CYS Presidents Cup

 U15 Girls Premier
2012 Fall Presidents Cup Champions!
The U15 Girls Premier team, coached by Caleb Dickinson and Daniel Schewe,
advanced through group play in the President’s Cup tournament in convincing
fashion with score lines of 3-1, 5-0 and 2-0 over Labor Day Weekend to finish top
in their group. The 10-1 aggregate score was headlined by 4 players: Kana
Anderson, in goal, only allowed 1 goal in the first 3 games and Saige Feiner,
Bayly Herman and Heidi Stauss each scoring 3 goals. Saige also added 3
assists thus playing a role in 6 of the 10 goals.
The quarterfinals were played on September 9th against Castle Rock Storm
Royal. After a hard fought, tight battle, the score was 1-1 a few minutes into the
second half. In the 51st minute, Saige scored on a beautiful long shot over the
keeper and into the far netting. One minute later, Allie Scheifele got behind the
defense and cracked a 20-yard screamer to the far post. The 3-1 lead proved
insurmountable and in the 80th minute, Bayly and Saige earned a PK on a very
nice combination into the box. Talia Busnardo stepped in and ended the game 41.
The semifinals were played on September 16th against the Rapids Academy. The
Rapids were the most athletic and dangerous opponent to date; however, they
were no match for the ball control and tactical play of FC Boulder. From the first 5
minutes, anyone could tell who was in charge. The possession, territory and
opportunities all belonged to the Premier team. The team was led in the middle
by player’s choice captain, Sarah Sypher. The team had voted her captain for the
game because of her effort and play at practice and in the previous game. She is
a leader on the team in pass completion percentage and she kept the ball with
her team magnificently throughout the match. In the 26th minute, Allie Scheifele
earned a PK when she was taken out on a breakaway. Again, Talia stepped in
and calmly put the team up 1-0. In the 35th minute, FC Boulder earned a corner
kick and Heidi served a beautiful ball into the box and Michaela Nelsen
connected on a header into the far side of the goal. The 2-0 half time lead was
well earned, but early in the second half the Rapids tightened things up with a
goal of their own. The game got a bit sloppy for 10 minutes or so and it looked
like the momentum might have shifted. Then, the defense and midfield settled
down and started dominating play once again. In the 69th minute, Erin Ludeman
sent a ball into the box from her right defender position. It bounced over the
center back to an running Saige who calmly put her 5th goal in as many games
away to give the team a comfortable 3-1 lead. With the game seemingly in hand,
FC Boulder switched to a more defensive formation to counter the speed of the
Rapids; however, the attack was still on. Bayly got in behind the defenders again
and sent a nice cross into the box. A defender nearly caught the ball and FC
Boulder earned their second PK of the match. In the 75th minute Sophia Cornell
stepped up and buried the PK to make the score 4-1. Just two minutes later Erin
got her second assist of the afternoon when she played a nice ball up to Bayly,
who raced past her mark and calmly finished in the far netting to end the game 51.
The Championship match took place on September 23rd against Rush Swoosh,
the Presidents Cup defending champion. The game got off on the wrong foot
before the whistle ever blew. During the warm up Sophie Brussell hit a beautiful
shot that ricocheted off the bottom of the cross bar and came down on the top of
the head of Kana. Dizzy and disoriented, she was ruled unfit to play and the
team had to make a major adjustment with 2 minutes until kickoff. As she did
last year, captain, Sophie Brussell stepped into the goal for her team in a pinch.
No team wants to start the finals of a major tournament with their goalie out and
one of their strongest field players in goal. During the first 5 minutes the team
looked shell shocked as they dealt with attack after attack. With a couple of good
saves under her belt, Sophie and the entire team settled down and never looked
back. In the 21st minute, Heidi laid a ball off for Emily Atwood, who sent the
perfect ball over the defense and into the path of Scheifele. With speed on her
side and a wicked right foot, Allie put the team up 1-0 with a terrific shot to the far
post, over the goalie’s outstretched arms. In the 27th minute, Heidi gave a ball to
Saige who cleverly slipped by her defender in the box and drove at the near post.
A rocket from about 5 yards away was only a passing thought to the goalie and
the team was up 2-0. At halftime the girls knew they had the championship in
their grasp. In the 6th minute of the second half, Heidi made the right decision
and gave Saige the ball again. From about 30 yards out, Saige hit a ball to the
upper right corner of the goal and the keeper had no chance. Up 3-0, the team let
down and gave up a goal in the next 30 seconds. The comfortable 3 goal lead
was back to 2 and the team had to regroup. A strong defensive unit made up of
Emiko Patterson, Sierra Szeto, Sydney Keenan, Maddie Bertrand, Erin and Talia
kept Rush Swoosh at bay, just as they had done to the other 5 teams. Over the
6 games this defense, usually including Sophie and Kana, was dynamite. They
only allowed 4 goals in 6 games and never more than 1 in a game.
As the game wore on, Linn Kelley began to dominate the middle of the field. She
won nearly every punt or long ball played by the defense and she kept the
pressure on Rush by collecting those balls and finding teammates for the next
attack. Sarah, Emily and captain, Sophia Cornell controlled the middle of the field
for the remainder of the game and Rush was never able to mount any kind of real
attack in the final 20 minutes. In the 60th minute, Emily nailed a ball from the right
sideline and Saige was there again to win the ball, turn her defender and attack
the goal. This time, she earned her hat-trick with a gentle ball on the ground to
the far post. The 4-1 lead was not going to be overcome and in the 77th minute,
Michaela stole the ball off of a defender and finished with a shot that nicked off
the far post and past the diving hands of the keeper. 5-1 was the final score and
the girls had finished their tournament run with a 24-4 goal count and a wellearned trophy.
The statistical leaders were Saige Feiner, the tournament MVP, with 4 assists
and 8 goals, Bayly Herman with 2 assists and 5 goals, Heidi Stauss with 5
assists and 3 goals, Allie Scheifele with 1 assist and 2 goals and Talia and
Michaela with 2 goals each.
This 6 game run was an excellent display of the technical, tactical and physical
dominance in all three areas of the field. The defenders and midfielders don’t get
the same glory as the goal scorers, but the whole team played beautifully from
start to finish, from side to side and from end to end. It was truly a team effort
and a great championship.
Congratulations to the girls for all their hard work and effort. The team will
represent both FC Boulder and Colorado at the Presidents Cup Regionals in
Boise, Idaho next June. Great job and good luck to the girls!
Roster:
Goalie: Kana Anderson
Defenders: Emiko Patterson, Sierra Szeto, Sydney Keenan, Sophie Brussell,
Erin Ludeman, Talia Busnardo and Maddie Bertrand
Midfielders: Emily Atwood, Sarah Sypher, Linn Kelley and Sophia Cornell
Forwards: Bayly Herman, Saige Feiner, Heidi Stauss, Allie Scheifele and
Michaela Nelsen
Coaches: Caleb Dickinson and Daniel Schewe
Full Presidents Cup Schedule:
Saturday, September 1st
U11B Elite (5) vs. Skyline (1) @ 1:30PM on field 1 (Stenger)
U13B Premier (1) vs. America (1) @ 1:30PM on field 3 (Stenger)
U15G Premier (3) vs. Storm North (1) @ 11:00AM on field 21 (Stenger)
U16G Premier (5) vs. Rapids (1) @ 1:00PM on field 17 (ASP)
Sunday, September 2nd
U11B Elite (3) vs. Broomfield (2) @ 3:00PM on field 2 (Stenger)
U13B Premier (2) vs. Trebol (2)@ 10:30AM on field 4 (Stenger)
U15G Premier (5) vs. United (0) @ 11:00AM on field 20 (Stenger)
U16G Premier (1) vs. Storm (1) @ 11:00PM on field 9
Monday, September 3rd
U11B Elite (3) vs. Real (1) @ 4:30PM on field 1 (Stenger)
U13B Premier (0) vs. Rush (3) @ 3:00PM on field 4 (Stenger)
U15G Premier (2) vs. Storm (0) @ 11:00AM on field 20 (Stenger)
U16G Premier (0) vs. Pride (2) @ 1:00PM on field 17 (Stenger)
Sunday, September 9th
Quarterfinals
U15G Premier (4) vs. Storm (1) @ 9:00AM on field 12 (Aurora Sports Park)
Sunday, September 16th
Semifinals
U11B Elite (0) vs. Storm (2)@ 9:00AM – field 13 (Aurora Sports Park)
U15G Premier (5) vs. Rapids (1) @ 3:00PM – field 15 (Aurora Sports Park)
Sunday, September 23rd
15G Premier (5) vs. Rush (1) @ 9:30AM – field 15 (Aurora Sports Park)