Action heats up on Virginian Elite Showcase Day 2
The action heated up in more ways than one in the second day of the 2015 Virginian Elite Showcase as the competition got even better and the temperature jumped a dozen degrees.
In the Women’s U17-U19 Showcase, NVSC Jr. Majestics, FCV Ashburn Wolves, Arlington Atletica Red, SYC Pride Panthers and Lee Mount Vernon SC Patriots all turned in strong efforts by notching multi-goal victories.
Meanwhile, FCSC Fever’s match against Panthers United X-Treme and Waldorf SC 97 Orange’s match against Loudon 97 Black ended in 2-2 ties. Both Vincent United F.C. Eclipse vs. SYA Cardinals 96 and CYA Soccer Adrenaline vs. Fredericksburg FC 97 Red ended scoreless.
Arlington Atletica Red heads into the final day as the points leader with nine, while SYC Pride Panthers and LMVSC Patriots are tied behind them with six.
+Read: Day 1 of the 2015 Virginian Elite Showcase kicks off with great weather, quality soccer
The Girls’ U16 Showcase provided similarly exciting matches. MYS Spirit White and Penn Legacy 98 White both won 2-1, defeating ODFC Cesena and MYS 98 Green. Arlington Forza White and CESC Storm Gold also won close matches, edging West Schuylkill FC Impact and FPYC FM 1-0.
PWSI Courage 98 Red and SYC Stampede played a scoreless match while Evergreen FC U16 Girls tied Reston SA 98 Elite 1-1. The strongest performances came in multi-goal victories by Reston SA 98 United, EPIC SC Blizzard, SYC Freedom and Mahwah Raiders.
Four teams turned in one-goal wins, including MYS Spirit White and Penn Legacy 98 White in their 2-1 victories over ODFC Cesena 98 and MYS 98 Green. Arlington Forza White and CESC Storm Gold both earned 1-0 wins, topping West Schuylkill FC Impact and FPYC FM.
On the boys side, Takoma Park Rangers improved to 2-0-0 in the U-17 to U-19 Men’s Showcase Division, earning a last-minute 1-0 win over a strong Calverton Revolution side. The Maryland teams played hard-nosed defense throughout the match, but a goal by Pablo Lopez in the waning moments of the game vaulted Takoma Park to its second win in as many days.
With the 1-0 win over Calverton following a 3-0 win over Alexandria SA Arsenal on Saturday, Takoma Park has still not conceded a goal entering the final day of the tournament.
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“This team has been together for five years and we’ve always focused on defense first because we know defense leads into offense,” said Rangers coach Steven Young. “The results don’t mean anything to me here, it’s all about performance and I think we’ve performed well so far.”
Rangers, a U-17 side composed of four seniors and the rest juniors, will play VSA Heat Blue 96 on Monday, the only other unbeaten team in Bracket A. VSA Heat has come out blazing offensively, outscoring its first two opponents by a combined score of 7-2.
Coming off its second one-goal defeat, Calverton Revolution will look to rebound against SYA Cardinals 97 Red on Monday afternoon. Despite the loss, Revolution has turned in two strong performances for the attending college coaches so far at Long Bridge Park in Arlington, Va.
“We came here to play in front of college coaches and have our kids be seen, they played hard and played really well defensively the whole game,” said Revolution coach Jaime Revelo.
Bracket B’s two undefeated teams, Burke Athletic Club Cyclones and Loudoun Soccer 97 Black will face off Monday in another exciting match-up at Long Bridge.
Coming off 2-0 and 5-0 wins to open the Virginian Elite Showcase, Syracuse Development Academy will play VSA Heat Gold in an effort to run the table in Bracket C.
Stars United White (1-0-1, 4 pts.) controls its own fate in Bracket D, but will have a tough match-up Monday against Virginia Blackwatch SC Rovers (1-1-0, 3 pts.) who can take over the top spot with a win.
Waldorf 97 Orange (1-1-0, 4 pts.) and D.C. Stoddert Red Storm (1-1-0, 4 pts.) sit atop Bracket E, as Waldorf leads the tiebreaker with a +3 goal differential. Waldorf faces Northern Virginia SC Arsenal White, while Stoddert plays SYC United on Monday.
In the U-16 Boys Showcase, host club SYC Strikers Gold leads Bracket A, Loudoun Soccer 98 Black leads Bracket B and Arlington Attack Blue leads Bracket C, each with unblemished 2-0-0 records.
