USL News Release
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
TAMPA – The U13 CASL RailHawks won the midfield battle, disconnecting Schulz Academy’s dangerous striker combination of Yulie Lopez and Sidney Morales to claim the U13 girls championship, 1-0 at Ed Radice Sports Complex in Tampa, Florida. The U14 girls from Atlanta ended their season unbeaten as 16-0-1 champions with a 2-0 win over the Richmond Kickers. Arsenal FC beat Diablo FC, 2-1 in overtime to claim the U15 girls’ title. The Chicago Magic’s U16 girls won 1-0 over Real So Cal in overtime to claim the Magic’s 10th Super Y-League championship. And the MPS Lady Crusaders downed the Ottawa Fury, 2-1 to take the U17 girls title home to New England.
U13 Girls Championship 
The U13 girls’ championship was the second time in three days that Schulz Academy and the CASL RailHawks faced one another. The first match was played on Sunday, November 23 and it saw Schulz get a goal from Donish Cole to advance to the semifinals, 1-0. The loss was the first and only defeat of the season for the RailHawks, who came into that match 11-0-0. Luckily their six points through two days of group play matches were enough to propel them into the wild card position based on goals against (0.33).
The rematch turned on a penalty kick awarded to CASL with nine minutes remaining in the first half. On the play, a ball over the top of Schulz’s back line sprung CASL forward Maya Worth in on goal. The well- placed ball put Worth in good position, and she beat Schulz goalkeeper Cheyenne Walker to the ball by a step. Touching to the side of Walker, Worth was in on goal before being tripped up by the goalkeeper and awarded the kick from the spot.
Teammate Alexis Degler stepped up and netted the 12-yarder into the lower right corner of the goal for the eventual game-winner.
“Schulz has some dynamic players,” said CASL Head Coach Damon Nahas. “Our backs and mids did very well to contain them. There was a bit of strategy involved in defending but the players wore the shoes and they deserve all the credit.”
The majority of the second half was played on CASL’s defensive third, but Schulz attack was continually broken up by the defensive midfielders of CASL and the RailHawks backline and goalkeeper were only tested once or twice before the final whistle. The most prevalent effort was put forth by the youngest CASL player, midfielder Joanna Boyles.
“Joanna is a special player,” said Nahas. “She is the engine that makes us go. Even on her bad days she is a great talent. Other teams are beginning to mark her with multiple players, so there has been a bit of a learning curve for her this season. But she had adapted nicely.”
“Our goalkeeper, Taylor Francis also had a spectacular week, along with her defenders,” added Nahas. “To shut down the players here over the course of five matches is very impressive.”
U16 Girls Championship 
“Real So Cal was the best team we faced so far this Super Y-League season,” said Chicago Head Coach Scott Fonfara, following his team’s 1-0 overtime victory. “They really deserved to be in this final.”
The only goal of the match came with seconds remaining in the first half of overtime. After the Magic won a corner kick, Janie Tedesco knocked a ball into the box. The ensuring scramble that followed came to the feet of Victoria Dunn, who nodded a header past the Real So Cal goalkeeper for the game-winner.
“There were not a lot of good chances in regulation,” said Fonfara. “Both teams had a lot of college players with bright futures and those players battled all day long in the midfield.”
“Shayla Mutz, a forward, had a real strong week for us,” added Fonfara. “And of course, Victoria Dunn, she is the little engine in the middle that makes us go. She is the player we could not afford to be without. Her work rate is fantastic and that is one of those things you cannot teach.”
