Two Sunrise Girls' teams win the Orange Classic
Plantation, Florida (December 30, 2008) - Both the 96/97 and the 98/99 girls
won the Orange Classic.
The 96/97 team won the Orange Classic for the third straight year. And, for
the third straight year, the girls went undefeated in the process. The
team's all-time Orange Classic record is now 13-0-0. The girls are getting
better as the season has progressed.
The 98/99 girls won their ninth
tournament in a row, winning the Orange Classic with a perfect 4-0 record.
In bracket play, the girls prevailed over Plantation Eagles, Indian River Lil Vipers, and Weston Fury.
The final match was an exciting,
fast-paced game against the talented and tough Lil Vipers. It was a
beautiful early morning, but at 8 a.m., the field and the ball were wet and
slippery, and it took the girls a little while to adjust to the conditions.
In the third minute of the game, Lil Vipers were awarded a free kick just
outside the penalty box, which sailed just over the crossbar. The game
remained scoreless until the second quarter, when it was the Sting’s turn to
take a free kick just outside the box, which they converted in the bottom
corner of the net, to take the 1-0 lead. There was not much time to
celebrate, as in the very next play, the Lil Vipers answered with a long
range shot lobbed over the Sting keeper. The Sting fought right back,
though, and in the next minute took the 2-1 lead with a beautiful cross and
perfect finish! The very next minute of play saw the Sting with another
free kick opportunity. The shot rebounded off the wall, and a Lil Vipers
pass was intercepted and chipped over the keeper into the top corner of the
goal, sending the Sting into halftime with a 3-1 lead. In the second half,
both teams came out fighting, with several shots each. But the Sting would
prevail, adding two more goals: a beautiful one-touch finish off of a
cross, and a strong far-post shot off a pass to the wing. The final score
was 5-1. The defense came up big throughout the entire tournament, but had
to work extremely hard against the Lil Vipers, both in bracket play and in
the final. The Sting defenders showed their speed and tenacity, cutting off
shots and closing out opportunities, and the Sting keeper made some truly
incredible saves. Congratulations to all the girls on a job well done!