma came out victorious in the end with spectacular play from GK John, making big time saves to deny FC Cary a chance in the final minutes, accompanied by a hard fought goal off a rebound from Keyshawn P with just 3 minutes left in the match to make it 7-6!!!
AC Milan-Coach Andy Truex
Coach Carson took the team this weekend and reported a game full of ups and downs. Times when the team really were playing some good soccer, knocking the ball around and making it look easy. Some smart goalkeeping from Anthony Sodano and Combination plays from Ryan Gates, Elliot Guillet, Ryan Kenney, and Connor Hoke created some great chances in the early part of the game. The team made a couple of mistakes and did not finish the first half as strong as they started it and were down to FC Cary. A great response to being down at halftime, the team came out again with some excellent passing and defensive work. Everyone contributed to the effort to tie the game only to come up short on the scoreboard, a great effort overall.
