News

CUFC Teams Find Success in Florida Holiday Tournament!

Date Posted: 1/5/2010

The U15 and U17 Gold Girls teams spent part of the holiday season participating in the prestigious Orange Classic in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The girls played some great soccer while also enjoying a few days in the Florida sun!

The U15 Girls advanced all the way to the Championship game with some stellar performances including a Penalty Kick Shootout win in the Semi-Finals. The girls moved on out of group play as the wild card with a last second 2-1 win over the Cincinnati Crew (OH), a convincing 5-0 win over Vaughan Soccer Club (Canada), and a heartbreaking last minute 1-0 loss to the Clearwater Chargers (FL). In the knockout phase, the girls won a dramatic semi-final game over the Wellington Wave (FL). After being knotted at 1-1 after regulation, the girls moved on to the Championship going through 8 rounds of suspenseful penalty kicks. The Championship went in favor of Tophat Soccer Club (GA). Despite coming up short in the Final, Coach Grant Porter had this to say, “I am extremely proud of the way the girls played this week. The girls played for each other and battled for each other. For that, they were rewarded with some fun, dramatic wins while playing good soccer. With the beach close by, the girls had a great time both on and off the field making it a memorable week!”

U15 Girls in Florida

The u17 Girls also found some success during their time in Florida. Unlike the u15 tournament format bracket, the 17’s were in the college showcase bracket that guaranteed four games to display their skills in front of the college coaches. With college coaches in attendance from all over the Southeast Region, the girls performed admirably well. In four games, the 17 Gold Girls came away with a 1-0 win over FC Dynamo (IN), a 2-1 win over Andromeda (TX), a 6-0 win over Jersey Dynamo (NJ), and tough 2-1 loss to Charleston Futbol Club (WV). Coach Grant Porter stated, “These girls played four tough games with only one sub available. No excuses were made. Instead, they played some great soccer that saw many college coaches watching our games. They represented CUFC in a great way. They still found some time to play some beach volleyball as well!”

Congrats to both groups on a successful week in Florida!