Girls Development Academy East Conference Recap: March 10-11, 2018

It was a big weekend in the U.S. Soccer Girls Development Academy East Conference with all three divisions having matches in the U-15, U-16/U-17, and U-18/U-19 age groups. This weekend saw top of the table battles in the Atlantic, a couple of sides getting their first matches in for 2018 in the Northeast, and a few upsets in the Southeast.

+U.S. Soccer Girls’ DA Standings

U-15

In the Atlantic Division the weekend was highlighted by a battle of two sides at the top of the table in Sky Blue PDA (12-1-4, 40 points) and Penn Fusion Soccer Academy (10-5-1, 31 points). The first half saw both sides dynamic attacks stymied by their equally determined defensive networks. In the second half, Sky Blue found the game-winner with a goal from midfielder Brigitte Bussiere in the 66th minute. Meanwhile, Sky Blue goalkeeper Maggie Ousouljoglou and the back line notched the clean sheet.

It was an all Washington Spirit derby on Saturday as the NWSL club’s two academy programs (Spirit Academy – Baltimore Armour and Spirit Academy – Virginia) met in the Atlantic Division. A Cate Shepherd goal in the 12th gave Armour the early advantage. In the second half, they would expand on their lead with goals from Ellie Stokes (62’) and Mara Buto (75’) cementing the 3-0 victory.

Cedar Stars Academy: Monmouth (6-9-2, 20 points) started 2018 in fine fashion, defeating Virginia Development Academy (6-8-3, 21 points) 2-1 on Sunday afternoon. Olivia Carney got Monmouth on the board early with her goal in the 11th minute. VDA would equalize with a strike from Brooke Potter in the 43rd minute. But Cedar Stars at the end of the day would end up with the three points thanks to a Jordyn Laxer (75’) goal just before full-time.

+READ: U.S. Soccer Development Academy adds 16 new clubs for 2018-2019 season

As for the Southeast Division, the NC Courage (11-4-3, 36 points) came away six points from the weekend. The NWSL affiliate on Saturday defeated Boca United Football Club (6-14-1, 19 points) 3-2. Although Sarah Arnold would give the Courage the early lead with her goal in the 11th minute, Boca took the lead themselves with goals from forwards Naomi Bejarano (41’) and Sydney Polvika (47’). But Mackenzie Geigle (51’ and 55’) put her team ahead for good with a brace midway through the second half.

On Sunday, Geigle and the Courage made it two-for-two with their 2-0 win over Weston FC (11-6-2, 35 points) to cap the weekend. Her goal came in the 74th minute. The Courage’s insurance goal was provided by Shea O’Malley in the 78th minute. With the pair of victories, the Courage’s unbeaten run was stretched to six matches.

Although Weston came up short on Sunday, they did manage to escape the weekend with at least a point, drawing 1-1 with second-place Charlotte Soccer Academy (12-4-3, 39 points). They nearly ended up with the victory after Jaileen De Freitas scored in the 46th minute to give them the 1-0 lead. But CSA found the equalizer via a Ellie Herrmann shot in the 63rd minute.

In their first match on the weekend, CSA got the win over Boca 2-0, with Emily Morris (50’) and Savanna Riggs (36’) supplying the goals. Boca’s goal came from Bejarano in the 72nd minute.

Results

Northeast
Oakwood Soccer Club -FC Fury NY (03/10)
Boston Breakers Academy 13 -Empire United 0 (03/10)
Boston Breakers Academy 6-Empire United 0 (03/11)

Atlantic
Sky Blue PDA 1-Penn Fusion Soccer Academy 0 (03/10)
Washington Spirit Academy: Baltimore Armour 3 -Washington Spirit Academy: Virginia 0 (03/10)
Virginia Development Academy 1-Cedar Stars Academy: Monmouth 2(03/11)

Southeast
Weston FC 1-Charlotte Soccer Academy 1 (03/10)
Boca United Football Club 2 -NC Courage 3 (03/10)
NTH Tophat 9-IMG Academy 0 (03/10)
Boca United Football Club 1-Charlotte Soccer Academy 2(03/11)
United Futbol Academy 3-United Soccer Alliance 1 (03/11)
Concorde Fire 1-Orlando Pride 1 (03/11)
Weston FC 0-NC Courage 2 (03/11)

U-16/U-17

Sky Blue PDA (12-4-1, 37 points) closed the gap on Penn Fusion Soccer Academy (12-3-1, 37 points) and first place with their 2-1 win on Saturday. Midfielder Julianne Leskaukas gave Sky Blue the lead in the first half with her goal in the 23rd minute. Penn Fusion though would respond with a goal of their own, with Rowan Lapi making things level in the 45th minute. Then, Leskaukas knocked home the match-winner in the 77th minute. Although the two sides are tied on points PFA still holds a slender edge in points per game (2.3125 to Sky Blue’s 2.1765) allowing them to hold on to first for the time being.

The Boston Breakers Academy (9-7-0, 27 points) made it a clean sweep of Empire United (1-13-1, 4 points) on the weekend, defeating them twice to solidify their hold on third place in the Northeast Division standings. On Saturday, the Breakers won 5-0 with goals from Eleanor Fisher (3’), Alyssa Bourgeois (5’), Isabelle Aviza (17’), and Jaydah Bedoya (19’ and 85’). It was the Breakers’ first shutout since their 5-0 win over Long Island SC back on November 4.

Things would not get any easier for Empire on Sunday, as they fell to the Breakers 10-2. Empire would actually take a very early lead in the second minute when Olivia D’Amico found the back of the net. Their other goal came from Laural Erick in the 25th minute, which was enough at the time to put them level. But the Breakers attack ultimately took over the game, with goals from Lilly Matthews (22’ and 73’), Bedoya (24’, 48’, 53’, and 54’), Aviza (40’), Sophie McCarthy (85’), Charlotte Hill (87’), and Bourgeois (90’). Sunday’s result was a season high for goals scored from the Breakers in a single match.

+READ: U.S. U-15 Girls National Team roster set for camp in Norco, Calif.

Jada Konte continued her torrid scoring run on Saturday as Washington Spirit Academy – Virginia (9-6-3, 30 points) defeated Washington Spirit Academy – Baltimore Armour (3-13-0, 9 points) 3-1. Konte’s goals came in the 42nd and 58th minutes respectively, stretching her goal total to seven on the season. Jasmine Hamid got things going for Virginia with her goal in the 28th minute, her sixth of 2017-2018.

NTH Tophat (14-2-2, 44 points) remains at the top of the standings in the Southeast Division after their 2-0 win over third-place IMG Academy (12-7-0, 36 points) on Saturday. Two first-half goals from Madeline Simpson (10’) and Talia DellaPeruta (25’) gave Tophat the advantage. In the second forty-five, their defense did the rest, limiting a potent IMG attack (57 goals scored, tied with Tophat for most in the Southeast). Tophat have pulled off eight shutouts this season in league play.

IMG’s loss was Weston FC’s gain, as they made up ground with a good result on the weekend. On Saturday, Weston downed Charlotte Soccer Academy 5-3 with four goals coming from Daniela Correa (11’, 37’, 44’, and 72’) and a second half strike from Alexa Mollica (61’). CSA’s received goals from Bentley Settin (15’), Asha Means (49’), and Josie Studer (59’).

While the effort was there on Sunday against the NC Courage (8-5-5, 29 points), the result did not go their way in a 1-0 loss. Weston had a couple of good attacking opportunities early, but were denied by the Courage defense. In the 76th minute, the Courage grabbed the lead for good with a goal from Keyera Wynn. The Courage would also pick up a 0-0 draw against Boca United Football Club (6-11-2, 20 points) on Saturday.

Northeast
Oakwood Soccer Club -FC Fury NY (03/10)
Boston Breakers Academy 5 -Empire United 0 (03/10)
Boston Breakers Academy 10-Empire United 2 (03/11)

Atlantic
Sky Blue PDA 2 -Penn Fusion Soccer Academy 1 (03/10)
Washington Spirit Academy: Baltimore Armour 1 -Washington Spirit Academy: Virginia 3 (03/10)
Virginia Development Academy 0-Cedar Stars Academy: Monmouth 4 (03/11)

Southeast
Weston FC 5 -Charlotte Soccer Academy 3 (03/10)
Boca United Football Club 0-NC Courage 0 (03/10)
NTH Tophat 2-IMG Academy 0 (03/10)
Boca United Football Club 0-Charlotte Soccer Academy 2 (03/11)
United Futbol Academy 3-United Soccer Alliance 2 (03/11)
Concorde Fire 3-Orlando Pride 0 (03/11)
Weston FC 0 – NC Courage 1 (03/11)

U-18/U-19

Sky Blue PDA (12-3-2, 38 points) fended off Penn Fusion Soccer Academy (11-4-1, 31 points) to expand on their second place spot in the Atlantic Division with a 4-1 result. Forward Emma Steigerwald gave PFA the lead in the first half with her goal in the 25th minute. But in the second half, Sky Blue’s attack came alive, ripping off four goals from midfielders Jessica Schildkraut (62’) and Emily Leyson (85’) and forwards Kayla Lee (65’) and Amelia Paternoster (79’).

The Washington Spirit Academy – Baltimore Armour moved past Washington Spirit Academy – Virginia and into fourth place in the Atlantic Division standings with a 1-0 win. Leyah Hall-Robinson provided the game-winning goal in the 85th minute.

In the Northeast Division, the Boston Breakers Academy (13-3-0, 39 points) scored, scored, and scored some more in their two matches against Empire United (0-11-2, 0 points). On Saturday, the club hammered Empire to the tune of 16-1 with the Breakers receiving goals from Catherine Barry (2’, 9’, 25’, 27’, 31’, and 42’), MaryKate McGuire (59’, 64’, and 70’), Gabriella DelPico (5’ and 13’), Zoie Allen (11’ and 43’), Jenna Tivnan (24’), Mia Otero (30’), and Lucy Cappadonna (61’). Empire’s lone goal came from Abigail Richards in the 24th minute.

+READ: Girls Development Academy East Conference Recap | March 3-4, 2018

On Sunday, the Breakers scoring pace continued with a 9-0 win over Empire. McGuire (6’ and 40’), DelPicco (59’), Otero (61’, 62. 72’, and 76’), Barry (86’ and 88’) were the goal-scorers for match day two. With her four goals Otero moved into fourth place among top scorers in the U-18/U-19 age group with 20 goals. Meanwhile their defense earned their third shutout on the season.

The NC Courage (16-0-2, 50 points) retained their hold on first place in the Southeast Division with a 7-1 win over Boca United Football Club (5-12-2, 17 points). Goals from Mattie Murphy (24’), Grace Wagner (25’), Lyndon Wood (63’), Alexis Strickland (55’ and 73’), and Isabella Brown (77’) would give the Courage their sixth consecutive victory. They followed Saturday’s impressive result with another quality performance on Sunday defeating Weston FC 5-0.

The Courage needed a couple of results on the weekend as NTH Tophat (14-0-5, 47 points) inched ever so closer to taking the top spot thanks to their 14-0 win over IMG Academy (2-16-0, 6 points). Charlotte Teeter’s hat trick (11’,14’, 32’, and 36’) pushed her goal total to 17 on the season and ties her for fourth most among all U-18/U-19 players. Rachel Jones also added to her own impressive goal-scoring total with her 16th in the 2nd minute. Additional goals were scored by Allie Berk (67’, 71’, and 82’), Raegan Kelly (79’, 81’, and 87’), Cameron Hall (41’ and 88’), and Ciara Whitely (20’).

Results

Northeast
Oakwood Soccer Club -FC Fury NY (03/10)
Boston Breakers Academy 16 -Empire United 1 (03/10)
Boston Breakers Academy 9-Empire United 0(03/11)

Atlantic
Sky Blue PDA 4 -Penn Fusion Soccer Academy 1 (03/10)
Washington Spirit Academy: Baltimore Armour 1 -Washington Spirit Academy: Virginia 0 (03/10)
Virginia Development Academy 3-Cedar Stars Academy: Monmouth 4 (03/11)

Southeast
Weston FC 0 -Charlotte Soccer Academy 8 (03/10)
Boca United Football Club 1 -NC Courage 7 (03/10)
NTH Tophat 14-IMG Academy 0 (03/10)
Boca United Football Club 0-Charlotte Soccer Academy 4 (03/11)
NC Courage 5-Weston FC 0 (03/11)
United Futbol Academy 3-United Soccer Alliance 0 (03/11)
Concorde Fire-Orlando Pride (03/11)