Friday, May 25, 2012
The sixth USL Super-20 League season kicked off on May 16, with the Ocala Stampede men leaving Bradenton, Florida with a 3-1 win against IMG. The women’s Rocky Mountain Division and men’s Mid South Division have also started play, while the New England and Pacific Southern California divisions will not start their seasons until early June. Here are a few of the players who put in outstanding performances in their teams’ games this past week.
Hannah Gerdin
Pride Soccer Club S20 Women
Gerdin led her team to its first victory of the season with two goals and an assist in a 4-1 victory at Arsenal Colorado.
Jenny Stoot scored the opener in a hard-fought match, and Pride continued to battle in the second half, scoring three goals in the flow of play. Gerdin’s goals both came off rebounds from the goalkeeper, and she also helped set up multiple opportunities and scoring chances for her team.
“Great forwards are often in the right place at the right time,” Coach Sian Hudson said. “Hannah did a great job getting herself into positions to put the ball in the back of the net and capitalized on those opportunities.”
Robert Alexe and Christian Frausto
Alamo SC San Antonio S20 Men
Alexe registered two goals and an assist and Frausto added a goal and an assist in Alamo’s 6-0 win against visiting Club Corpus Christi in each club’s opener in the new Mid South Division.
Coach Lance Noble praised Frausto’s offensive qualities even though he played in a defensive center midfield position.
“Nick’s play this Saturday solidified the ASC defense,” he said, “His ability to get forward into attacking positions caused many problems for the Corpus defense.”
Noble also said that Alexe was “one of the offensive standouts in the game.
“His tenacity around the goal is fierce and he finds a way to stick the ball into the back of the net.”
Noelle Castilleja also had two goals in Alamo’s win.
Ricardo King
Orlando City Youth Soccer S20 Men
Orlando City Youth Soccer began its Super-20 League season with a tough match against the VSI Tampa Flames, earning a 3-2 win in Tampa. King scored two goals, including the game-winner, as Orlando City recovered after letting a two-goal lead slip.
Eli Bates scored the first goal of the game with King’s first coming 10 minutes later to give Orlando City a 2-0 lead at the half. Tampa came out strong, though, and Edgar Herrera and Joshua Davis erased the deficit before the 70th minute. King broke the deadlock with a goal in the 80th minute and the Orlando City defense held to preserve the win.
“The team had a hard-fought game,” Coach Steven Shehan said. “Ricardo’s work up front and finishing the third goal late in the game was very important to the team’s win.”