ECNL: Light weekend but notable performances

By Jimmy LaRoue

She’s twelve years old and already Chaylyn Hubbard has her first Elite Clubs National League goal.

The Challenge SC player scored her first goal for the club’s Under-14 side in a 4-1 win over Texas Rush to open the ECNL season. Hubbard has been with the club since the 2010-11 season, starting out as a 10-year old and playing up on U-11 and U-12 teams before joining the U-14 ECNL team this season.

Besides Hubbard’s goal, Challenge SC got goals from Jazmin Grant, Riley Kaderli and Alyssa Malonson in the win.

Challenge SC’s U-17s, led by Giovanna Manisck’s two goals, defeated Texas Rush 5-1. In the U-18 matchup, two goals from national team pool player and Texas A&M commit Haley Pounds led Challenge SC to a 3-1 win over Texas Rush.

The two clubs’ U-15s tied 1-1, while Texas Rush won the U-16 matchup 1-0.

Elizabeth Ball had a strong match for the Richmond Strikers U-17s, scoring twice and setting up two more goals in a 5-0 win over Virginia Rush in the ECNL opener for both clubs. Virginia Rush took the U-14 and U-15 matches against Strikers in shutout wins, with Haley Young scoring twice for Virginia Rush’s U-14s, while Strikers U-16s, U-17s and U-18s turned the tables and pitched shutouts against Virginia Rush.

Dallas Sting’s U-16 coach Tatu told soccerwire.com after its ECNL championship loss to end the 2011-12 season that it would be back stronger than ever, and better for the experience. If the first game of the new season is an example, his team has made an emphatic statement, recording an 8-0 win over FC Dallas to open the season, with Mimi Asom recording a hat trick and Blair Thorpe adding two goals.

In a cross-town rivalry, Colorado Rush and Real Colorado split games, with each club winning twice. Real Colorado led 3-0 in the first half and won the U-14 game 4-2. In the U-15s, Real Colorado hit the post and missed a PK, and Rush went into halftime leading 1-0, but Real Colorado rallied for a 2-1 win. The two teams tied 1-1 in U-16 play, while Colorado Rush won the U-17 and U-18 games.

Here’s the results from the rest of ECNL play over the weekend:

• U-14

• U-15

• U-16

• U-17

• U-18