Sunrise Soccer
Work Hard, GET GOOD
U9s Play in Title Game at Plantation
Plantation, Florida (November 27, 2005) - The u9 Sting had a terrific
performance at the Plantation Thanksgiving Classic, going 3-0-1 in preliminary
play, then losing in the championship game to Delray by a 3-1 score. This was
the fourth tournament for the u9 Sting, and the team has either made it to or won
the championship game in all four tournaments.
The team opened the tournament versus Delray. These two
teams have met several times before and the games are always hyper-competitive.
That would be the case in this opening game, and would portend the championship
match to be held two days later.
Delray was coming off the West Pines Kickoff Classic, held the weekend before.
Delray finished tied with Weston for the best record in that tournament (there
was no playoff), with both teams finishing with a record of 3-0-1. They tied
each other 2-2.
Delray came out on fire in this game and got off three
shots on goal within the first two minutes. But Sunrise withstood this early
onslaught and the game was evenly played from that point forward. Sunrise scored
first on a set corner kick play to take a 1-0 lead. The Sting managed a second
goal to make it 2-0 at halftime. But Delray was too tough to keep down, and they
fought hard and the game finished tied at 2-2. It was a very exciting match as
these teams really like to go at it against each other.
The Sting had their second game of the day under the lights against the host
Plantation Eagles. Sunrise won this game 4-2. On Saturday, Sunrise opened up
against Weston Nike, and won 6-0. The final game was against Palm Beach United.
The winner of this game would play in the finals the next morning. Sunrise got a
quick goal to take the lead, but the game remained close for the first half. In
the second half, the Sting took over to get the 4-1 win.
That meant a rematch with Delray for the championship on
Sunday morning. The Sting had played the tournament to this point with only one
substitute, but would not have the services of one of their players for the
final. This meant the team would have to go the distance with no substitutes.
But the girls were ready for the challenge.
The championship game was a real battle and the goalies did not see much action
as each teams defense played very well. But midway through the first half, a
defensive breakdown by the Sting allowed a Delray goal off of a corner kick.
This goal would be the only one of the first half.
In the second half, a Sunrise player was taken down just outside the box, setting up a
direct kick which the Sting converted to tie the game. Then, with 14-minutes
remaining, Sunrise scored what everyone thought was the go ahead goal to make it
2-1. But it would turn out that offsides was called, nullifying the goal. An
analysis of the videotape showed that the play was not offsides, but that is
part of the game.
Delray scored what would turn out to be the go-ahead goal in the final few
minutes of the game. Then, with about 15 seconds remaining, scored a third goal
as Sunrise was frantically pushing players upfield in an effort to tie the game.
Coach Bruce Konners said "I was very happy with our team's performance here in
Plantation. We had two great matches with Delray. We played the final game with
no subs and the girls played hard throughout. Delray is an excellent team, they
deserved to win, and we will get many more shots at them in the future. We
scored 17 goals in this tournament and six of our seven players scored, so we
are getting balanced play on the offensive end. Defensively, our team has showed
much improvement over the last few weeks."
The u9 Sting's record is now 15-4-1.
Sunrise opens up the regular season next week versus Miramar.