US Youth Soccer ODP Girls Thanksgiving Interregional Day 1 Recap
Day 1 of 4
Schedules, Scores & Standings | Photos
Age groups: 2001/2002 | 2003 | 200
BOCA RATON, Fla. (Via US Youth Soccer) — The annual US Youth Soccer ODP Girls Thanksgiving Interregional began Sunday in Boca Raton, Fla.
The four-day event, which takes place Nov. 19-22 at Spanish River Athletic Park, features the teams in the 2001/2002 through 2005 age groups comprised of the top female players in the country coached by some of the country’s best.
“You know the old saying that ODP is the ‘Opportunity to Develop as a Player’ and when you put the positive players, the positive coaches and this positive environment all together it gives these players a benefit they can’t duplicate in some of their other current environments.” said 2003 Girls East Region Head Coach Sue Ryan. “They are playing in different positions, playing with different players and they’re asked to do different things in an extremely competitive environment. So for these players this becomes a great learning opportunity and a highlight of their year.”
+READ: US Youth Soccer National League Great Lakes Conference Best XI Teams
The nearly 300 participating players were selected from US Youth Soccer State Association and Regional level evaluations. Throughout the week, players will attend training sessions and compete in matches against other Regions, in front of U.S. Soccer national staff and collegiate coaches to maximize their exposure for selection to the next level of play.
Some notes from Day 1:
2001/2002s
East vs West | 2-2
The East Region battled back to earn a 2-2 tie on the first day of play against the West Regional team. Tess Belnap gave the East the lead just 11 minutes of the game but West’s Mollie Griswold responded just twelve minutes later to level the score. West’s Kassandra Ceja gave her team the lead in the 55th minute but Julia Raich scored late in the game to equalize. Raich’s goal earns both team a point after day one of play.
South vs Midwest | 1-1
The South and Midwest 2001/2002 teams played to a 1-1 draw with both goals coming early in each half. South’s Rachel Hale scored just twelve minutes into the game for the game’s lone first half goal. Midwest’s Kirstin Boos, age group leading goalscorer from last year’s event, scored just four minutes into the second half to level the scoreline. Each team’s defense held strong to earn each team a point after one day of play.
2003s
East vs West | 2-2
Unlike its 2001/2002 counterparts, it was the West team that had to battle back from behind to earn the draw. Taylor Martin scored a late first half goal to give West a 1-0 lead heading into halftime. Leah Iglesias leveled the score in the 48th minute as she beat a defender to a ball over the top and flipped a shot beyond the keeper. Emma D’Alesandro added a goal in the 62nd minute when a corner kick was headed back across the face of the goal and finished at the back post. West kept battling for a goal and got the equalizer it needed on a laser into the back post upper-ninety by Kendra McDaniel.
South vs Midwest | 8-1
The South Region 2003 team hit all cylinders in attack during its first game. Isabel Kimberly started the scoring early in just the 2nd minute of play before Olivia Lebdaoiui and Pia Beaulieu added goals to bring the halftime score to 3-0. Lebdaoiui added her second of the game early in the second half and was quickly followed by goals from Mary Whitacker Buchanan and a second from Beaulieu. Midwest got it’s lone goal of the game from Emma Fournier in the 75th minute before Whitacker Buchanan completed her hattrick with two goals in the final minutes.
2004s
East vs West | 1-2
East Region took the lead with a 7th minute goal from Audrey Marin. The East Region held control of the scoreline until Kelly Bullock hit a strike from the top of the box to level the score in the 65th minute. Emma Corcoran put the West side in the lead when she floated a deep shot from the right side to the back post. Corcoran’s shot hit the inside of the post and bounced in for a 2-1 lead. Each team had chance to add to the score in the late minutes of the game but both goalkeepers were up to the task. West’s Liliana Singeleton made a great diving save to push a shot wide and then East’s Sanam Milani made an enormous save on a 1v1 breakaway right before the final whistle.
South vs Midwest | 1-1
South and Midwest played to a 1-1 draw in their 2004 matchup on Day 1. South’s Jordynn Dudley, who was the age group top scorer last year, scored in the 25th minute to put her team ahead. Midwest kept battling and earned a goal early in the second half thanks to a goal from Delaney Matriano. The defenses clamped down and neither attack could break through again for another goal and the score finished 1-1.
2005s
East vs West | 3-1
The East Region earned a 3-1 victory over West on the opening day of play. East’s Wrianna Hudson gave her team the lead din the 13th minute and then Lilly Short finished back post from close range to push the lead to 2-0. Brooke Fabri pulled one back from the West Region in the 48th minute but Hudson added her second of the game to push the lead back to two.
South vs Midwest | 2-0
South Region scored a goal in each half while playing some lockdown defense to earn a 2-0 victory over Midwest. Courtney Jones scored the game’s lone first half goal last in the first half while teammate Lena Bailey increased the lead to 2-0 in the 69th minute. South’s defense held strong to earn it a 2-0 win and three points on the opening day.
