Va. State Cup: Under-17 Girls preview

By Jimmy LaRoue

Here’s the breakdown of the Under-17 Girls bracket of the Virginia State Cup semifinals and finals, set for this weekend at the River City Sportsplex in Richmond.

Teams (seed)

• BRYC 95 Elite (#1)

• McLean MPS Fury Green (#2)

• PWSI Courage 95 Gold (#3)

• Richmond Kickers Elite (#4)

Schedule

Semifinal: Oct. 27, 4 p.m. – #1 BRYC 95 Elite vs. #4 Richmond Kickers Elite, River City Sportsplex #2

Semifinal: Oct. 27, 4 p.m. – #2 McLean MPS Fury Green vs. #3 PWSI Courage 95 Gold

Final: Oct. 28, 12 p.m. – BRYC 95 Elite/Richmond Kickers Elite winner vs. McLean MPS Green Fury/PWSI Courage 95 Gold winner

Soccerwire.com prediction: Among all the Virginia State Cup final four pairings, this could be the toughest of them all, as the top-four seeds still remain and all boast impressive resumes and multiple Division I commits. BRYC 95 Elite are the defending U.S. Youth Soccer national champions, defending U-16 State Cup champions and the top ranked Under-17 Girls team in the nation. That’s impressive, right there, but the Richmond Kickers Elite, BRYC 95 Elite’s semifinal opponent Saturday, are no slouches, as the Kickers are undefeated this fall in VCCL South division play and are coming off an impressive, undefeated performance at the 37th Annual WAGS Rael Vodicka Memorial Tournament. PWSI Courage 95 Gold, meanwhile, lost to BRYC 95 Elite 3-2 in overtime in last year’s State Cup semifinals after holding a 2-0 lead into the second half. PWSI Courage 95 Gold also had a strong showing at the WAGS tournament and is 7-0-0 in the same VCCL North division as BRYC 95 Elite. PWSI Courage 95 Gold faces a McLean MPS Fury Green squad that did reach the final of last year’s U-16 State Cup. This McLean roster also have several players that are dual-rostered with its U-17 ECNL squad and went 2-1-0 at the WAGS tournament, falling in its opening match to Tampa Bay United Premier Girls 95 but had quality wins against Rage SC 95 of Pennsylvania and Massapequa Stars of New York. Picking a winner here? It’s next to impossible. After all, it’s difficult to go against the top-ranked team in the country and defending national and State Cup champions, and we believe any of these teams can win it all, but we’ll give it a shot and go with the “upset” and pick the Richmond Kickers Elite.

Team: BRYC 95 Elite (#1)

Club: Braddock Road Youth Club

Head coach: Larry Best

Home league: VCCL North (1-3-0, fall 2012)

Under-16 State Cup Finish: Champions

GotSoccer State Rank: 1

Goals in 2012 Cup: 16 goals, 0 allowed

How they got here:

Sept. 29, 2012: #1 BRYC 95 Elite 6, Herndon Comets White 0

Oct. 13, 2012: #1 BRYC 95 Elite 10, FASA Elite Impact 95 0

Team: McLean MPS Fury Green (#2)

Club: McLean Premier Soccer