Ottawa Fury Press Release - www.ottawafury.com

Thursday, October 29, 2009

OTTAWA, ON - With the USL Super Y-League Finals just over a month away, the Fury are preparing to send five teams to vie for a North American Championship. The U17 Girls qualified for the competition in one of the most competitive SYL age groups of any Fury side, edging out both the MPS Renegades and MPS Crusaders to snatch second place in the New England Division and a ticket to Tampa, FL.

The Ottawa Fury U17 Girls return to the SYL Finals for the second straight season and are looking for redemption after a heart-breaking defeat in the semi-finals last season. This year they posted an impressive 10-2-2 record and a second place finish in the New England Division. Head Coach Dom Oliveri makes his fifth trip to the SYL Finals in as many years and after reaching the semi-finals in 2005 and 2008 he hopes that this year’s team can bring home the National Championship that eluded the Fury’s U17 Girls team last season.

The team's spot was essentially booked for SoccerFest 2009 after a raging start to the season that saw the the Fury go undefeated in their first nine games (compiling a 8-0-1 record). The streak included a 16-0 drubbing of the New Hampshire Phantoms as well as 7-0 and 8-0 wins over BW Rhode Island and Nordic Soccer Club respectively.

The latter portion of the 2009 season would see the U17's face pressure and adversity after two straight losses (4-2 and 3-0) to direct playoff contenders MPS Renegades and eventual division-winners Seacoast United. Undaunted, the team would rebound to win two of their last three games of the season while tying Seacoast United 3-3 in a crucial top-table match. Ottawa would finish the season with a stellar 10-2-2 record good for 32 points - three ahead of the Renegades.

In 2009 the U17 Girls boasted one of the highest-powered offences of any Fury SYL side, scoring 57 times while allowing only 15 goals against. Ottawa will hope their high-octane show will help to overcome some of the best youth teams on the continent in their Finals group. Currently in the Fury's group for round robin play are Parsippany SC (1st in Mid-Atlantic Division with 10-2-0 record), Plantation FC (2nd in Southeast Division with 5-3-3 record) and the Cleveland Internationals (3rd in Midwest Division with 6-1-2 record).

Group play begins on Friday, November 20th for the U17's, with the Fury guaranteed at least four days of games in Tampa.

SYL Finals U16 Girls Schedule
Friday, November 20th - Ottawa Fury U17 Girls vs. Cleveland Internationals (Kickoff 1 p.m.)
Saturday, November 21st - Ottawa Fury U17 Girls vs. Parsippany SC (Kickoff 1 p.m.)
Sunday, November 22nd - Ottawa Fury U17 Girls vs. Plantation FC (Kickoff 1 p.m.)

All further games and game times in the SYL Finals after the group stages are dependent on points totals from group play.

U17 Girls Regular Season Standings [+]
U17 Girls SYL Finals Schedule [+]