AYSA Vitoria U12 Girls 2012 Just For Girls Tournament Champions
On Sunday April 29, Altoona Youth Soccer Associate U12 girls select team Vitoria won the 20th annual Just for Girls Tournament held at Cownie Soccer Park by beating the Eden Prairie Demolition 2-1 in double overtime.
“It’s been a great tournament and I’m very proud of how the girls played,” Head Coach Matt Etling said. “We were down 1-0 early in the final, but they regrouped, tied the score and ultimately won it with a fantastic team effort.”
On Saturday morning, Vitoria, named after famous Brazilian professional team, won their first game against Dallas Center Grimes 3-0. They then lost their next match 4-1 to a strong Sioux Falls, SD team. “The game was beautiful to watch,” Etling said. “We had more opportunities then they did, but their shots went in.”
On Sunday, Vitoria finished off a St Paul MN team 6-0 and were poised to play in the semi-finals against the undefeated Wayzata, MN Hurricanes.
With midst in the air and the ground becoming damp, early in the second half, Xoe Etling took a shot from 25 yards out. The ball flew 15 yards before skipping on the ground. The Wayzata goalie hadn’t planned on the skip and misjudged the speed of the ball. The ball went right thru her legs and into the goal. “I nut-megged the goalie,” Xoe said.
The final started in a heavy rain with Eden Prairie getting a goal when the ball was mis-kicked by a Vitoria defender. “I explained to the girls that it’s called an ‘own goal’ and I have done it many times myself,” Etling said. “It happens.”
Xoe tied the game five minutes later with an assist from Amber Kettering.
The second half was scoreless, but full of close calls by both teams. “I was just standing there watching with a smile on my face. The teams were really putting on a good show and both sets of parents were screaming their heads off,” Etling said.
After a scoreless first overtime, the second overtime had 2 minutes left when Vitoria gained possession at midfield, Sydney Milani collected the ball on the left before quickly switching fields. She passed the ball to Ellie Henry in the middle who passed a thru ball to the right that met Logan Biondi perfectly in stride. She struck ball cleanly into the left side of the net, beating the Eden Prairie goalie and winning the championship.
“Our goalie, Riley Mack, was solid in both the semi-finals and finals,” Etling said. “She dealt with the stress of her position and stayed focused. Like the rest of her teammates, her dedication in practice really shows in the games.”
After the win the girls got a trophy and medals and all got tournament sweatshirts with a Champions decal on it.
“We coach a beautiful game.” JR Fenandes, Head Competitive coach, said. “Play the ball on the ground; build from the back, passing to feet.”
“Our Brazilian style of soccer, ball control, is different from a lot of the kick and chase that teams in the area play,” Etling said. “We stress technique and passing to each other’s feet. It worked really well throughout the tournament as our opponents had a hard time keeping up with our passing.”
Etling said he gave the girls Monday off from practice, but they will be back at it on Tuesday. They will be back at Cownie for the Menace Tournament in two weeks.
“This was a great weekend for AYSA soccer.” Etling said. “When a little community like Altoona can come and compete against bigger cities and win, you know we are doing something right. Hopefully, this will get more girls excited about competitive soccer and we’ll have a huge turnout at our May 31st tryouts.”
