Photos Courtesy of Internationals SC
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Four Internationals SC teams were represented at this weekend’s ECNL National Playoffs from July 21-26 in Redmond, WA and held their own against some of the best teams in the country.
“We are extremely excited to see our teams compete and win against the best,” Internationals SC Founder, President, and Director of Coaching Zdravko Popovic commented. “Each of the four teams representing the club in Seattle had different challenges to overcome and they did so with character and class.
Our soccer was played at a high level and a fast pace, something we are looking forward to building on next season. Our players know what it is like to play against the best soccer players in the country and have shown we are a part of that elite group. Our goal is that all of our ECNL teams U14 and above are competing in San Diego in 2019.”
Internationals SC U16 Girls came away from the weekend undefeated, winning the North American Cup with a 4-1 win against Pleasanton Rage ECNL (Pleasanton, CA) in the final. This came after three wins in the knockout stages, the first with a 5-2 win over FC Boston ECNL (Braintree, MA) and two wins coming in the form of penalty shootouts, which saw Internationals players hold their nerve in both victories against Strikers FC ECNL (Laguna Hills, CA) and San Juan FC ECNL (Rancho Cordova, CA).
Internationals SC U14s, who qualified for the Champions League, finished an impressive second in their group, with a 1-1-1 record. The team played in three very closely contested games and missed out on advancing by one win, coming second to FC Stars of Acton, Massachusetts, a team that has gone on and qualified for the national final event after winning all four of its games. The U14s won their opening game 1-0 against Colorado Storm ECNL (Centennial, CO) and tied 1-1 against San Diego Surf ENCL (San Diego, CA).
The U15 Internationals SC team won its first two North American Cup games in the finals, with 3-0 victory in the first round over Bethesda SC ECNL (Gaithersburg, MD) and another penalty shootout victory in the second-round event over San Juan SC ECNL (Rancho Cordova, CA). The teams run came to an end with a close loss to Colorado Storm ECNL (Centennial, CO) in the semifinals for a 2-0-1 record at the event.
The club’s oldest qualifying team, the U17s, stepped up to their competition in the North American Cup, playing three highly contested and tightly fought games. Unfortunately, in all three games the score line went against the team, with three one-goal losses against Tampa Bay United ECNL (Tampa, FL), Colorado Storm ECNL (Centennial, CO), and Match Fit Academy ECNL (Brick, NJ), showing the strong and determined will of the team to fight to the end in each game.
“We are very proud of the way our teams represented themselves against some of the strongest teams in the country,” Internationals SC Assistant Director Mark Platts added. “All of our age groups played quality soccer, competed to the end, and left everything out on the soccer pitch.”
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