Girls Academy U14-U17 National Champions decided as 2023-24 season concludes

The 2023-24 Girls Academy season concluded on Sunday with the U14-U17 age groups crowning new National Champions at the GA National Finals in Richmond, Virginia.

Nationals SC 10 Blue (U14), Chicago FC United 09 (U15), Lou Fusz Athletic 08 (U16), Lonestar SC 07 Red (U17) all earned top honors while in Virginia.

They join Tophat (U13) and SC del Sol (U19) as the league’s National Champions, with the aforementioned sides having earned their honors at the GA Summer Showcase.

See below for a rundown for how the GA National Finals played out over the weekend.

U14 Champion: Nationals SC 10 Blue

Nationals strong defensive work was once again on display in Richmond, with the Michigan-based team limiting Galaxy SC to a single goal in their Quarterfinal match (2-1) while shutting out City SC (1-0) to book their spot in the finals. Despite facing a strong attacking group in Tophat Gold, they were once again able to earn the clean sheet, finishing their opponents off 2-0 to earn top honors.

Although Tophat Gold will certainly have wanted a better result in the finals the group had an excellent run to the finals. Much like with Nationals, they made their way into the final on the backs of their defense. After blanking Lamorinda SC (3-0), they earned a second consecutive clean sheet against Broomfield SC (2-0) in the final. Leading into their match against Nationals, Tophat had not given up a single goal throughout their playoffs including three shutouts in Group Play.

After facing a tough defense Tophat, Broomfield regroup and put on an attacking clinic against City SC winning a tough 3-2 match to earn second place. Broomfield started their run in Virginia with a 4-1 victory over West Florida Flames. City SC meanwhile defeated West Coast Soccer 4-0.

Write it in pen, @NationalsGA are our U14 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! ✍️🎉🤩 #GAFinals pic.twitter.com/c3aqKTZjYc

— Girls Academy (@GAcademyLeague) July 14, 2024

U15 National Champion: Chicago FC United 09

Chicago FC United held off Nationals SC Blue in nail-biting fashion earning a 2-1 victory in penalties. United’s composure under pressure was on full display all weekend as they earned back-to-back 1-0 victories over Silicon Valley SA and South Shore Select (the defending National Champions) in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals respectively. Including group play, United’s defense allowed an opponent to score more than one goal in match just once a 4-2 victory over Florida United in the Group Stage.

Nationals defense was also on point throughout their playoff run, having earned four shutouts leading into the final against Chicago. In their quarterfinal match against Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals, they grinded out a 1-0 victory. Their defense continued their stellar work in the semifinals, earning a 4-0 victory over Tophat Gold.

After losing out to the eventual champions, South Shore Select regrouped and pulled off a 3-0 victory over Tophat to earn third place. After finishing atop Group A in California, South Shore ripped off a 3-0 victory over STA in the Quarterfinals to earn their spot in the semifinals. Tophat matched a high-scoring Galaxy SC team goal-for-goal earning a 6-4 victory to clinch their spot in the next round.

Write it in pen, @ChicagoFCUnited is our U15 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! ✍️🎊🤩 #GAFinals pic.twitter.com/gOqjY8k9aX

— Girls Academy (@GAcademyLeague) July 14, 2024

U16 National Champion: Lou Fusz Athletic

Lou Fusz Atheltic’s 08s earned their National Championship the hard way, holding off a tough STA team in a 2-1 victory to claim top honors. As has been the case all season for LFA, their title run in Virginia was marked with a mixture of strong defensive and attacking work. In the Quarterfinals they scored twice to defeat Fram SC 2-0 with Lauren van Rhien and Parker Dieck each netting a goal. Goalkeepers Lily Selvy and Ella Moersch worked seamlessly alongside their stout defense to pick up the clean sheet. Their backline once again came through big in the semifinals, stymying a potent Nationals SC Blue attack and earning the 1-0 victory with van Rhien once again providing the match-winner.

STA’s also had a strong run to the final with the New Jersey-based team starting their knockout round run with a 2-1 victory over Tophat Gold. In the semifinals, they faced an imposing City SC group that had just defeated NEFC 2-1 in the Quarterfinals. But STA goalkeeper Sienna Goldstein and their defense proved to be more than up for the challenge, shutting out their New England-based opponents 3-0.

In the Third Place match, Nationals Blue earned their fourth shutout of the GA Playoffs defeating City SC 3-0. Although it was their first shutout in the knockout round, they had limited opponents to just a goal in each of their first two knockout round games, holding off Galaxy SC 3-1 in the Quarterfinals to go alongside their one goal defeat against Lou Fusz. In the Group Stage, they did not allow a single goal outscoring their opponents 9-0.

Write it in pen, @LouFuszSoccer is our U16 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! ✍️🎊🤩 #GAFinals pic.twitter.com/HyY1Q92FSQ

— Girls Academy (@GAcademyLeague) July 14, 2024

U17 National Champion : Lonestar SC 07 Red

While Lonestar SC certainly love red they also love gold as well. On Sunday, they held off Nationals SC 07 Blue 2-1 to earn the U17 National Championship. Much like they have had to do all weekend, scratching out victories over SC del Sol 2-1 in the Quarterfinals and The St. James FC 1-0 in the semifinals, Lonestar had to do it the hard way coming from a goal down to win their silverware. Midfielder and SoccerWire Featured Player Finley Newell led the charge, scoring both goals in the final.

My team @Lonestar07GARed won the GA finals and are National Champions! Our defense was stellar and I scored 2 in the finals with our 2-1 defeat of an amazing Nationals 07 team. @TheSoccerWire @TopDrawerSoccer @ImYouthSoccer @PrepSoccer pic.twitter.com/s9VpiuT5yw

— Finley_Newell_08 (@FinleyNewell08) July 15, 2024

Nationals also had to walk a tightrope to get to the finals, dispatching both Lou Fusz Athletic (2-1) and IMG Academy (4-3) by just a goal in the Quarterfinals and Semifinals respectively. Throughout their playoff run, Nationals always seemed to find goals when they needed them. Including the Group Stage, they outscored their opponents 20-8.

The St. James FC finished off their 2023-2024 campaign with a third place finish in the U17 age group defeating IMG 4-2. In the Quarterfinal round they earned a 3-1 victory Wasatch SC. IMG meanwhile booked their spot in the Semifinals with a shutout victory over SC Wave on matchday one (4-0).

Write it in pen, @LonestarSC is our U17 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! ✍️🎊🤩 #GAFinals pic.twitter.com/yXeC2idswk

— Girls Academy (@GAcademyLeague) July 14, 2024