Michigan Challenge Cup Tournament
Our U10 Girls made it to the finals where they gave up two second half goals which cost them the title.  Coach Greg writes: "We played great all weekend and controlled possession 95% of each game. Our shots on goal vs our opponents was  20-1, 24-1, 22-1, 19-4 (yes we have an official statistician). We hit the cross bar 6 times, the post 4 times, and the goalie's face twice! We need some finishing practice on tiny goals which is why we are moving up to U11 and the bigger goals. The biggest problem we had for the weekend (besides not hitting the back of the net) is that our goalies got sunburned from standing around all weekend!  We had a great time, great effort by all the girls, great chance to meet the new families, and learned an important lesson in soccer 'that no matter what the score says, you can also win by playing great soccer and leaving it all on the field'."

After hearing of the success of the U9 boys, Greg noted : "I am not sure and did not measure but......Chris's team must have been playing on fields with larger goals."

Team Finds Success at Kingdom Cup
Coach Becker and Coach Kwiatkowski knew that moving up to U11 would be a challenge for their U10 girls. They would be playing bigger, faster and stronger competition, but these are the kind of challenges that can bring out the best in the girls. The team has been training hard this summer and running extra after every practice to get ready for playing on the bigger field. The hard work has paid off the last 2 weekends!

The girls went 4 - 0 in the MLS division to claim the inaugural Crew Cup championship in U11. They had some great competition from the Novi Jags, who they had to beat twice to win the championship. They only allowed 1 goal all weekend and had seven different players score goals in the tournament. It was a great team effort. During the final against the Jags, the score was 0-0 with 5 minutes remaining, until a Crew five-pass combination ended with an incredible left footed goal and the girls held on to win the championship 1-0.

Coach Becker said that the girls’ effort for the first time playing on the 8 v 8 field was outstanding, and their use of the entire field showed great understanding of the new system of play.

This Labor Day weekend the girls competed in the Kalamazoo Kingdom Cup tourney in the U11 division. Great goal tending and a stubborn defense helped post shutouts against Southwest MI (5 – 0) and Shadow Premier (6-0). Once again, the weekend’s scoring was well balanced as 5 different players found the back of the net. The team advanced to the semi finals against the tough Crew Juniors U11 Black team. The game’s first goal was scored off a hard shot that deflected in, but the game was not decided until a long goal by the U10 Gold's left mid secured the 2 - 0 victory.

The finals were against the Host Club, Kalamazoo Kingdom Kickers. The Kickers had speed, size and strength but the U10 girls showed the heart and skill that allowed them to compete at this level. The team played hard and had the edge in possession, but regulation ended with a 0 - 0 tie. After two 5-minute overtime periods flew by with still no goals, the game was destined to be decided by penalty kicks. Our young players have never experienced a PK shoot out and have not practiced many PKs this young season. The 5 players were chosen by both teams and the Crew chose to go first. The first Crew player made the PK, but the whistle had not been blown and the goal was nullified. The second attempt clanged off the cross bar. The Kazoo first attempt was stopped by the Crew keeper. All was even after the first round. The next 4 rounds saw three great shots from the Crew and one Crew shot stopped by the Kazoo goalie, which positioned the Crew with 3 goals scored. In the fifth round, Kazoo’s final shooter had the pressure on to score, after another save from the Crew keeper and 2 other goals were scored previously. The Kazoo shooter’s first attempt was a great shot buried deep in the net, but it was taken away because it was shot before the whistle. Her second attempt hit off the side post and assured the Crew U10 Gold team the Kingdom Cup U11 Girls Championship. The Kalamazoo Cup officials said after the game that it was the most exciting final of the tourney.

Coaches:
Greg Kwiatkowski, Coach  gkwiatko@gfs.com
Michelle Becker, Assistant coach  mbeckermsu9@gmail.com
Heather Lunt, Manager  heathlunt@yahoo.com
Jane Ashby, Manager  Janeashby@comcast.net

Teams: Login Here to Update Your Team's and/or Players' pages
If your team has not set-up a team page or you have misplaced your team's login information, please contact a club administrator.