Congratulations to the U17 Girls-White squad who are the 2013 Big Sun Showcase Tournament Champions!  Coached by BJ Fletcher and Clive Jordan, the girls traveled to Ocala on Mother’s Day weekend, May 11-12, 2013.  Their Saturday morning match was against a South Orlando team that saw the girls crisply execute a sound strategy, winning 9-0, and they continued that march in their second match against a Callahan team, winning 7-1.  The Championship match on Sunday however, was far more challenging and “perhaps the most intense and thrilling Finals match” most soccer spectators had ever seen.  The girls were tied 2-2 at full-time with an impressive, unrelenting host Ocala team.  A draw after two 5-minute overtime halves necessitated the championship match to be decided by penalty kicks.  Nail-biting shot after nail-biting shot, the early morning became a high-noon standoff.  As the girls found the back of the net several times and along with the saves from Eagles’ keeper Marissa Weidner’s elastic arms and cat-like reflexes, the girls went through two full rounds of PKs plus one before finally claiming the tournament championship!  It was a great weekend and both coaches would like to give a special thanks to the parents for all their support.

Congratulations to our State Cup teams on their results this weekend.  The U16 Girls team coached by Brett Rountree finished 2nd in their group with 2 wins and one loss and will move on to the next round in mid-April.  The U15 Boys team coached by Ashley Martin also finished 2nd in their group with an identical 2-0-1 record and will move on as well.  Terry Peak and the U17 girls will have to wait a bit longer as they are currently tied for 2nd position in their group, narrowly losing to the defending State Cup champions before coming back to win their second game by a score of 6-0.  Their final game was rained out and will be rescheduled at a later date, and hopefully the girls can come out on top to make Westside 3-for-3 in State Cup competition.  Congratulations to all of the players and coaches, you have done a great job representing Westside Soccer Club at State Cup!