Girls Development Academy East Conference Recap: Sept. 22-23

The action picked up in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Girls Eastern Conference over the weekend.

U-15

In the Atlantic Division, FC Virginia (3-0-0, 9 points) remain at the top of the table after their 5-0 win over FC Albertson Fury (0-4-1, 1 point). Through their first three matches, FC Virginia have found success through a balanced attack with multiple players showing off their scoring prowess. That continued on Saturday with midfielders Avery Chapel (21’), Madison Moon (28’) and Courtney Anderson (70’), defender Abigail Fisher (80’) and Ava Galligan (79’) all scoring for the visitors. Goalkeeper Alexa Gianoplus notched her second consecutive clean sheet behind the FCV back line.

Washington Spirit Academy – MD (3-1-0, 9 points) walked away from the weekend with six points, retaining the second spot in the Atlantic Division. On Saturday, the Spirit-MD defeated New York City FC (3-2-0, 9 points) 1-0. Cate Shepherd scored Washington’s lone goal with her strike in the 30th minute.

Shephard followed Saturday’s game-winning effort with an equally impressive performance on Sunday, netting a hat trick in her club’s 6-2 win over Sky Blue-NYSC (2-3-0, 6 points). Her goals came in the 46th, 60th, and 76th minutes pushing her season total to six on the season. Additional Spirit-MD goals were scored by Hoi Ching Luk (14’), Rachel Song (19’) and Dani Todd (78’). Sky Blue’s goals came from defender Jessica Turner (20’) and forward Andrea Flores (43’).

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NYSC didn’t leave the weekend empty-handed as they defeated Washington Spirit Academy-Virginia (0-3-0, 0 points) 3-1. Midfielder Ashley Reyes scored in the tenth minute to give NYSC the early 1-0 advantage. Sky Blue continued to pressure the Spirit attack, getting two more quick goals from Flores (13’ and 16’) to push the lead to three. While the Spirit did get one back in the form of a goal from Jenna Frelich, credit to NYSC’s defense for locking down the result in the second half. Defenders Lilly Mandel-Mueller, Aoife O’Reilly and Jessica Bowman each played the full 80 minutes in the victory.

In the Southeast, Charlotte Soccer Academy (4-0-0, 12 points) retained the top spot with two impressive wins over the weekend. On Saturday, CSA downed South Florida Football Academy (0-3-0, 0 points) 8-1. Goals were scored by Kennedy Bell (3’ and 57’), Chloe Ausburn (13’), Lydia Lucas (18’), Elena Foley (52’), Caroline Palmer (67’) and Summer Bowman (71’ and 80’). South Florida’s lone game came from Madison Gatto in the 69th minute.

Charlotte followed Saturday’s strong result with an equally impressive effort on Sunday, defeating Weston FC 9-1. Carly Montgomery (4’, 30’, 49’, and 52’) scored four goals for CSA to lead her side on the day, followed closely with a hat trick from Bell (5’, 14’, and 24’). Ausburn (67’) and Jeanette Fieldsend (60’) each added a goal for Charlotte, adding to the club’s 28 goals through four matches. Bell currently leads all scorers in the U-15 age bracket with 12. Weston’s goal came from a Isabella Lariu strike in the 11th minute.

RESULTS

Atlantic and Northeast
FC Albertson Fury 0 : FC Virginia 5 (09/22)
Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth 0 : Oakwood Soccer Club 0 (09/22)
PA Classics 4 : Seacoast United 2 (09/22)
Penn Fusion Soccer Academy 1 : NEFC 2 (09/22)
FC Fury NY 1: Arlington Soccer Association 2 (09/22)
Sky Blue-NYSC 3 : Washington Spirit Academy-Virginia 1 (09/22)
New York City FC 0 : Washington Spirit Academy-Maryland 1 (09/22)
FC Albertson Fury 0 : Arlington Soccer Association 3 (09/23)
FC Fury NY : FC Virginia (09/23)
Penn Fusion Soccer Academy 4 : Seacoast United 0 (09/23)
PA Classics 1 : NEFC 3 (09/23)
Sky Blue-NYSC 2 : Washington Spirit Academy-Maryland 6 (09/23)
New York City FC 4 : Washington Spirit Academy-Virginia 1 (09/23)

Southeast
Charlotte Soccer Academy 8 : South Florida Football Academy 1 (09/22)
NC Courage 2 : Weston FC 1 (09/22)
Tophat 2 : United Futbol Academy 1 (09/22)
United Soccer Alliance 4 : West Florida Flames 2 (09/22)
Charlotte Soccer Academy 9 : Weston FC 1 (09/23)
NC Courage 8: South Florida Football Academy 0 (09/23)

U-16/U-17

In the Atlantic Division, Penn Fusion Soccer Academy (3-0-0, 9 points) retained the top spot with two strong wins over the weekend. On Saturday, PFSA put five past NEFC (2-1-2, 8 points) en route to earning the 5-1 win. Emma Pelkowski (4’ and 79’), Taylor Kauffman (34’), Brianna Moore (82’), and Raine Korpics (90’) all scored for Penn Fusion while NEFC received a goal from Elizabeth Rappole in the 38th minute.

Penn equaled their scoring haul from Saturday in their next match, a 5-0 win over Seacoast United (1-3-1, 4 points). Kauffman (26’), Lindsey Aiken (6’), Chloe Adler (9’ and 14’), and Claire Pinnie (80’) all scored for Penn. Goalkeepers Audrey Brown (44 minutes) and Mia Reed (46 minutes) combined to help the home side earn their second clean sheet of the 2018-2019 season.

FC Virginia (4-0-0, 12 points) faced a tough task against FC Fury NY but ultimately proved to be up for the challenge, earning the 2-1 win. The Fury took the lead early in the second half with Alexander Rush putting her side ahead with her goal in the 47th minute. But Virginia continued to press the Fury defense and in the 77th they were rewarded with Kaylah Gankiewicz netting the equalizer. They earned the game-winner in the 90th minute with Audrey Cowden scoring her first goal of the season.

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Virginia’s come-from-behind win on Sunday gave them a perfect weekend after they defeated FC Albertson Fury 4-0. Brooke Potter’s brace in the first half (30’ and 45’) put her side ahead. In the second half, Reese Borden (65’) and Allison Embroski (85’) each added an insurance goal to put the game out of reach. Goalkeeper Nadia Stupec (45 minutes) and Gwenyth Holt (45 minutes) split a shift between the posts and helped their side earn their second shutout of the season.

Sky Blue-NYSC (4-0-1, 13 points) held on to the first spot in the Northeast Division with an 8-1 win over Washington Spirit Academy-MD (0-3-0, 0 points) on Sunday. NYSC leaped out to a 4-0 lead in the first half with goals from forwards Erin Hogan (9’ and 15’) and Teresa Deda (23’), and midfielder Erica Petrie (13’). In the second half, NYSC forward Francesca Highton put the game well out of reach, scoring four times (64’, 69’, 82’, and 88’) to give her side their highest single game goal total of the season.

New York City FC stayed in second in the Northeast after a pair of wins over the two Spirit Academy sides on the weekend. On Saturday, they blanked Spirit Academy-MD 6-0 with goals from Madeline Pirrello (1’ and 5’), Bella Sember (30’ and 33’), Kelly Monaco (75’) and Ashley Blaka (80’). They followed that with another dominant effort, defeating Spirit Academy-VA (0-3-0, 0 points) 4-0. Pirello (7’) and Sember (14’, 28’, and 62’) were on point once again for NYCFC, scoring all four of their sides goals. They pulled off two shutouts over the weekend thanks in part due to the defensive efforts of Cate Woolsey and Shannon McGovern, each of whom played 180 minutes in the two games.

In the Southeast Division, Tophat (3-0-0, 9 points) moved to the top of the table with a 6-1 win over United Futbol Academy (2-2-0, 6 points). Amber Nguyen (31’ and 82’) and Danielle Lewin (60’ and 80’) led all scorers with two goals apiece. Individual goals from Tophat were scored by Simi Awujo (44’) and Arianna Manrique (80’) while UFA’s goal came from Jolie St Louis in the 43rd minute.

Charlotte Soccer Academy pulled off all six points on the weekend, outscoring their opponents 4-0 in two matches. On Saturday, they defeated South Florida Football Academy (1-2-0, 3 points) 1-0 with the lone goal coming from Emily Morris in the 28th minute. They followed Saturday’s positive result with a 4-0 win over Weston FC (0-3-1, 1 point) on Sunday with Ayden Yates scoring her first two goals of the season in the 53rd and 59th minute, respectively. Maria Manousos provided CSA with their second goal of the match in the 56th minute. While CSA received goals from multiple different players over the weekend there was one constant between the posts: goalkeeper Abigale Rose, who started in both matches and earned two clean sheets.

RESULTS

Atlantic and Northeast
FC Albertson Fury 0 : FC Virginia 4 (09/22)
Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth 1 : Oakwood Soccer Club 5 (09/22)
PA Classics 2 : Seacoast United 2 (09/22)
Penn Fusion Soccer Academy 5 : NEFC 1 (09/22)
Sky Blue-NYSC 4 : Washington Spirit Academy-Virginia 1 (09/22)
New York City FC 6 : Washington Spirit Academy-Maryland 0 (09/22)
FC Fury NY 1 : FC Virginia 2 (09/23)
Penn Fusion Soccer Academy 5 : Seacoast United 0 (09/23)
PA Classics 2 : NEFC 2 (09/23)
Sky Blue-NYSC 8 : Washington Spirit Academy-Maryland 1 (09/23)
New York City FC 4 : Washington Spirit Academy-Virginia 0 (09/23)

Southeast
Charlotte Soccer Academy 1: South Florida Football Academy 0(09/22)
NC Courage 7 : Weston FC 0 (09/22)
Tophat 6 : United Futbol Academy 1 (09/22)
United Soccer Alliance 0 : West Florida Flames 0 (09/22)
Charlotte Soccer Academy 3 : Weston FC 0 (09/23)
NC Courage 3 : South Florida Football Academy 0 (09/23)

U-18/U-19

FC Virginia (3-0-0, 9 points) are at the top of the Atlantic Division standings after getting all six points over the weekend. They opened the weekend in fine form, defeating FC Albertson Fury (0-2-0, 0 points) 5-0. Midfielder Savannah Berry (13’ and 50’) scored twice while Victoria Haugen (25’), Riley Melendez (31’) and Kenna Zier (68’) each added a goal for Virginia. On Sunday, Olivia Migli led the charge, scoring three of Virginia’s goals in their 4-1 win over FC Fury NY (0-1-2, 2 points). Migli’s goals came in the 25th, 35th, and 55th minutes. She currently leads the team with five on the season. Lauren Teuschel scored for Virginia in the 36th minute while the Fury’s lone goal came courtesy of a Chloe Schnitt strike in the 60th minute.

Washington Spirit Academy-MD (2-0-0, 6 points) remain hot on FC Virginia’s heels in second place in the Atlantic after having defeated Sky Blue-NYSC (1-3-0, 3 points) 6-2 on Sunday. Taylor Carter put Spirit Academy-MD on the board early with her goal in the eighth minute. NYSC responded midway through the first half with a goal from Julia Mizak (28’). But Spirit Academy-MD continued to press the NYSC defense with Mary-Kaitlyn Barnes (32’) re-taking the lead. In the second half, Leyah Hall-Robinson put the game away for Spirit Academy-MD, scoring four times in the span of 13 minutes (73’, 76’, 78’, and 86’). Midfielder Devon Schmitt did manage to get one back for NYSC in the 75th minute.

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Washington Spirit Academy-VA (2-0-0, 6 points) meanwhile also got the best of NYSC on the weekend, narrowly defeating them 2-1. Caitlin Sutton (16’) and Gabrielle Robinson (45’) put Spirit Academy-VA with their two goals in the first half. While NYSC did cut their deficit to one with a goal from midfielder Grace Reyer in the 56th minute, Spirit Academy-VA held on late to earn their first win of the season.

Spirit Academy-VA didn’t waste much time in getting in win No. 2 on the season, defeating NYCFC 3-2 on Sunday. The two sides traded goals in the first half with Camryn Taylor (10’) scoring early for Spirit Academy-VA and midfielder Kailey Brenner (43’) scoring just before halftime for NYCFC. In the second half, Spirit Academy-VA got two quick goals from Margaret Beckman (47’) and Gabrielle Robinson (61’), which gave their side a bit of insurance. NYCFC did get a goal from Katrina Kurtz to cut the lead to one, but it wasn’t enough for the home side.

Oakwood Soccer Club (1-0-2, 5 points) of the Northeast Division earned their first win of the season by defeating Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth (0-3-0, 0 points) 6-1. Oakwood’s goals were scored by forwards Leah Barbieri (12’), Gigi Gorgone (31’ and 58’), and Maddie Kiely (78’) and midfielders Emma Zaccagnini (25’) and Victoria Jedrychowski (81’). Cedar Stars’ lone goal came from Victoria Coppola in the 61st minute. The Coppola goal aside, Oakwood’s defense held strong against considerable pressure with defenders Erin Goss (90 minutes), Cheyanne Ollie (90 minutes), Nina Aglieco (90 minutes), Jordan Adduci (44 minutes), and Megan O’Shaughnessy (46 minutes) making several key clearances.

Finally in the Southeast Division, Tophat (3-0-0, 9 points) remain in first place after having defeated United Futbol Academy (2-2-0, 6 points) 5-0. Ciara Whitely (5’ and 9’) and Cameron Hall (30’ and 51’) each scored twice for Tophat while Madeline Simpson added a fifth in the 53rd minute. The Tophat attack has been on point very early on in the season, scoring 20 goals through their first three games. Only NEFC of the Northeast Division has scored more in the Eastern Conference (21).

The United Soccer Alliance (3-0-0, 9 points) kept up with Tophat in the standings, earning an equally impressive 6-0 win over the West Florida Flames (0-3-0, 0 points). Sydney Hauth (16’, 18’, and 39’) pulled off the hat trick for USA, pushing her season total to four on the season. Lia Godfrey (13’), Mackenzee Vance (50’), and Jaclyn Gilday (60’) each added a solo goal for USA, giving them 18 total on the season.

Meanwhile, the North Carolina Courage (3-0-0, 9 points) enjoyed a perfect weekend as well, also maintaining their perfect start to the season. Mattie Murphy (45′), Maggie Pierce (57′) and Emily Duerr (74′) provided the scoring in a 3-0 shutout of Weston FC on Saturday, and Duerr’s 84th minute strike was all the Courage needed in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over South Florida Football Academy. Courage goalkeepers Felicity Baker and Marzia Josephson secured the clean sheets on the weekend, playing behind Carolina’s strong back line.

RESULTS

Atlantic and Northeast
FC Albertson Fury 0: FC Virginia 5 (09/22)
Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth 1 : Oakwood Soccer Club 6 (09/22)
Penn Fusion Soccer Academy 1 : NEFC 2 (09/22)
Sky Blue-NYSC 1 : Washington Spirit Academy-Virginia 2 (09/22)
New York City FC : Washington Spirit Academy-Maryland (09/22)
FC Fury NY 1 : FC Virginia 4 (09/23)
PA Classics 0 : NEFC 5 (09/23)
Sky Blue-NYSC 2 : Washington Spirit Academy-Maryland 6 (09/23)
New York City FC 2 : Washington Spirit Academy-Virginia 3 (09/23)

Southeast
Charlotte Soccer Academy 4 : South Florida Football Academy 0 (09/22)
NC Courage 3: Weston FC 0 (09/22)
Tophat 5 : United Futbol Academy 0 (09/22)
United Soccer Alliance 6 : West Florida Flames 0 (09/22)
Charlotte Soccer Academy 3: Weston FC 0 (09/23)
NC Courage 1 : South Florida Football Academy 0 (09/23)