In the top youth soccer tournament in Southern California, the Southern Blues Soccer Club was able to accomplish three important goals. Number one, the high school junior and senior players on the U17 & U18 teams were able to demonstrate their wares to the hordes of college coaches who attend the tournament each season.
Two, all three of the older girls teams did very well in terms of results considering they only had four practices under their belts. The U18 reached the semifinals of the U19 Super Group, the U17 and U15 both reached the finals of the prestigious summer time classic.
Lastly, Blues coaches were able to better evaluate the performance of their teams and players under pressure conditions in order to see just where they stand in regards to achieving their team and individual goals.
Oh so close to reaching the finals of the Surf, maybe a matter of inches. The Blues started off group play with an uninspiring 1-1 tie vs HSA Eagles from Seattle as they gave up the tying goal with seconds remaining on the clock.
The Blues then picked up steam and seemed to improve with each game as they were able to knock off a strong Dallas Sting team 2-1 with goals by U20 National Pool player Heather Aldama and Jill Pearson, followed by a 2-1 victory over Utah's Devastation.
In the quarterfinals the Blues again came away with a 2-1 win, this time over the visiting Music City Lady Sting from Tennessee, getting them into the semifinals vs their long time nemesis, the Mission Viejo Shamrocks.
The semifinal match was tension filled as just a few months earlier the Shamrocks had ended the Blues season with a 3-1 semifinal state cup victory. The game started back and forth with both teams getting chances to score. With minutes to go in the first half the Shamrocks struck first on their patented long throw in to take a 1-0 lead as the ball dropped between three Blues defenders.
Things heated up in the second half as the Blues applied pressure and went for the equalizer. After several near misses, Blues forward Jill Pearson tied up the game and celebrated with a dance at midfield. The dance may have come too early though, as the defending state champ Shamrocks put a ball into the Blues penalty area that was poorly cleared and Mission Viejo was able to capitalize and hold on for the 2-1 win.
Except for a loss in the finals of last season's state championship the Blues U17 team has proved over the years it is one of the best teams in Southern California. Picking up where they left off the U17 team won all of it's group games. A 3-0 win over the LWYSA Thunder from Redmond Washington, A 1-0 win over the Wolfpack with a last second Elicia Petre goal, and an inspiring 2-1 win over the team which defeated the girls in the Regional Finals two years ago, the Aftershocks of Northern California.
The win over the Aftershocks gave the U17 team first place in their group and the chance to play WOCU Riptide, the team that beat them in the state cup finals a few months earlier. The game turned out to be a physical one with two Blues starters eventually having to leave the game with injuries. After finishing the game 0-0, the game would be decided by penalty kicks. Blues goalkeeper Erin Reagan came up big with two saves and got her hands on two more. Elicia Petre scored the winning kick for the Blues 4-3 PK win.
The semifinal game was perhaps the U17 team's best performance of the tournament as the girls defeated the Las Virgenes Blazers 5-0 with the help of two goals from midfielder Michelle Bannister. Defensive pressure in the attacking third was the key to several of the goals.
In the final game the Blues would once again match up with the Aftershocks. In what turned out to be an uneventful final the Blues outplayed the Shocks the first half with the help of a strong wind but were unable to capitalize. In the second half the tables were turned, however, as the Aftershocks applied pressure and scored a goal 15 minutes into the half. The Blues fought to the end but were not able to come up with the tying goal as the Aftershocks put in a second goal late in the game for a 2-0 championship win.
1996 Surf Cup Finalists! (Top L to R) Jessica Krause, Whitney Jones, Haley Kuhn, Elizabeth Link, Ebony Stone, Alex Richey, Rich Manning (Bottom L to R) Laurel Allen, Nicole Swanson, Nicki Arquilla, Sarah Banks, Ali Halpern, Emily Ernsdorf, Ashley Clift.
The Under 15 girls had to face the toughest of brackets in the Surf Cup. Having failed to qualify for second round play in last season's state cup, there was talk around Southern California that the team had seen it's best days. The girls sent a message they should not be overlooked this past weekend, as they opened up group play with a 1-1 tie over CSL rival Fram. Then they dispatched the Mustang Fury from Northern California 2-0 and Columbine from Colorado 3-0 for a first place finish in their group.
The quarterfinal game was against Rich Manning's favorite rivals the San Juan Spirits, and the U15 girls played an ugly game but managed a 2-0 win to get them into the semifinals vs the Claremont Stars.
The Stars, defending state champions in Southern California took an early 1-0 lead in the semifinal before Ebony Stone tied the game on a PK. The Stars went ahead once again in the first half on a corner kick for a 2-1 halftime lead. The second half saw the Blues take over the game after one of the Stars was red carded and Ashley Clift sent the game into overtime with a header off of a corner kick.
The winning goal was netted by U14 ODP player Ali Halpern from a quick passing combination sending the Blues into the finals with a 3-2 overtime win.
The Blues came up short in the final losing 1-0 to host team Surf. The goal came from a snafu in which Blues goalkeeper was called for handling the ball twice in her area, awarding the Surf an indirect free kick inside the box which they converted for the championship.
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