LFSA U13 Girls Select Makes Final at Prestigious Arizona Tournament
The LFSA U13 Girls Select Team lost 1-0 to AZ Arsenal Team, the top-ranked U13 girls team in the country, in the finals of the SC Del Sol PDT Tournament in Phoenix, AZ over Presidents’ Day weekend. The team competed in the Red, or highest, division which attracted some of the top U13 teams in the nation.
The Scouts, who due to injuries, only had 14 girls travel to the tournament but still went 2-0-1 in preliminary pool play. In their first game, Saturday, the team tied Rush Soccer-SPI, the national tournament team of the 35-club Rush Soccer, 1-1 on a goal by Malori Killoren.
On Sunday, the girls first defeated Crossfire Premier (WA) 2-1, with Killoren tallying both goals, with assists from Ingrid Falls, Halle Douglass and Callista O’Connor. Four hours later, the squad downed the current Arizona State Champion, SC Del Sol, 2-0 on goals by Julia Loeger and Ingrid Falls and a shut out posted by Sophia Divagno.
The injury bug continued to bite the Scouts, who lost two more starters for Monday’s championship game versus #1 Arsenal. Arsenal scored the game’s only goal in the first half on a corner kick set play, and with only one sub available, the short-handed Scouts were unable to come up with the equalizer.
All-in-all, Coach Otkay Akgun was very pleased with the effort put forth by the team, especially that of his defense and holding mids: Quinn Sokol, Nicole Doucette, Paige Copeland, Emily Paton, Alyssa Marquis, Emma Manolovic, Sarah Bires and Anya Kavanagh who held some of the nation’s top forwards in check over the weekend, and now he will focus preparation for the upcoming spring schedule, which includes participation in the top Midwestern U13 girls league and defense of its IL State Championship.
