Sereno Soccer Club - '96 Golden Eagles (Girls): My Site News

The Sereno Carnival keeps getting better and this year was no exception.  The weather cooperated with sunny skies and mild temperatures, just right for having whipped cream pies hurled at your face.  The girls were great sports as this was all in the name of fund raising.  The coaches even got involved as both Sandy and Matt took many to the face from players who they probably made run many lines. 

The girls "manned" the booth for two hour shifts starting at 10:00a and ending the day at 4:00p.  Approximately 45 cans of whipped cream were used throughout the day.  In the end, the 96 Girls White Team raised money to be put towards their upcoming tournaments in both California and New Mexico.  Well done...!

Finally, it goes without saying that if it were not for the many parents who volunteered their time and efforts this event for the girls would not have happened.  Thank you everyone for making the booth such a success.

The girls are starting to ramp up for the competitive season that typically begins after Thanksgiving.  The team has had a number of friendly matches vs both Sereno 95 Girls White north & south and as always the Sereno 97 Boys White Team.  In that light, they will be playing against the 95 Girls side this Saturday at Crossed Arrows, kickoff is at noon.  Additionally, they have been playing up a year in the 95 bracket for each tournament in which they have participated. 

The following weekend, November 14-15, brings the Far West Regional teams into town.  The first round was a very successful one out in California where the girls won both matches vs SoCal Blues-Pearson and Real SoCal White 1-0 and 2-0 respectively.  The Golden Eagles will be facing two top ten teams, Mustang Fury and Arsenal FC, in the next round.  They will also face DeAnza Force in Saturday's afternoon game.

The game of the weekend will certainly be on Sunday vs Arsenal where the girls need to come back from their 1-0 loss to them last year at Cerritos.  We hope to see you on the sidelines for this great weekend of soccer.

It's never been an easy weekend of soccer for the girls.  And, once again, the Sereno Pro Classic proved to be a difficult run for the 96 Golden Eagle Girls.  Last years opening game was a loss against Neusport and this year it was MSC United Pinnacle.  The only difference was that the girls were playing up in the 95 age group as apposed to their own 96 group. 

From the opening whistle it was clear that the game was going to be difficult.  MSC came to play, and play hard.  They were able a sneak one in just before half and uncharactaristically, the girls were not able to find the back of the net for the remainder of the match.  They had their chances, but the MSC keeper seemed to always get in the way. 

That afternoon, the girls started to get their groove on versus the Angels from Texas.  That match ended with a 7-1 victory.  The best game of the weekend came the following day versus the Ladybugs who had drawn 0-0 with MSC the day before.  The girls came out strong  and scored one in each half ending the match with a 2-0 win.  Unfortunately that was not enough to move on into the championships and the girls had to settle for 3rd place. 

 Next up will be the Far West Regional matches being played here in Phoenix in mid-November.

We have a guest writer today.  One of our parents who volunteered at the camp wrote about her observations and experiences with the girls. 

"The overall experience of the id2 camp was great for both the girls and the parents. As a team parent I got to interact a lot with all 52 girls attending the camp during meals, hanging out in the hotel and on rides to the fields. Going in I was worried about the level of competitiveness between such an elite group; however they were all such nice girls to both each other and the parents. It was very exciting to see the girls play together and I was amazed at how easily they adjusted to each other. The game play looked like girls that had been playing together for some time, not just two days. The camp also included guest speakers, including the U-14 Girls’ National Development Program head coach (who also ran one of the training sessions),  a player from the 1996 Olympic Women’s team and National Hall of Famer and a current WPS player from the NJ Sky Blue team. At the end of training, each girl received a one-on-one evaluation from the Coaches. The camp was a wonderful experience for me as I’m sure it was for the girls. And we all got some great Nike products too! USClub Soccer will be hosting a  third id2 camp in February for the top identified players born in 1994, 1995 and 1996 for USSF National Team staff to observe. Hopefully our girls make the final cut. "

The ODP Pool selections have been made and the 96 Girls White Team is well represented.  Congratulations to the following girls who will be representing Arizona in both the 95 and 96 pools:

95s - Sydney, Nikki, Maddie, Kellie, Gabby, Kelsey and Olivia  

96s - Q, Alexa, Jorian & Amanda

Well Done!!!!!

From October 1-4, the top 150 players in the 96 age group will be gathering in New Jersey for the ID2 camp.  Three of our players have been identified and chosen to participate; Gabby, Jorian and Kellie.  They will be there for four days training with some of the top coaches in the country and having some fun as well. 

More importantly, they will be representing Sereno and Arizona at this age level.  This is a tremendous honor, and the soccer community is very proud of these girls.  We wish them the best of luck and a safe journey.

For more information on the camp, please click on the following link:  http://www.usclubsoccer.org/main.aspx?sec_id=16&guid=f264502d-c128-47d4-8cdb-f1426d0023eb

The girls were certainly ready for some competition this weekend as their last major games were last month in California for the Far West Regional bracket play.  Similar to the Patriots Cup last season, the girls were playing up a year in the 95 age group. 

Their noon game on Saturday pitted the team against an enthusiastic San Tan squad.  It didn't take much time before the ice was broken and Gabby netted her first of many goals during the game.  The match ended with an 8-0 victory for the Golden Eagles.  Their most difficult competition lie ahead as the host team, TSA 95 Red, were waiting.  TSA came out quickly and scored within the first seven minutes of the match.  In response, Jorian found the back of the net two times before the end of the half giving the girls a 2-1 lead.  The second half was hard fought, but we were wearing TSA down.  Gabby then fired a ball from the left side into the right netting for a final 3-1 victory. 

The next morning the girls faced Yuma, quickly taking them down 6-0.  As an aside, a number of girls were able to play different positions during this game giving them a feel for playing on anopther part of the pitch...a valuable experience.

This result pushed the team through to the championship game versus our own Sereno South 95 White Team.  The game was very well played and a battle throughout.  Each team had it's scoring opportunities, but did not capitalize.  At the end of regulation, the score stood at 0-0 forcing PKs to decide the match.  In the end, Sammy made "The Save" on a low hard shot to the corner giving the girls another championship medal for their growing collection. 

Yes, to be honest, some were a bit nervous heading into this first weekend of competition on the left coast.  Afterall, their schedule pitted the girls against two of the top teams in southern California, Real SoCal and the SoCal Blues.  Not to mention the fact that we have never played Real and have yet to beat the Blues head to head. 

Those fears however were put to rest as soon as the girls took the field against Real SoCal.  Though the game started a bit slowly, we soon found our stride and in the 7th minute Nikki found the back of the net on a beautifully struck ball from about 20 yards out.  Gabby then lofted a ball just over the keepers head about 15 minutes later ending the half with a 2-0 lead.  Real SoCal did not have an answer and could not convert in the 2nd half ending the game with a 2-0 victory...a great start!

 Sunday morning, 8a the girls kicked off against the Blues.  Though typically not a morning team, we pressured the ball from minute one through to the 70th minute.  The Blues had a very difficult time finding a flow.  We had an opportunity in the first half with Gabby deflecting a ball off the right post directly back into the keepers hands sending us into the 2nd half in a 0-0 tie.

Though we dominated, the ball did not find the net until the 70th minute.  With just seconds left on the clock, Nikki once again struck a beautiful ball up and over the keepers head for the win...and finally, the Blues go down. 

The girls next FWRL competition will take place here in Phoenix in November.  Stay tuned...