RSL Under-16’s Fall In Final
Posted By Nick Murray at Feb 18, 2008 at 08:43 PM
Updated Feb 18, 2008 at 09:38 PM



TAMPA - RSL Florida’s girls under-16 team managed to beat the first team it faced from the KCFC soccer club from Kansas City.

It couldn’t do the same to the second, as the KCFC Revolution scored once early and twice late to take a 3-0 win in the final of the Score at the Shore tournament at the Ed Radice Sports complex on Monday.

With a strong wind behind them in the first half, KCFC opened the scoring in the seventh minute as Haley Fournier scored on the rebound of her own header. Fournier had initially headed Emily Schultz’s free kick off the bar, but had the ball come back to get for a finish into the roof of the net for the first of her two goals.

Fournier’s goal was the only meaningful action of the first half, although KCFC continued to be dangerous from set pieces. With the wind making control of the ball difficult, KCFC’s physical style caused additional problems for the RSL midfield and forwards.

RSL came out more positively in the second half, with Jessica Giblin going close with a shot over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area. RSL created other opportunities to tie the game, Connor Zwetsch breaking in on goal after a flicked header by Amy Werdine put her through the defense, but KCFC goalkeeper Mary Warwick parried Zwetsch’s initial shot, and recovered to smother the second.

“If one of us could have finished the one the keeper saved, it would have been 1-1 and we wouldn’t have had to push all our people forward,” Werdine said. “[The game] definitely could have changed on that one.”

KCFC coach Richard Davies thought both saves were exceptional.

“She does that week in and week out,” Davies said. “She’s phenomenal.”

Ellen Moore also had a chance at an equalizer as her shot got past an advancing Warwick, only for defender Nikki Fontana to clear the ball off the line to safety.

KCFC put the game out of reach with three minutes to go. As RSL pushed extra players forward to try and tie the game, Fournier made a strong run down the left of the penalty area. Her shot rung off the crossbar, but Kate Beaver shot in on the rebound. Fournier added her second of the game just before the full time whistle with an angled header from a free kick by Ali Kimura.

Davies was pleased with the effort his team showed, especially on its set pieces.

“It was exciting for us,” Davies said. “We’ve been working on our delivery lately, and we’ve started to develop a little bit more of a hard-nosed attitude for getting in on the end of the ball.”

RSL had advanced to the tournament final with a 1-0 win against Team Boca on a goal by Zwetsch off a cross from the right by Jessica Jagielski in the seventh minute of the second half.

In an entertaining game, both sides had chances to take the lead, RSL’s Shelby Wright heading just wide from a corner and Boca’s Laura Weinberg having two chances well saved by Jordan Hatton in the RSL net. RSL did a better job controlling Weinberg in the second half, and took a comfortable win against a team they will face just under six weeks from now in the opening round of the Florida State Cup.

RSL coach Jim Cote thought the win over Boca and Island Harbor Beach Three Lions during the tournament would help the team’s confidence next month.

“WE had to play four teams that were within our state that are competitive teams for state cup,” Cote said. “And I was proud of us for a good win against Boca, this team’s never beaten Boca before.”

The Countryside Premier under-17 squad lost 4-3 in a shootout after playing Naperville to a 0-0 draw in its divisions semifinal. Ellie Vernon, Shelby Johnson, Kelly Bloomberg and Jess Kodiak each scored for Naperville, while Tifani Mullen, Ellycia Colon and Adrianna Garcia found the net for Countryside, but those were paired with misses by Alicia Naley and Thara Salam, which proved the difference.

Countryside had advanced with a shootout win on Sunday night, but were unable to recreate that for again

“It kind of humbles you,” Countryside coach John Planamenta said. “It was a great game, back and forth. That’s a great team, they have a lot of speed. I thought we had a couple of chances we could have finished, they had a couple of chances they could have finished, but the kind of game you want to play.”