It was certainly a day for the offense.
Every team scored in the four matches played in constantly
changing weather Wednesday morning at the US Youth Soccer ODP Girls Thanksgiving Interregional in Boca Raton, Fla.
Three matches ended 2-1 and the other finished 3-1. The
offensive production Wednesday was in contrast to the
defensive tone established the first two days of the event
when seven of nine matches ended in shutouts. Following two
days of hot weather, Wednesday’s action started in windy and
overcast conditions and proceeded through a rain shower
before becoming stifling hot, followed yet by a second rain
storm.
1987 Region I 3, 1987 Region II 1
Brittany Taylor demonstrated her breakaway finishing skills,
slotting a shot past the Region II keeper to ignite Region
I’s victory.
Taylor received a pass behind the Region II defense and only
had the keeper to beat after a 10-yard run. The Connecticut-
bound forward made no mistake, completing the play.
Ashley Myers and Elisabeth Redmond followed with goals as
Region I built 3-0 lead.
“We played a 3-5-2 and we have great flank play so we wanted
to spread out and take advantage of them to get the forwards
through,” Region I coach Tom Hayes said. “It really worked
well.”
Region I’s trio of backs Caroline Walden, Vanessa Patry and
Sarah Senty locked down Region II’s powerful offense.
Elizabeth Eng scored in the second half as Region II was
able to avoid the shutout.
“Defensively, we did OK. They had four dangerous
opportunities and three of them were the exact same thing
where we got caught flat and took their finishes well,”
Region II coach Woody Sherwood said.
1988 Region 1 2, 1988 Region III 1
Region I posted a painful win over Region III.
Trailing 1-0 midway through the second half, Region I earned
a penalty kick when Meghan Klingenberg was taken down in the
box. She sustained a broken right wrist, according to the
trainer, on the play.
Kelly Eagan finished the penalty kick, and just a matter of
minutes later Rebecca Edwards made a nice turn on a failed
clearance and delivered the game-winning score.
“To be honest, I thought we deserved it the whole game
long,” Region I coach John Daly said of the result.
Midfielder Carolyn Blank, defender Lauren Ebert and forward
Gina DiMartino showed well.
Lindsay Lum finished a well-played thru-ball from Allyson
Sadow to give Region III a 1-0 lead in the first half.
“We came out of the half in good position, being 1-0 up,”
said Region III coach Derek Leader. “But in the second half
everything changed and 15 minutes into the half they push
numbers and we were struggling. The penalty changed the
game. … Two goals in that short of time. I think they just
wanted it more than us.”
Kendall Campise, Amanda Carreno, Kaley Fountain and Gabby
Rivera played well for Region III.
U.S. Under-16 2, 1987 Region IV 1
Not to be outdone by the under-16 national team players,
Region IV’s Ameera Abdullah, an under-17 national team
player, netted a brilliant, left-footed far post goal, yet
it was the only offense her team could muster.
The under-16s took a 2-0 lead before Abdullah’s strike.
“The intent was to get it far post,” said Abdullah, who was
playing on the left side before taking it upon herself to
move to the right side of the field where she created the
chance. “It was sort of under me so I had to chip it up a
little bit.”
“That was a great goal,” Region IV coach Tara Erickson
said. “She created that herself and made it a perfect
chance.”
Forwards Kristina Loucks, Maryhelen Tomer, Kelly Isleib and
midfielder Ashley Nick played well for Region IV.
1988 Region IV 2, 1988 Region II 1
Kendra Chandhoke capped a high-scoring first half, lifting
Region IV to a 2-1 lead that held up through the second half.
Region II had a flurry of chances at the end of the match,
but could not convert.
“Both teams had their chances,” Region II coach Mike
Moynihan said. “They finished theirs and we didn’t. … We
were good in spurts, again. We had all those chances in the
end where we could have equalized.”
Region II’s Annie Yi scored on an assist from Katya Hessel
to knot the game at 1.
Kelly Menachof scored early to give Region IV a 1-0 lead.
Third Day Standings:
1987
Team: Record, Points, GF-GA
Region I: 1-0-1, 4, 3-1
U.S. Under-16: 1-0-1, 4, 2-1
Region II: 1-1, 3, 9-3
Region III: 1-0, 3, 2-1
Region IV: 0-2, 0, 2-4
Scotland: 0-1, 0, 0-8
1988
Team: Record, Points, GF-GA
Region I: 1-0
Region IV: 1-0
Region II: 0-1
Region III: 0-1
1989
Team: Record, Points, GF-GA
Region IV: 1-0, 3, 1-0
Region II: 0-0-1, 1, 2-2
Region III: 0-0-1, 1, 2-2
Region I: 0-1, 0, 0-1
1990
Team: Record, Points, GF-GA
Region III: 1-0, 3, 2-0
Region IV: 1-0, 3, 1-0
Region I: 0-1, 0, 0-1
Region II: 0-1, 0, 0-2