Congratulations go out to the BLAST for becoming back-to-back State Champions!  The girls came out of the gates slowly by posting their poorest performance in recent memory and losing to the AZZ Excel 4-0.  Of course, missing Steffi, Stu, and Mandy for the game had alot to do with our poor performance.  The girls rebounded in game two to beat the PSC Blitz, 4-0, but lost Taylor in the process.  She took a hit from the Blitz Keeper which was followed immediately by a harder hit from the ground.  In a must-win game to start out Sunday's competition, the girls came out on top of the ELK Flash 2-0.  This victory set up a rematch with the AZZ Excel for the championship.  If our poor performance in game 1 did any good, it might have given the Excel the idea that the championship game was going to be easy for them ...  it wasn't!!!  Steffi opened up the scoring in the 2nd minute of the game with a long lofted shot.  The score remained the same until the 10th minute of the second half when the Excel pulled even.  They took the lead a few minutes later.  The score remained the same until midway though the second half  when Heather deposited a goal in the net.  We had multiple opportuniities to end the game in regulation, but this was the Excel and this was a State Championship game against them ... this wasn't going to end in regulation.  The first OT period provided opportunities, but no goals.  The second OT period was drawing to a close and we were making adjustments to the lineup to prepare for PK's when Steffi received a cross and made our preparations useless by netting a beautiful goal to seal the championship.  The girls played wonderfully this afternoon and should be proud of their accomplishment.  Stu did a stellar job at Center Midfielder replacing Taylor and Lex put in her usual outstanding performance in goal.  All of the girls stepped up and played their hearts out.  Well done!    

1st Row (L-R) Alicia Scarpello, Mandy Kuss, Alexis Heilig, Alexandra Pena, Shannon Brandriff 

2nd Row (L-R) Steffi Babbe, Elise Holdaway, Amy Lohaus, Jessica Stewart, Heather Penc, Macaela, Steinke, Alejandra Hernandez

3rd Row (L-R) Jenn Will, Abigail Ubbelohde, Sam Vollman, Michaela Alya, Jessica Prososki, Christa Manning

4th Row (L-R) Head Coach - Bob Brandriff, Assistant Head Coach - Phill Kuss

The BLAST got their U-15 Tournaments off and running by bringing home gold medals from the U-16 Bracket of the 19th Annual Yorkfest / Rosemary Stahr Tournament.  The girls had lost the previous two championshp games at this tournament.  The BLAST opened with a 2-0 victory against the Gretna Wyvern Saturday morning on goals by Heather Penc and Taylor Silva.  They then followed that up with a 3-1 victory over the Lincoln Spirit Shoccerz on goals by Abigail Ubbelohde, Christa Manning, and another from Heather Penc.  By the end of Day 1 the girls knew that they would play in the Championship Game.  Game 3 allowed us to give Stu a rest to nurse injuries and to allowed us to get girls out of their normal positions.   It also allowed Taylor to get some valuable experience as Keeper.  If there's such a thing as a "good loss' this was it.  This gave the Toro team a false confidence as they went into the finals.  Steffi Babbe opened the scoring midway through the first half of the Championship Game and followed that up with a direct goal off a corner kick in the second half.  This was the first-ever direct corner kick goal in our 7 outdoor seasons.  Alejandra Hernandez closed out the scoring on a beautiful cross by Alexandra Pena.

1st Row (L to R):  Lindsey Fiegenschuh, Alexis Heilig

2nd Row (L to R): Sam Vollman, Paige Stewart, Elise Holdaway, Taylor Silva, Mandy Kuss, Abi Ubbelohde

3rd Row (L to R):  Steffi Babbe, Jenn Will, Emily Engstrom, Brea Sabatke, Amy Lohaus, Shannon Brandriff, Christa Manning

4th Row (L to R):  Bob Brandriff, Phill Kuss

Congratulations to the Blast for showing their true character by coming home with the 2007 Toyota Classic Cup gold medals. The Blast got things going in game 1 of the round-robin with a 4-1 victory over the Azzurri Excel. The Blast closed out day 1 of the tourney with a 4-0 victory over the Lincoln Spirit Netbusters. Day two bought about a change in weather (50 degrees and 30 mph winds), but not a change in Blast fortunes. Day two opened up with a 2-0 victory over the Papillion Blitz. With this victory, the Blast closed out the round-robin with a 3-0 record and set them up for a rematch with the Azzurri Excel. The Excel changed their tact a bit in the championship game as they played more tactically and a bit less physically. Emily Engstrom opened up the scoring with a phenomenal shot from well outside the 18 to put the Blast up 1-0. The Excel responded with two quick goals and held the lead until only 1 minute remained in the game. A goal in the last minute of regulation by Christa Manning brought the Blast back to a 2-2 tie. Two ten-minute overtimes provided multiple opportunities for the Blast as they dominated play, but no goals. The girls showed what a remarkable group they are by going into their first-ever shootout final and emerging with a 3-2 victory in the 5-round format. PK's were scored by Taylor Silva, Paige Stewart, and Ricki Duffy. Lindsey Fiegenschuh made a fantastic save to preserve the 3-2 victory .

Pictured (L to R):  1st Row-Alexis Heilig and Lindsey Fiegenschuh; 2nd Row-Jenn Will, Paige Stewart, Taylor Silva, Mandy Kuss, Amy Lohaus; 3rd Row-Christa Manning, Sam Vollman, Elise Holdaway, Shannon Brandriff, Abi Ubbelohde; 4th Row-Kara Smiley, Ricki Duffy, Emily Engstrom, Brea Sabatka, Maranda Fisher; 5th Row-Bob Brandriff and Phill Kuss