Keep up with all the action at the Elite Club National League’s fourth of five national showcase events of the 2011/12 season. This time, 154 teams match up on the expansive and impressive San Diego Polo Club fields.
Our Jimmy LaRoue is on-site in that fantastic SoCal city with that perfect climate for all the action. Stay tuned here for regular updates from the ground. But to see all our coverage, as well as a live Twitter feed from @TheECNL, bookmark our ECNL Home Page.
Enjoy the games if you’re there. Enjoy the coverage here if not. And feel free to comment below on anything regarding ECNL.
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San Diego, Mon. April 2, 2 p.m. PST–San Diego Surf did indeed have its U-15 and U-16 teams finish with nine-point weekends, as the U-16s scored a 5-1 win over Freestate Soccer Alliance, a game in which Imani Dorsey went down on a harsh challenge and suffered an injury to her right leg.
In U-17 play, Bethesda SC, after falling 1-0 Saturday to Surf and tying 1-1 with So Cal Blues Sunday, put together its most complete performance in a 2-0 shutout of National Flight A second place side Mustang SC.
“It was good to get a result,” said Bethesda coach Jonathan Morgan.
He felt his team deserved a tie in its opening loss against Surf, saying Bethesda had the better of play but gave up a questionable penalty kick at the end of the match.
Morgan credited a tactical shift for aiding in the win.
“One of the things that this team has historically done against us is to try and play a super high line,” Morgan said. “And we’re a team that likes to knock it around and try and possess it and swing it side to side. What I asked the girls is when you recognize that that line steps, let’s play diagonal balls behind them, let people run on them and do what we do best up top, which is go one-v-one.
On both Bethesda goals, that’s exactly what played out.
Allie Grossman recognized Mustang’s high line, sending a ball wide for Tyler Lussi, who finished to put Bethesda up 1-0 in the first half.
Bethesda’s second half goal played out in a similar manner, with Jordan Coburn playing the ball for Cortney O’Connell, who one-timed a shot from 16 yards to extend its lead.
Mustang put pressure on, but Bethesda’s back line held resolute against Mustang’s shift to a 4-2-4. Bethesda itself recognized the shift and played five on the back line to hold firm for the finish.
Bethesda played the match without standout Andi Sullivan, who was at U-17 national team camp.
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