Sacramento United eXtreme U14/15 Girls take 2nd place at the Diablo FC Cup

After several months without a match, eXtreme entered the tournament with the goal of dusting off their boots in preparation for their NorCal State Cup semi-final match on March 28th. A tournament featuring teams such as Pleasanton Rage, Manteca FC, Modesto Ajax, and Diablo FC almost didn’t happen due to heavy rains on Friday. After tournament officials were ready to cancel the tournament the referees petitioned for the games to be played. Officials listened and a beautiful weekend of soccer was set to commence.

eXtreme opened the tournament Saturday morning against a Livermore Fury/Elite team. The first half saw lots of rust and adjusting to play on grass after so much training on the all weather soccer field. Midway through the second half Stacy Larson drilled a low free kick with seeing eyes past a multitude of players and into the back of the net. The back and forth battle continued but eXtreme’s defensive line of keeper Angelica Bravo, Alondra Cortez, Stacy Larson, Julia Butterfield, and Ramona “Mo” Sovereign held strong for a shutout.

Our second match was just two hours later against a fresh Manteca FC team. This would be the fourth time eXtreme had faced Manteca this season. Spring League we lost 0-5, Nationals was 3-3, and NorCal State Cup preliminaries was a 1-2 loss. The first half saw much of the same as our previous encounters with Manteca’s strong, physical, play resulting in 2 goals. But halftime brought a new hope as Coach Nate Kropp had strong words for himself as well as the girls. After an inspiring halftime speech Coach Nate left the words “Who’s willing to climb this mountain?” ringing in the girls ears.

The effects of Coach Nate’s speech was immediately apparent as eXtreme took the field with renewed vigor. Within a just a few minutes eXtreme answered back with a goal of their own after Kayla Thompson took a long punt from keeper Bravo and ripped a blistering shot from a hard angle over Manteca’s keeper and into the side netting. The goal was the turning point of the tournament as eXtreme began to battle back even harder. With five minutes left in the match Kayla’s free kick from just outside the right side of the eighteen yard box found Julia who expertly controlled the ball and immediately followed with an amazing simultaneous turn and shot from eight yards out and into the back of the net. With just a minute left to play and the sidelines still erupting from Julia’s goal, eXtreme took quick control of the ball and caught Manteca off guard on a counter when Maddy Cook hit a streaking Tarryn Johnson in stride for a breakaway winning goal.

Sunday found everyone in great spirits as eXtreme faced off against Diablo FC Blue in the semi-finals. While an ankle injury kept Alondra from continuing in the tournament, Inessa Bartholomew was now available to play after missing Saturday. Inessa started our best goal of the entire season with a long run from the right back position that led to a pass to space for Lindsey Bock to run onto. Lindsey took the ball deep into the offensive third and made a great cutback cross to Tarryn who was standing near the PK spot with her back to the goal. Unable to shoot while swarmed by defenders, Tarryn quickly continued the ball to a wide open Kayla who made an easy finish to take a 1-0 lead. The game hung in the balance until the second half when Jordan Hudson passed to Tarryn who was again swarmed with defenders at the top of the 18 with her back to the goal. Tarryn once again dumped the ball off to a wide open Kayla whose one-touch, right-footed, shot sealed eXtreme’s place in the Championship Match.

At Fred Cook’s suggestion, most of the team went for excellent food and atmosphere provided at Ed’s Mudville Grill to celebrate during the long delay until the final. A return to the fields brought an impromptu tailgate party by the parents while the players warmed up. eXtreme’s fortunes ended after two controversial goals by the host team, Diablo FC, led to a 0-3 deficit at halftime. While eXtreme fought a hard battle in the second half they were unable to climb this mountain and the match finished with no further scoring by either team.

eXtreme’s success throughout the entire tournament would not have been possible without the tireless and thankless work from our midfielders: Lindsey Pope, Claire Nishikawa, and play-up U13/14 player Marianna O’ Campo. Way to go eXtreme Family!!!