Game-by-Game Recaps from the 2023 ECNL Girls Finals

The final day of the ECNL Girls Finals saw five ECNL National Championship trophies as well as five ECNL Regional League Championship trophies lifted throughout the day, as the remaining ten teams in each competition battled for the ultimate prizes in the ECNL.

Below is a recap of all the National Championship and Regional League Championship winners from the day.

U13 National Champions: Slammers FC HB Køge

The U13 National Championship featured a thrilling, high scoring battle between Slammers and MVLA.

Slammers got off to a fast start in the title game, firing home two goals in the opening 11 minutes to grab a quick 2-0 lead. MVLA had the answer though, with McKenna Whitham cutting the lead in half with a goal before the break, and Jaina Nguyen leveling the score in the 55th minute.

In extra time, Slammers grabbed the advantage again. Winter Meskiel scored her second of the game to put Slammers up 3-2, but that goal would be answered by MVLA’s Sloane Parenti as she knotted the game up at 3-3.

With the two sides unable to separate themselves through regulation and extra time, the match headed to penalties to decide the National Champion. Slammers held their nerve through the shootout, winning 4-3 on penalties and lifted the U13 ECNL National Championship trophy.

(Players That Impressed: ECNL Girls Champions League and Regional League Finals)

U14 National Champions: PDA Blue

PDA came out of the gates firing in the U14 National Championship Game. In just the second minute, Deus Stanislaus put PDA on top 1-0. They doubled that lead just seven minutes later when Makena Lee fired home the second goal of the game to make it 2-0 PDA.

San Diego Surf battled their way back into the game though. After a number of opportunities, Surf cut the PDA lead to 2-1 in the second half to set up an exciting finish, but the PDA defense was able to see the win out as they lifted the U14 ECNL National Championship trophy.

U15 National Champions: Michigan Hawks

The first half of the U15 National Championship was a defensive battle. Neither the Michigan Hawks or Legends was able to find the back of the net through the first half of the game.

The game wasn’t short on fireworks in the second half though. Legends opened the scoring in the 64th minute on a long range strike from Jaelynn Hillenbrand to grab the 1-0 lead.

The Hawks responded though. Addison Fife put home the equalizer just a few minutes later, before Nina Laba scored off a corner kick to give the Hawks the lead in the 73rd minute.

Legends pushed hard for the equalizer in the final moments of the game, but the Hawks stood strong defensively to clinch the U15 ECNL National Championship.

U16 National Champions: Solar SC

In one of the wildest games of the season, Solar clinched the U16 National Championship trophy in an 11 goal thriller over Slammers FC HB Køge.

Ayva Jordan opened the scoring in the sixth minute to put Slammers on top 1-0, but Solar answered back with a goal from Rylee McLanahan in the 12th minute to quickly level things up at 1-1.

In the 39th minute, Jordan fired home her second of the game to send Slammers into the half with a 2-1 advantage.

Solar answered back in the second half on a Sealey Strawn goal to make it 2-2 just minutes into the second half.

In the 59th minute, Jordan worked her way through the Solar defense and around the goalkeeper and put home her third goal of the game to make it 3-2 Slammers. Slammers then doubled that lead off a corner kick just moments later to go up 4-2.

Solar battled back again though. Goals in the 65th minute and 82nd minute gave Solar their third comeback of the game and sent the match into extra time at 4-4.

The goal scoring didn’t stop there though. In the first half of extra time, Solar quickly jumped ahead with two goals to make it 6-4. This time it was Slammers turn to battle back, as they cut the lead in half to make it 6-5.

Slammers pushed forward for an equalizer and saw a number of extremely close chances in the final moments, but in the end Solar was able to hold off the offensive onslaught from Slammers and were crowned the U16 ECNL National Champions.

U17 National Champions: SLSG Navy

Following their championship in the U16 National Championship Game last season, SLSG came into the U17 National Championship Game looking to lift a trophy for the second year in a row.

Solar grabbed the lead six minutes into the game and forced SLSG to fight back from behind. Before halftime though, SLSG fired home two goals to grab the advantage, including an Alex Pfeiffer goal from the penalty spot for the second goal.

SLSG doubled their lead in the second half, before Solar fought back to cut things down to 3-2 in the closing stages.

With time running down, Pfeiffer got possession of the ball on Solar’s side of the field and took it straight to the goal where she buried a finish into the upper corner to make SLSG the National Champions for the second year in a row.

U13 Regional League Champions: Missouri Rush

In the U13 Regional League Championship Missouri Rush squared off with Solar for the championship. Missouri Rush broke a 1-1 tie in the 68th minute on a goal from Alexia Kidin to give Missouri Rush the 2-1 win and make them the U13 Regional League Champions.

U14 Regional League Champions: Chicago Inter

Chicago Inter jumped on top in the U14 Regional League Championship Game with two goals inside the first 20 minutes to make it 2-0. Evolution SC Mercurial battled their way back into the game in the second half, cutting the Chicago Inter lead down to 2-1, but in the end Chicago Inter held the 2-1 lead to clinch the U14 Regional League Championship.

U15 Regional League Champions: Slammers FC

In a high scoring championship game, Slammers FC took home the U15 Regional League Championship with a 4-3 win over Charlotte SA. The teams exchanged goals in the opening half with the game going into halftime knotted at 2-2. In the second half, after a Charlotte SA goal, Slammers scored a late goal to tie things up at 3-3 and send the game into extra time, where they scored the game winner to clinch the U15 Regional League Championship.

U16 Regional League Champions: Missouri Rush

Missouri Rush lifted their second Regional League Championship trophy of the day after their U16 side defeated Scorpions SC in the U16 Regional League Championship. Missouri Rush held a 1-0 lead most of the way, before doubling their lead in the second half, and then tacking on some additional insurance in the final moments to clinch the U16 Regional League Championship with a 4-0 victory.

U17 Regional League Champions: FC Dallas

In another high scoring battle, FC Dallas claimed the U17 Regional League Championship following a 4-3 win over Slammers FC. FC Dallas took a 2-1 lead into halftime, before each side added on two more goals in the second half and FC Dallas was able to hold on for the 4-3 victory and lift the U17 Regional League Championship trophy.