ECNL – San Diego 2012 Coverage Central
\r\nSan Diego, Mon. April 2, 10:45 a.m. PST\u2013<\/strong>The best weather of the three-day ECNL Showcase has arrived, and it’s bringing out the best in teams.\r\n\r\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thesoccerwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/IMG_1186.jpg\" "\\"IMG_1186\\"")
<\/a>[\/caption]\r\n\r\nAt this point, it looks as if San Diego Surf’s U-15 and U-16 teams will finish with nine-point weekends. The Surf’s U-15s, behind goals from Erika Arkans<\/strong> and Sasha Stephens<\/strong>, held off National Flight A first place side Colorado Rush 2-1.\r\n\r\nRush got its goal after Betsy Brandon<\/strong> converted a penalty at the end of the first half.\r\n\r\n\”I think [these are] both quality teams,\” said Surf coach Jose Ocampo. \”I think they are probably the best soccer-playing team that we’ve come up against, but I think we put them under pressure many times, and they were able to recover the ball, which was very important for us to be able to stay in the game.\r\n\r\n\”I think we were able to capitalize early, which allowed us to relieve some of the pressure, gave us a bit more confidence heading into the later part of the game.\”\r\n\r\nWith the game tied at 1-1 in the second half, Stephens then capitalized off of a mishandled set piece to poke the ball into the corner of the net.\r\n\r\nSurf came into the weekend looking for six points. Ocampo is more than pleased with the nine points that come with the three-win weekend.\r\n\r\n\”The girls showed a lot of resilience, fight and spirit, and they were able to come out with nine points, which is huge,\” Ocampo said.\r\n\r\nSurf’s U-16s are well on their way to replicating the feat of its U-15s, as they are ahead 4-1 on Freestate Soccer Alliance of Maryland. Surf defeated FC Stars of Massachusetts 4-1 and Ohio Elite Soccer Academy 2-0. Freestate forward Imani Dorsey<\/strong> went out midway through the first half after a challenge by a Surf defender left her injured. The Surf player was yellow carded.\r\n\r\n–\r\n\r\nSan Diego, Sun. April 1, 8:30 p.m. PST\u2013<\/strong>Bethesda SC and So Cal Blues U-17 girls concluded another day of action at the ECNL San Diego Showcase at the San Diego Polo Club.\r\n\r\nIt was the last game to conclude because of a possible lower leg fracture to SoCal Blues player Kelsey Texiera<\/strong> after she and a Bethesda SC player were vying for a ball in the middle of the field. An audible crack could be heard across several fields as trainers treated her and an ambulance came and took her to the hospital.\r\n\r\nSydney Fuertes<\/strong> scored the lone goal of the match for SoCal Blues in the first half on a well-struck, but wind-aided, 25-yard shot.\r\n\r\nMuch of the rest of the game was played in the midfield, with both teams resolute in defense.\r\n\r\nIt was the second straight 1-0 loss for Bethesda, falling to San Diego Surf in its opening match Saturday.\r\n\r\nBethesda has an enticing match tomorrow morning, as it takes on Mustang SC, who at 9-0-2 is second in National Flight A and atop the Northwest Conference standings.\r\n\r\nA consistently higher level:<\/strong> We\u2019ll expand on this interview some more, but The Soccer Wire<\/em><\/strong> caught up with University of Virginia assistant coach Ron Raab<\/strong>, who praised the ECNL level of competition.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe games themselves are far more competitive, so you see fewer and fewer lopsided games, or things of that nature, that, in terms of the evaluation process, I think it makes it easier to see kids that are being challenged as opposed to games that are a little bit lopsided.\u201d Raab said.\r\n\r\nRaab graduated from William & Mary and is in his second stint as assistant coach for the Cavaliers. During his career, he was an assistant at his alma mater, at Princeton and Maryland (both under April Heinrichs<\/strong>), and after a break from coaching, coached under Heinrichs again at UVa. and stayed on when Steve Swanson became coach.\r\n\r\nWeather the weather:<\/strong> With cooler, overcast and a little bit of drizzle, Saturday\u2019s weather, and even Sunday\u2019s cooler but sunny weather, surprised some at the San Diego Polo Club.\r\n\r\nLegendary William & Mary coach John Daly<\/strong> said he is rarely caught off guard by the weather, but said he was cold enough to call it a day early Saturday. He dressed warmer Sunday, but still noted it was cooler here than in the balmy climes of Williamsburg, Va.\r\n\r\nScoreboard:<\/strong> Check out all the scores from U-14<\/a>, U-15<\/a>, U-16<\/a>, U-17<\/a> and U-18<\/a> play. We\u2019ll be back for the final day of ECNL San Diego action tomorrow. There looks to be some enticing matchups across the spectrum, including Mustang SC against Bethesda SC. Mustang SC is second in the National Flight\u00a0\u00a0A standings at 8-1-1, while Bethesda is 16th at 4-4-1 and will be looking for the upset, and its first win of the weekend.\r\n\r\nIn U-14 play, Arsenal FC and San Diego Surf will try to keep pace with one another in the SoCal Conference with wins Monday. Arsenal takes on San Juan Soccer Club, while San Diego Surf plays Slammers FC.\r\n\r\nColorado Rush and San Diego Surf will play in U-15s, as Rush sits atop National Flight A at 5-0-0, while Surf is 5-1-2 and in 10th.\r\n\r\n–\r\n\r\nSan Diego, Sun. April 1, 2012, 2:30 p.m. PST\u2013<\/strong>It’s getting to early evening on the East Coast, but we’re still in midday action here at the ECNL’s San Diego showcase. Most of U-15 and U-16 play has completed.\r\n\r\nNine of the 15 U-15 games were decided by one-goal, in addition to two ties, and we had a seven-goal performance, with Colorado Rush winning 4-3 over Bethesda SC.\r\n\r\nToday has seen three, five-goal outputs from Penn Fusion’s U-15s (5-0 over Irvine Strikers), as well as Arsenal FC (5-0 over Sereno Soccer Club) and West Coast FC (5-1 win over Heat FC in the U-14s) and DeAnza Force in the U-16s (5-0 over Penn Fusion).\r\n\r\nHere’s the rest of the Sunday scores so far:\r\n\r\nU-14:<\/strong>\u00a0Arsenal FC 5-0 over Sereno Soccer Club, West Coast FC 5-1 over Heat FC, So Cal Blues 1-0 over Eagles SC, Irvine Strikers 3-2 over Pleasanton Rage, Slammers FC 1-0 over TSC Hurricane, Real So Cal 3-1 over Utah Avalanche\r\n\r\nU-15:<\/strong>\u00a0FC Bucks 2-1 over Utah Avalanche, Minnesota Thunder Academy 2-1 over Pleasanton Rage, Heat FC 1-0 over Scorpions SC, DeAnza Force 1-0 over Freestate Soccer Alliance, Penn Fusion 5-0 over Irvine Strikers, Mustang SC 1-0 over So Cal Blues, Slammers FC 2-2 with PDA, Sereno Soccer Club 1-0 over Washington Premier, Colorado Rush 4-3 over Bethesda SC, San Diego Surf 1-0 over FC Stars of Massachusetts, San Juan SC 4-0 over Eagles SC, West Coast FC 3-0 over Crossfire Premier, Real So Cal 4-0 over Ohio Premier Eagles, Soccer Plus Connecticut 1-0 over Las Vegas Premier, Arsenal FC 1-1 with World Class FC.\r\n\r\nU-16:<\/strong>\u00a0FC Delco 1-0 over Colorado Storm, Colorado Rush 0-0 with Crossfire Premier, Arsenal FC 1-1 with FC Stars of Massachusetts, Bethesda SC 0-0 with Sereno Soccer Club, Eagles SC 1-0 over Challenge SC, Ohio Premier Eagles 0-0 with Las Vegas Premier, Slammers FC 3-0 over Albertson, Connecticut 5c 4-1 over San Juan SC, San Diego Surf 2-0 over Ohio Elite Soccer Academy, DeAnza Force 5-0 over Penn Fusion SA, Minnesota Thunder Academy 1-0 over Scorpions SC, Irvine Strikers 0-0 with Utah Avalanche, Mustang SC 1-1 with Freestate Soccer Alliance, So Cal Blues 4-0 over FC Bucks.\r\n\r\nU-17:<\/strong>\u00a0Heat FC over Ohio Elite Soccer Academy 2-0\r\n\r\n–\r\n\r\nSan Diego, Sun. April 1, 2012, 11 a.m. PST\u2013<\/strong>As you can see, we’re also taking photos while we’re out here at the San Diego Polo Club, so we thought we’d share a few here on the blog.\r\n\r\nCheck out this flip throw photo from De Anza Force’s Brett Cook<\/strong> during Saturday’s 1-0 win over Challenge SC in U-16 play. Look for more photos to be loaded today, and look for a gallery of photos from the weekend here in San Diego.\r\n\r\nThe parking situation is a little different than when the Surf Cup event takes place here. The lot that is normally used for the Surf Cup was a bit waterlogged, so parking has been wrapped around the fields.\r\n\r\nIf you arrive late, meaning after 8 a.m., you’ll likely be driving around the perimeter of the fields, which from entrance to park takes about 10 minutes. Right now, it’s a packed house of teams, parents, fans, college coaches and other spectators, and still, there are cars lined up looking for spaces to park.\r\n\r\nWe’re in the middle of the second set of games of the morning with the sun warming up the San Diego Polo Club grounds.\r\n\r\nIn an early match that attracted scores of major college coaches, the U-16 Colorado Rush and Crossfire Premier played to a scoreless draw.\r\n
Even with that scoreline, Rush’s Lauren Conley<\/strong> looked impressive in attack, making elusive runs and switching sides of the field to elude defenders, often attracting three defenders to her when she has the ball.<\/p>\r\n
She set up one of Rush’s better chances after she dribbled the ball through a defender’s legs and then found a teammate making a run centrally in the box. Crossfire snuffed out the chance, however.<\/p>\r\n–\r\n\r\nSan Diego, Sun. April 1, 2012, 10:45 a.m. PST\u2013<\/strong>Good morning, or good afternoon if you’re in the Eastern or Central time zones and Happy April Fool’s. It’s a breezy day in San Diego but the sun is out, along with the great play and the college scouts watching it\u2013no foolin’.\r\n\r\nWe caught up with McLean Youth Soccer coach Clyde Watson<\/strong>, whose U-17 National B Flight side took a 1-0 opening day win Saturday over National A Flight Slammers FC. McLean, 7-5-2 in the Mid-Atlantic Conference but second in the B Flight at 8-0-1, got a lone goal from Nisrene Tabbara that held up over the top team in the Mountain West Conference.\r\n\r\n\”I’m not sure the emotion associated with a game like this was present,\” Watson said. \”I think both teams were looking a little bit ahead to [today]. We were very organized, and I thought we deserved to win.\”\r\n\r\nWhile he didn’t have Marlo Sweatman<\/strong>\u2013\”she’s a big part of what we do\”\u2013available this weekend, Watson said he was pleased with the result and hopes that it prepares McLean for the rest of the weekend.\r\n\r\n\”First and foremost, I’m just hoping that we continue to play well. If we can relay that into a victory than so be it,\” Watson said.\r\n\r\nMcLean finishes the weekend with a match this afternoon against the Northwest Conference’s Pleasanton Rage and then Monday against \u00a0SoCal Conference’s West Coast FC.\r\n\r\n–\r\n
