ECNL: Richmond Strikers, Virginia Rush each playing a pair

By Jimmy LaRoue

Four of the ECNL’s Mid-Atlantic Conference teams will be in action this weekend in the last action of 2012 before the league’s next National Event in Sanford, Fla. at the end of the month.

The Richmond Strikers and Virginia Rush will play a pair of games, at Bethesda SC and Freestate Soccer Alliance. Rush’s U-14s will not be in action, though the rest of its ECNL teams will be.

The Strikers’ U-14s are looking for their first win, having gone 0-8-0 to start the season, scoring five goals while giving up 31. Bethesda SC is 5-3-2, while Freestate is 2-6-2.

The Strikers’ U-15s are 1-6-1 (7 GF/21 GA), with the club’s U-16s 2-6-1 (6 GF/18 GA). The U-17s are 4-2-3 (17 GF/7 GA), as Elizabeth Ball leads the way with seven goals, and Kylie Hegemier has four. The Strikers’ U-18s have also found some success, going 4-4-1 and scoring 18 goals, but also giving up 18.

Rush’s U-15s have had the best success among the club’s ECNL contingent, having gone 3-4-2. Defensively the U-15s have been strong, giving up just eight goals in nine matches, but they have also scored just eight goals in that span. The U-16s are 1-8-0 (7 GF/35 GA), the U-17s 1-8-0 (2 GF/37 GA) and the U-18s 0-8-1 (2 GF/27 GA).

Other than their clubs’ U-14 teams, Bethesda and Freestate are playing their first ECNL games of the season when they host the Strikers this weekend.

The matches will be tuneups for the National Event to take place in two weeks.