Super Y Finals U-16: Southeast clubs take championships
Both North Carolina and Georgia can claim 2012 Super Y League Under-16 championships after Triangle FC’s girls and Southern Soccer Academy’s boys won titles.
U-16 Boys: Edwards’ Double Gives SSA the Title
BRADENTON, Fla. – The Southern Soccer Academy’s Tyler Edwards scored a pair of second-half goals to lead his side to a 2-0 victory against TSF Academy in the Boys U16 Championship Game at the Super Y-League North American Finals at IMG Academy.
After a scoreless opening half, Edwards was able to open the scoring midway through the second as he latched onto a through-ball and finished well. Edwards added a second with 15 minutes to go, finishing well after again being played through the TSF defense.
“I try to slot in on every ball so I can get in and get an easy finish in,” Edwards said. “It means a lot, I mean, it’s a national championship, and nationals always mean big names, so we wanted to come in and play as hard as we can, and we ended up winning it.”
Edwards proved a strong threat throughout the contest for SSA, which bounced back from a disappointing defeat in its final group stage game against Princeton Soccer Academy to defeat Force Football Club in the semifinals. Coach Bill Rucker said he was pleased with the way his side has responded after its defeat on Sunday.
“It’s big for us, it was a great win,” Rucker said. “To come back from a loss like that, transition that into getting some wins, yesterday was a great win, it was a good team yesterday, the Michigan team, and these guys were definitely a quality team.”
TSF coach Dan Christian said that Edwards’ finishing was a key to the game, with his side unable to take advantage of the chances it created. Overall, however, he was pleased with the way his side had grown throughout the season, and finishing with a chance to win a title.
“It’s been a huge experience for this group,” Christian said. “It’s relatively a new team to the Super Y-League, so for them to get to this stage and not only compete at this level but excel at this level, it’s huge for the player’s confidence. They had a great run at it, and we were just a little bit unlucky.”
U16 Boys Results and Standings
U-16 Girls: Triangle FC Cruises to SYL Crown
BRADENTON, Fla. – Triangle FC used goals from Grace Nipp, Caroline Houser and Frances Reuland to run past the New York Magic 3-1 and capture the U16 title at the 2012 Super Y-League North American Finals.
With five games in five days for both teams, the grind seemed to get to the Magic and tired legs were apparent, while Triangle FC used a superior work rate to break open the game.
“We came out with some energy, we did a couple of stretches in the pool yesterday and the past couple of days and every time we’ve done it the next day we’ve just been refreshed like crazy,” Triangle FC Coach Tom Misuraca said. “I’m very proud of them, they worked hard. They wanted it and they worked hard.”
Misuraca said his team’s busy recent schedule played a factor in its fitness level, preparing it for the five-day grind.
“We’ve been playing state cup so we’ve played a lot of games, three or four weekends, plus with the Region 3 play, so it’s kind of set us up for this in a way. I’m just proud of the girls, they played so well.”
Nipp didn’t take long to open the scoring, accepting a pass from Allie Chason in the 9th minute and firing into the corner. The Magic responded on the counter-attack five minutes later, with Orla Martin sending a ball through the box at the far post that Shannon Blanch was able to tip in to even the score.
It appeared the teams would enter the break even, but Houser scored the crushing goal in the 38th minute to deflate the Magic. Reuland finished the scoring when she beat the Magic keeper to a feed from Abby Holt and tucked it in the corner to seal the title.
