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Monday, July 24
CLICK ON GRAPHIC FOR SCORE AT THE SHORE RESULTS
Click on the Graphic for this tournament (above) to view the most recent results online.
SANTOS 2006 SCORE AT THE SHORE RESULTS:
Santos 3, Medford Strikers X-Treme (NJ State Semifinalist) 0
Santos 1, Greensboro Twisters Green (NC 5th place) 1
Santos 2, East Meadow Dynamite (NY-E State Finalist) 2
SANTOS PLACED #19 of 48 IN GROUP PLAY, ADVANCED TO WHITE GROUP ROUND OF 16 AS THE #3 SEED
(Round of 16) Santos 2, Baltimore Bays 89/90 (MD) 0
(Quarterfinal) Santos 2, Richmond Strikers Orange (VA State Quarterfinalist) 0
(Semifinal) Santos 2, FC Texas 90 Blue 1
(Final) KUFC Tempest (IL) 0, Santos 0 (KUFC won 4-3 on PK's)
Below are the teams playing in the Score at the Shore Showcase, along with their performance (when known) in their most recent State Cup and/or Regional Tournaments.
Tuesday, July 25
SANTOS FALLS TO KUFC TEMPEST (CHICAGO) IN WHITE GROUP FINAL ON PK'S
After a scoreless 60 minutes with no overtime and a very dangerous storm cell looming to the West, Santos finally ended its solid run at Score at the Shore with a 0-0 draw, but losing 4-3 on PK's to KUFC Tempest out of Chicago, Illinois.
We learned that if a team wants a lot of soccer against consistently strong competition, this is the tournament to enter.
Santos played 7 games in 66 hours with only 12 field players, finishing 4 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw with 4 shutouts, 12 goals scored and only 4 goals allowed.
We are inspired by the endurance and consistency of our short roster and look forward to playing tournaments with our full squad as soon as possible.
Tuesday, July 25
SANTOS BEATS FC TEXAS 90 2-1 TO EARN SPOT IN SCORE AT THE SHORE FINAL
Santos took its Score at the Shore record to 4-0-2 with a 2-1 Semifinal win over FC Texas 90 to claim a spot in this afternoon's Final at 12:30 pm. This will be Santos' seventh game in less than 72 hours.
Monday, July 24
SANTOS REACHES SCORE AT THE SHORE SEMIFINALS WITH 2-0 SHUTOUT OF RICHMOND STRIKERS ORANGE
Playing its 5th match in less than 48 hours, MRFC Santos rode the broad shoulders of midfielder/striker Alix Michael and solid defense, shocking an extremely talented and fit Richmond Strikers Orange side, 2-0. The win insures Santos a berth in a Semifinal game against FC Texas 90 on Tuesday morning at 8:00 am. FC Texas was a Quarterfinalist in the North Texas State Cup.
In this afternoon's contest, played in hot sun and good 'ol Southern humidity, the Richmond side controlled play for most of the 80 minutes, building from the back and attacking effectively, but with about 12 minutes left, Jenna Samora found a streaking Alix Michael down the middle, Alix calmly adjusted the ball and fired one past the keeper on the short side. For the next 5 minutes, Santos became the aggressor and Richmond began to stress. Alix again found herself with the ball and she moved quickly down the middle, this time bending the ball smartly around the keeper for a well-timed insurance goal. Then it was "hang-on" time as Richmond earned a flurry of corners and throw-in's deep in the Santos end. When it was over, Santos players were complimented by Southern California teams Wolfpack Blue and CRSC Infinity, who were playing their own Quarterfinal on the same field after the Santos match. Infinity had barely defeated Richmond 2-1 in Group play. The Wolfpack parents and coach said that they felt both Santos and Richmond were stronger teams than any they had played through their Round of 16 match.
Monday, July 24
SANTOS SHUTS OUT BALTIMORE BAYS 2-0 TO REACH QUARTERFINAL
Santos proved the stronger team in this marathon tournament by shutting out a scrappy Baltimore Bays team 2-0 on Monday morning at 9:30. Santos advances to the Quarterfinal to face Virginia State Quarterfinalist Richmond Strikers Orange in a 3:45 pm game.
Monday, July 24
SANTOS ADVANCES TO ROUND OF 16 AFTER 2-2 DRAW WITH EAST MEADOW DYNAMITE
Santos fought stifling heat and a very physical East Meadow Dynamite (New York East State Finalist) on Sunday evening, earning a 2-2 draw in a game that could easily have gone either way.
East Meadow got up quickly 1-0. Santos answered with a beautiful breakaway by Serena Tomaso, who fooled the keeper and dribbled the ball into the net. Serena performed an identical magic trick moments later and watched the keeper stumble and fall, only to drive the ball into an alert defender's body in front of the goal. KT added another successful penalty kick to put Santos up 2-1 after Jenna Samora was fouled in the box. Santos held the lead until East Meadow made a final push with 5 minutes remaining and tied the game on a beautiful run from the back by a defender who drove the ball home with authority. The draw left Santos with 5 points and East Meadow with 7. East Meadow advanced to the top Round of 16 and Santos advanced to the 2nd Round of 16 as the #3 Seed.
Sunday, July 23
SANTOS DOMINATES PLAY BUT DRAWS 1-1 WITH GREENSBORO
Jet lag and a lack of subs finally caught up with Santos in its second game as the Greensboro Twisters fought back to earn a 1-1 draw in Sunday's 8:00 am game.
Santos scored about 15 minutes in when a perfect ball from the back was flicked perfectly by Kirsten to a sprinting Serena Tomaso who completed the counter-attack by easily beating the center back and keeper and calmly passing the ball into the near-post corner.
Santos dominated the first 50 and the last 10 minutes of the game, crossing ball after ball, but could not finish. Keeper Marie Burn posted a clean sheet over the first half with Santos enjoying a 70/30 advantage in possession. For the game, the split was probably more like 65/35, with the Twisters making a concentrated effort over the middle portion of the second half, ultimately resulting in their goal. Greensboro appeared well-organized, possessing the ball and attacking in spurts, but Santos' defense stiffened as needed and allowed the Twisters only two total shots on goal. The Twisters' best opportunity was stuffed by keeper Danielle Remick when she aggressively came out and won a 1v1 with the quickest Greensboro forward by deflecting away a hard shot.
Field conditions also played a part after the original Bryan Park field was declared unplayable while the teams were warming up. Both teams were instructed to move 20 minutes away (ironically) to within 6 blocks of the Santos hotel, where the teams played on a field turf pitch measuring roughly 125x45 that is also the home training field for the Greensboro team. In the second half, forced to place players in unfamiliar positions to give weary back players a rest on the long field, a miscommunication between outside back and keeper resulted in a scuffle for the ball near the edge of the 18 yard box near the end line. The Greensboro player separated the ball from Danielle's hands, (!) then crossed the ball to a teammate in front of the goal, where she put the ball away to even the game.
Santos gradually regained control, and for the final 5 minutes pummeled the Greensboro 6-yard area with crosses and shots. None found the mark, and time expired.
Santos will play its final Group J game at 3:30 this afternoon against the East Meadow (NY) Dynamite a New York East State Cup Semifinalist. The Dynamite should be fresh, as they played Saturday morning and had their Saturday evening game shortened to one half by lightning. With a win, Santos can claim first in its group and insure advancement into the "Sweet 16" for a single elimination mini-tournament. A loss or a draw will place Santos into one of two 16-team consolation brackets using the same single-elimination format. Score uses this format to compensate for its "random" seeding. If two or three strong teams end up in the same initial bracket, a second place team can claim one of the four "wildcards" in the Sweet 16 by earning one of four "best 2nd place points." Teams can play 6 games over the four-day showcase if they keep winning. This morning's game was viewed by four or five college coaches.
Saturday, July 22
SANTOS OVERCOMES "CONDITIONS," POSTS A 3-0 SHUTOUT IN SCORE AT THE SHORE OPENER
It was only fitting that a severe thunderstorm struck 3 minutes before the end of Santos' first match at the Score at the Shore. The referee explained prior to the game that after the first half was complete, the game could be stopped at the referee's discretion because of weather. The 3 minutes turned out to be insignificant, as Santos jumped on New Jersey State Semifinalist Medford Strikers XTreme with two goals in the first 15 minutes and cruised to a 3-0 victory. Four or five college coaches watched as the New Jersey team managed only two shots on goal, one on a direct kick, compared with over a dozen by Santos.
Following their 30-hour travel nightmare, players had gotten only 2-3 hours of sleep (in beds) by this afternoon before heading to Bryan Park, one of the most beautiful soccer complexes in the Eastern U.S. Playing without Holland Crook, the team's leading scorer, who is recovering from a stress fracture, Nicole Peterson, who plays stopper and is a goal-scoring threat on set plays, and Gabby Levandowski, who missed this tournament due to a family commitment, Santos [and its two subs] played intense and confident soccer, winning balls early on the ground and in the air.
Santos' first Saturday game was rescheduled for 8:00 am Sunday morning against the Greensboro Twisters, a team that missed the North Carolina State Semifinals by one point on a tiebreaker. Santos will then play East Meadow Dynamite, a New York East State Semifinalist, on Sunday at 3:30 pm (local time).
SCORING SUMMARY:
Jenna Samora scored the first goal on a 20-yard arcing shot that dove over the keeper's hands and just under the crossbar.
Minutes later, Alix Michael beat her mark deep into the box near the end line and crossed a perfect ball on the floor to Amber Drumm, who redirected the ball sharply into the near-post net.
In the second half, Alix was fouled in the box and Kaitlyn (KT) Keyes easily placed the penalty kick past the keeper to put the game away.
Friday, July 21
SANTOS... "LOST IN TRANSPORTATION"
 |  | | Deluxe accommodations in Tampa | |
A funny thing happened on the way to the Score...
Santos joined a large number of other teams stranded at Chicago's O'Hare Airport as they traveled to the Score at the Shore in Greensboro, North Carolina on Friday, July 21st. Seattle to Chicago--no problem. Chicago to Greensboro--no flight.
Told initially that their only option was to fly out of Chicago on Saturday afternoon and arrive AFTER their first two games are scheduled to be played, Mike "the Travel Guy" would not accept defeat, and as of Friday evening, half the team is listed on stand-by for a 6:45 pm flight and the other half is listed on stand-by for a 9:00 pm flight, both to Greensboro. "Stand by" was never more accurate, as Santos players and chaperones watched departure times fall off the board, replaced by further delays. A team of Santos 'guardian angels,' led by Mike the Magician, worked from Chicago and back in Washington to find a way to get the team to its biggest tournament ever.
CHAPTER 2
Santos flew into Tampa, Florida, arriving around 1:30 Saturday morning. After lying on the floor for a couple of hours, Santos was put on two flights, about an hour apart, to Charlotte, North Carolina, still 90 minutes from their final destination. As fate would have it, three parents [with horror stories of their own when you have time] who had made it to Greensboro, drove vans 85 miles and collected the players, coach and manager from their flights. After only two or three hours of "quality sleep" in REAL beds, the players got 5:00 p.m. wake-up calls and headed off to face their first opponent.
Santos wishes to thank the entire tournament staff of Score, especially Tournament Director Bill Cameron, who bent over backwards to adjust schedules and provide the best chance that all games will be played, barring another natural disaster.
Santos' first Saturday game was rescheduled to Sunday morning at 8:00 am.
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