Girls Development Academy East Conference Recap: May 12-13, 2018

As the weather is heating up on the East Coast, so too is the action in U.S. Soccer Girls Development Academy East Conference. With play wrapping up in the Southeast and races in the Atlantic and Northeast Divisions tightening, every point is becoming much more valuable in the U-15, U-16/U-17, and U-18/U-19 age brackets.

+Full Schedule / Results

U-15

In the Atlantic Division, Sky Blue PDA (20-3-4, 64 points) are still in first after their 1-0 win over Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth (10-15-3, 33 points) on Sunday. Defender Katherine Coyle put her side ahead early with her goal in the fourth minute. From there, the Sky Blue defense took over with defenders Coyle, Appoline Neveyu, Ava Curtis, Peyton Nicholls and goalkeeper Maggie Ousouljoglou all working together to help their side earn the shutout. With four matches to play, Sky Blue not only find themselves in good position to earn first place in the division, but also the top spot in the U-15 Playoffs. As it stands, they hold a slender lead over NTH Tophat of the Southeast for the top seed based on points per games played (2.3704 versus 2.3571).

As for Cedar Stars, they didn’t leave the weekend empty-handed as they defeated Washington Spirit Academy-Virginia (1-23-4, 7 points) 8-1 on Saturday. Monmouth jumped out to a 3-0 lead early thanks to goals from Gabriella Zuczek (8′), Isabela Soares (18′) and Aubrey Silverman (29′). The Spirit cut their deficit to two just before halftime with a goal from Isabella Bruzonic in the 40th minute. But Olivia Carney and Reese Beggs of Cedar Stars shut the door on the match, combining for five goals (47′, 56′, 63′, and 79′ for Carney; 58′ for Beggs) in the second half. Their eight goals on Saturday is a season-best for Monmouth, breaking their six-goal performance against the Spirit back in September.

+READ: Girls Development Academy East Conference Recap | May 5-6, 2018

Penn Fusion Soccer Academy (17-8-3, 54 points) remains in second place after their 1-0 win over Washington Spirit Academy-Baltimore Armour (5-22-0, 15 points). Samantha Judge‘s second half goal (53’) proved to be the difference in the box score for PFA, her third of the season. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Audrey Brown earned her club’s 15th shutout of the season. Saturday’s win was the second match in a row where the club won based off of a 1-0 scoreline.

New York City FC (20-6-2, 62 points) had a bit of a scare on Saturday against FC Stars (13-10-5, 44 points) but in the end did earn the three points with a 2-1 win. Forward Rory Clare gave the Stars the 2-1 lead with her goal in the 20th minute. But NYCFC came storming back with a pair of goals from Madeline Pirrello (29′) and Ashley Blaka (38′). Pirrello has 22 goals on the season while Blaka has seven. As a club NYCFC have scored 90 goals during their 2017-2018 campaign which is second most among all sides in the U-15 Division (Tophat leads with 115).

The Boston Breakers Academy (14-10-3, 45 points) held on to their playoff spot with a 6-0 win over Long Island SC (2-20-3, 9 points). Brooke Haarala (8′ and 11′) and Francesca Yanchuk (34′ and 42′) each scored a brace for the Breakers while individual goals were scored Sidnie Kulik (39′) and Skylah Sullivan (60′). With the win, the Breakers are now undefeated in their last five matches. With her two goals on Saturday, Yanchuk ties Pirrello for the ninth-most goals in the U-15 age bracket with 22.

In a battle of the top three in the Southeast Division, Charlotte Soccer Academy (18-6-4, 58 points) fended off Concorde Fire (17-6-5, 56 points) by a score of 5-2. As they have done all season CSA jumped out to an early lead, this time with Kelly Poole (1′) and Hayley Hoord (13′) giving them to goals in the first quarter of the match. Concorde showed they were not going away without a fight with Stella Allen cutting CSA’s lead to one in the 21st minute. But CSA struck three times in the second half with goals scored by Emma Sexton (48′), Emily Morris (67′) and Maria Manousos (69′). Concorde did get a second from forward Olivia Lebdaoui in the 78th minute, but it wasn’t to prevent CSA from stretching their unbeaten run to five matches (4-0-1, 13 points).

Top of the table Tophat (20-2-6, 66 points) earned a win of their own on Saturday getting a 4-0 result against the United Soccer Alliance (3-22-2, 11 points). Tophat jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first half with a brace from Madeline Baker (6′ and 31′) and a goal from Danielle Lewin in the 10th minute. Baker’s two goals raises her season total at the U-15 age group to four (She has six at the U-14 age level). As for Lewin, her goal is her 24th of the season which places her in fifth among the top goalscorers at the U-15 age group. Their fourth goal came in the second half from Emily Glenn in the 54th minute, her fourth of the 2017-2018 season.

Boca United Football Club (9-20-1, 28 points) extended their perfect run to three matches with a 1-0 win over the West Florida Flames (7-18-3, 24 points). Midfielder Hanna Himes gave her side the early lead with her goal in the 11th minute, her sixth of the season. Boca’s defense were tested through the remaining 65 minutes of the match. But credit to defenders Haylee Mersereau, Gianna Perez, Sophia Zinn and Rennie Lizzio for holding down the line and earning the clean sheet, along with goalkeeper Gabriela Freitas. Their 1-0 result was their third shutout of the season.

RESULTS

Atlantic
Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth 8| Washington Spirit Academy-Virginia 1 (05/12)
Penn Fusion Soccer Academy 1 | Washington Spirit Academy-Baltimore Armour 0 (05/12)
Virginia Development Academy 4 |PA Classics 0 (05/12)
Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth 0 | Sky Blue-PDA 1 (05/13)
PA Classics 1 | FC Virginia 2 (05/13)

Northeast
Sky Blue-NYSC | FC Fury NY (05/12)
FC Stars 1 | New York City FC 2 (05/12)
Boston Breakers Academy 6 | Long Island SC 0 (05/12)
Empire United 0 | Oakwood Soccer Club 9 (05/12)

U-16/U-17

Sky Blue-PDA (20-6-1, 61 points) had a tough test on Saturday against Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth (4-21-3, 15 points) but pulled off a close 4-3 victory. It looked like it might be a long day at the office for Cedar Stars after Sky Blue took a commanding 4-0 lead. The NWSL affiliates were scored by midfielder Kylie Daigle (2′ and 6′) and forwards Natalia Ramirez (31′) and Madisyn Pilla (33′). But Monmouth clawed their way back into it with three second-half goals from defender Karlee Luker (48′ and 60′) and forward Olivia Ramiz (54′).

Penn Fusion Soccer Academy (22-4-2, 68 points) retained their first place spot in the Atlantic Division standings with a late 3-0 win over Washington Spirit Academy-Baltimore Armour (5-22-0, 15 points). After a series close calls for the first hour, forward Kouri Peace of PFA gave her side the lead with her goal in the 62nd minute. Forward Giavanna Vicari added two insurance goals late (88′ and 90′) to give PFA their fifth consecutive victory. Defenders Emma Misal and Lauren Elwell both played the full 90 minutes and helped goalkeeper Natalie Neumann earn her side their 10th shutout of the season.

FC Virginia (19-6-4, 61 points) weren’t able to overtake PFA in the standings but they did keep up with the rest of the playoff pack with a 5-1 win over the PA Classics (7-13-5, 26 points). Virginia’s goals were scored by forward Ellis Wheeler (14′ and 62′), defender Kassidy Borden (58′), and midfielders Alexis Theoret (64′) and Kenna Zier (80′). Classics goal came from Anika Haski in the 64th minute. With the win, Virginia’s unbeaten run is stretched to nine with two matches to play. They are currently the number 13 seed in the under-16/under-17 playoffs.

+READ: Concacaf U-17 Women’s Championship to resume June 6-12 in Florida

In the Northeast FC Fury NY (18-6-1, 55 points) held on to first place with a 5-1 win over Sky Blue NYSC (7-17-2, 23 points). The Fury jumped out to a 3-0 in the first half with goals from Samantha Dumont (10′), Caitlin Doran (26′) and own goal from NYSC (35′). While forward Samantha Forster (41′) got NYSC to within two, the Fury pulled away for good with goals from Julia Hannon (53′) and Duran (56′). Doran’s two goals were her first two of the 2017-2018 season while DuMont has seven and Hannon has 18.

It was another high-scoring weekend for Boston Breakers Academy (18-8-1, 55 points) as they defeated Long Island SC (2-20-3, 9 points) 11-0. Jaydah Bedoya led all players with four goals (32′, 43′, 70′, and 76′) followed closely by Isabelle Aviza (17′ and 41′) and Victoria Huang (39′ and 80′) with two each and Lilly Matthews (11′) and Mia Otero (88′). Saturday’s eleven goal outburst was the second time all season that the Breakers had put double digit goals on an opponent, the last being a 10-2 result over Empire United back in March.

Oakwood Soccer Club (14-12-1, 43 points) continued their push towards a Wild Card spot with a 5-2 win over Empire United (4-21-2, 14 points). Forwards Lumi Kostmayer (2′, 22′, and 66′) and Imani Jenkins (6′ and 40′) teamed up to score all five of Oakwoods goals and pushed their season totals to 23 and 13 respectively. Empire’s goals came courtesy of Danielle Hartman (26′) and Laural Erick (87′). As it stands Oakwood hold the eight seed in the Wild Card pool with the top eleven sides making it through.

The top two sides in the Southeast Division met on Saturday with NTH Tophat (20-4-3, 63 points) and the United Soccer Alliance (19-7-2, 59 points) playing to a 2-2 draw. USA took the lead very erly in the match with Olufolasade Adamolekun hitting the back of the net in the sixth minute, her 23rd goal of the season. But Tophat came marching right back with two goals in the first half from Sofia Black (17′) and Talia DellaPeruta (37′). Black has 10 goals on the season for Tophat while DellaPeruta has eight.

Normally in these circumstances during the season Tophat would come out on top. But USA showed they were more than up for the challenge in the second half, creating several quality attacking chances before Mackenzee Vance buried the equalizer in the 89th minute. Vance has 14 goals this season for USA.

The Concorde Fire (18-6-4, 58 points) meanwhile gained ground on Tophat and USA with a win over the Charlotte Soccer Academy (11-9-8, 41 points). While the first half saw several close calls from both sides, it was the second half where business really picked up. Concorde jumped out to a 1-0 lead just four minutes into the second half with defender Alex Wagner (49′) notching her second goal of the season. Despite going down a goal CSA continued to press and eventually made things level with Asha Means hitting the back of the net in the 67th minute. Means has 20 goals this season which leads her side and puts her in seventh among all scorers in the East Conference. Although it appeared as if the match might end up in a draw, Lucy Mitchell found the game-winner in the 90th minute for Concorde to extend their unbeaten run to twelve matches. Mitchell is tied with Renee Lyles for the team lead in goals with 11.

RESULTS

Atlantic
Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth 0| Washington Spirit Academy-Virginia 3 (05/12)
Penn Fusion Soccer Academy 3 | Washington Spirit Academy-Baltimore Armour 0 (05/12)
Virginia Development Academy 0 |PA Classics 3 (05/12)
Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth 3 | Sky Blue-PDA 4 (05/13)
PA Classics 1 | FC Virginia 5 (05/13)

Northeast
Sky Blue-NYSC 1 | FC Fury NY 5 (05/12)
FC Stars 0 | New York City FC 0 (05/12)
Boston Breakers Academy 11 | Long Island SC 0 (05/12)
Empire United 2 | Oakwood Soccer Club 5 (05/12)

U-18/U-19

Sky Blue-PDA (19-3-2, 59 points) remains at the top of the Atlantic Division after their 4-0 win over Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth (7-17-1, 22 points) on Sunday at Howison Homestead Park. Forward Amelia Paternoster‘s hat trick (51′, 68′, and 72’) pushed her goal total on the season to 14, which leads the club. Sandwiched in between Paternoster’s second and third goal was a strike by midfielder Mackenzie Pluck, who now has seven on the season. While the goals in the second certainly helped Sky Blue’s winning cause their defensive work particularly in the first half really set the tone for the side. Led by goalkeeper Grace Barbara Sky Blue earned their fifth shutout in a row and their 15th on the season. They have allowed just 15 goals this season, which is the third lowest among all sides in the U-18/U-19 age bracket.

While Sunday’s result was less than desirable, Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth did end up walking away from the weekend with at least three points having defeated Washington Spirit Academy-Virginia (7-12-6, 22 points) 4-2 on Saturday. Things looked a little grim early on for Cedar Stars as the Spirit attack pulled off two goals in quick succession from Camryn Taylor (6′) and Maddy Oliver (6′). But Bailey Chant kept them within striking distance with her goal in the 17th minute. Credit to goalkeeper Emma Huntzinger for keeping the match close by making several key stops before the end of the half. In the second half the Cedar Stars attack found their rhythm with A’Liah Moore (55′), Emily Clayton (69′) and Damali Simonte-Ponte (74′) all hitting the back of the net.

Penn Fusion Soccer Academy (17-5-3, 54 points) might not have earned three points on the weekend but they did escape Saturday’s encounter with Washington Spirit Academy-Baltimore Armour (10-9-5, 35 points) with a 1-1 draw. The Spirit nearly pulled off the upset after Camber Hayes scored in the 70th minute to give her side the 1-0 advantage. Hayes has scored two goals this season for the Armour’s U-18/U-19 side while also scoring three goals for their U-16/U-17 side. Needing a goal to keep their playoff ambitions alive, PFA looked to their attack for finding the equalizer. Brice McInroy responded with a goal in the 87th minute to give her side the draw. McInroy has 22 goals this season which puts her in seventh among all players in the U-18/U-19 age group.

+READ: U.S. U-16 Girls National Team routs Belgium 5-1 in UEFA Tournament

New York City FC (14-8-3, 45 points) held on to their final playoff spot in the Northeast Division after their 2-1 win over FC Stars (9-12-0, 27 points). Emma Hou gave NYCFC the 1-0 lead with her goal in the 38th minute, her fourth of the season. While Sky Woodard (first in the U-18/U-19 age bracket) equalized for the Stars just a minute later, NYCFC would not be denied the three points on the day. Thanks to Molly Feighan‘s goal in the 80th minute, NYCFC snapped a two game win-less run. Feighan’s was her seventh of the 2017-2018 campaign.

Oakwood Soccer Club (13-9-1, 40 points) also won on the weekend, defeating Empire United (1-19-3, 6 points) 3-0. The Oakwood attack left little up to chance getting three goals just before halftime from forwards Gigi Gorgone (26′) and Lexi Ansaldi (43′ and 44′). Oakwood’s defense stifled the Empire attack with defenders Erin Goss (46 minutes), Lauren Hinton (90 minutes), Nina Aglieco (46 minutes), Izzy Lachcik (44 minutes), Megahn O’Shaughnessy (46 minutes) and goalkeepers Michelle Fickett (75 minutes) and Seraphina McKiernan (15 minutes) combining for the shutout. While Oakwood are behind NYCFC in points (45 to 40) and points per games played (1.8 to 1.7391), they have two games in hand which should make for a very interesting final month of the season.

Finally in the Southeast Division, NTH Tophat (19-1-5, 62 points) retained their second-place spot with a 3-0 win over the United Soccer Alliance (8-13-4, 28 points). After a scoreless first half hour, Tophat took the lead with a goal from Rachel Jones (31′). Jones added a second in the second half, giving her 22 for the 2017-2018 season. Tophat put things away behind Raegen Kelley‘s goal in the 73rd minute, giving her side their fourth consecutive victory. Kelley has been an excellent option for coach James Garner, scoring 13 goals in 24 matches.

Although they were unable to overcome Tophat in the standings, the Concorde Fire (20-5-1, 61 points) solidified their Wild Card spot with a 6-1 win over the Charlotte Soccer Academy (13-8-4, 43 points). Prior to Saturday’s match the Concorde attack has been red hot, scoring two or more goals in each of their last five matches. That continued over the weekend as midfielder Croix Bethune (32′, 37′, and 83′) hit a hat trick and midfielder Nicole Payne (22′ and 40′) notched a brace for Concorde while defender Elizabeth Prybylski scored a scored a goal in the 80th minute. CSA’s lone goal came courtesy of Samantha Lueck in the 72nd minute. With one game to play, Concorde find themselves as the No. 1 seed in the Wild Card pool ahead of SC del Sol of the Southwest and Penn Fusion Soccer Academy of the Atlantic on Pts/GP (2.3462, 2.3448, and 2.16). The top two sides from the Wild Card Pool in the U-18/U-19 age group will qualify for the postseason.

RESULTS

Atlantic
Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth 4| Washington Spirit Academy-Virginia 2 (05/12)
Penn Fusion Soccer Academy 1 | Washington Spirit Academy-Baltimore Armour 1 (05/12)
Virginia Development Academy 4 |PA Classics 0 (05/12)
Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth 0 | Sky Blue-PDA 4 (05/13)
PA Classics | FC Virginia (05/13)

Northeast
Sky Blue-NYSC 1 | FC Fury NY 2 (05/12)
FC Stars 1 | New York City FC 2 (05/12)
Boston Breakers Academy | Long Island SC (05/12)
Empire United 0 | Oakwood Soccer Club 3 (05/12)