Racine Spartans [Fall 2006] Girls U-18 - Team Event
National Soccer Ranking (NSR) Gold Cup Tournament - Saginaw Michigan
The Racine Spartans Girls U-18 [Fall 2006] traveled to the
National Soccer Ranking Gold Cup [Saginaw MI] Tournament
held on August 11-13 2006. National Soccer Ranking tournaments (commonly referred to
as NSR tournaments) are held to provide the best teams in the country the
opportunity to compete against each other. The Gold Cup is sponsored by the Michigan
Hawks/Wolves soccer clubs and features some of the best Region II / Midwest teams.
The U18/U19 age grouping was divided into two competitive flights, with
the Racine Spartans competing in what is referred to as the Regional bracket, intended
for teams that are not yet ranked by NSR.
Although ending the competition with a 1-1-1 record, the Racine Spartans demonstrated an uptempo style of play by outshooting and out-possessing their opponents. Scoring however was another matter altogether as Racine was frustrated by excellent goal keeping and was ultimately held scoreless in two of its matches. Ironically enough, the team that Racine defeated 5-2 during group play went on to win the championship. Go figure.
Game #1: Racine Spartans: 0 Ann Arbor [MI] Premier: 0
Racine gradually took control of this
game, barely giving up a shot during the second half of play. Nonetheless,
the Spartans couldn't get one past an excellent Ann Arbor keeper who
eventually stole the show with one save after another. The game ended in
a scoreless draw.
A Racine corner kick opportunity is thwarted by the Ann Arbor goalkeeper.
Game #2: Racine Spartans: 5 CA United U18: 2
The Spartans started sluggishly in this match and were down 1-0 within the first five minutes. However, once they
got on track, they scored five unanswered goals and went on to win 5-2. It was a good team effort as the goal
scoring was distributed across four players and the Spartans maintained possession for most of the match. CA United,
competing in the other bracket, went on to win the overall championship by defeating the Spartan's next opponent.
Samantha Schiro of the Spartans is challenged by CA United defenders.
Game #3: Racine Spartans: 0 Eclipse Select 89/90 - 2 (IL): 3
Within the first minute of play, the Spartans had a great scoring opportunity that rattled off the
cross bar and eventually bounced back into play. Unfortunately, that was a sign of things to come
as the Spartans continually attacked the Eclipse but came up empty. The Eclipse capitalized on the
few opportunities that were presented and were ahead 3-0 at halftime. The second half saw Racine
increase the pace of the attack, playing with three forwards and without a stopper. Racine's defense
held but the offense continued to struggle when it came to getting one past an excellent keeper. It
marked the end of the road for the Spartans and the Eclipse Select went on to the Championship match
only to lose to the CA United U-18, 2-1.