Elite 2000’s

 For many of the U12’s, the Fall Classic started in the 5am hour Saturday morning. Their first game was at 8am vs. a squad from the distinguished NWAL club from Arkansas. After some great defensive plays from NWAL, Missouri Elite got their first goal from Maddie McLain off of a corner kick in the first half. Moments later, Lily Ragsdale scored a beautiful lower 90 off of a corner played in from McLain and Brinn Cooper finished off the 3-1 win with her own lower 90 finesse.

 Their second game was against a former KC tournament opponent, KC Select. It was another 3-1 win for the Elite 2000’s with Brinn Cooper getting the Hat Trick and Carli Prosser getting points for an assist. Crozbi Gannon gave another stellar performance in the net, with the only goal coming off of a “Hand of God” in the box missed by the referee. This win guaranteed the 2000’s a spot in the finals on Sunday afternoon against a tough BSC Hurricanes team.

 Sunday Morning, Elite had its first and only crossover game against the always talented SLSG club. The win streak continued with a score of 2-1 for the Elite girls. Lyndsey Hood provided the first goal off of a scramble in the box with Carli Prosser and Maddie McLain getting points for the assist. The final Elite goal was scored by Sydney Hazelrigg, who hit a rocket that bounced back off the post and off the keeper, who much to her dismay, found Hazelrigg waiting to finish her attempt.  Syd sunk her follow-up shot into the back of the net. McKenzie Duncan and Crozbi Gannon both played fantastic games in goal, while the defensive trio of McClain, Hannah Carr, and Morgan Gunther, continued to prove why they are three of the best defensive U12 backs in the state.

 The U12 Girls Final was set between Mo Elite 2000’s and BSC Hurricanes. This was one of the most physical games I’ve witnessed at this level, with both teams getting to feel the turf early and often. BSC struck first off a foul outside the box. After the first attempt, a scramble occurred in the box and BSC was able to finish their second attempt and take the lead into the half, 1-0. The second half saw both teams come out strong and quick. BSC was again able to capitalize on a scramble in the box and make their lead 2-0. Missouri Elite grabbed the ball out of the next and sprinted to the half line with a renewed sense of urgency and fight. Soon after McKenzie Duncan showed just how bad this team wanted it, by finishing the cross from Brinn Cooper with her whole body, ending up in the back of the net. There was no way she was letting that ball get by her. Unfortunately, that would be the only goal for Mo Elite, as BSC added more pressure in their defensive third and shut down the remaining attacks that the 2000’s were able to put together. The final whistle blew with a score of BSC 2 Mo Elite 1.

 You all continue to make your coaches and your parents proud! Congrats to the girls on a well played weekend and on a second place finish!

Elite 97’s

The Missouri Elite 97’s started Saturday morning with a 1-0 win over SW United (Red) in the U16 Silver Bracket. McKenna Cotter recorded her first goal of the tournament. It was a tough battle defensively but Sierra Feckovic recorded a 0.0 GAA and her first shut out of the tournament.

 The second game was against a tough Pink Panthers squad. This game could have gone either way, but the panthers were able to pull it out over Elite with a 3-2 win.  Elite goals were scored by Cotter and by Leslie Maness.  Missouri Elite was now 1-1 in their bracket, which put them into the wildcard “play-in” game at 8am on Sunday morning.

Elite needed a win to send them on to the semi-finals.  However, they were not the only ones. SW United(White) also needed to win in order to secure their spot in the Semis. Both teams came out hard to start the game. But it would be Missouri Elite who would outlast and pick up the 1-0 win to send them into the next round as the lone Wildcard. Liz Brock got her first goal of the tournament and Sierra picked up her second shutout of the weekend.

 Elite 97 was matched up against SSC 96/97 in the Semi-final. Both teams came out ready to win, battling for every ball, and not being afraid to test their skills against their opponent. However, it would be SSC who would get on the board first, and that would be enough to put them through to the finals.
The Final Score:     SSC 96/97   4     Mo Elite 97   0

Well done girls! Congrats on making it to the Final Four!

Elite 96’s

The Elite 96’s opened their Classic campaign early Saturday morning against a tough Oklahoma team, OFC. Elite was able to control the game from the opening minutes, but not without some very aggressive counters from OFC. Alli Lacker scored the game winner from inside the 18 yard box, following a scramble which brought the OFC GK out from her line. Alli’s goal would be all Elite needed to start the tournament off with a 1-0 win.

 Elite’s second match of the day was against their in town rival, SSC. The Elite 96’s got the best of this match up in the final of this tournament last year, beating SCC by a goal and taking home the Gold. From the early minutes you could tell SSC was determined not to let history repeat itself, as SSC took the lead just a few minutes into the game. Elite continued to battle hard, creating many offensive opportunities, but unfortunately, SSC’s defense would not be broken that day. Leaving the final in the favor of their opponents and setting the 96’s at 1-1 for the day.

 Sunday morning found the 96’s playing in Chicago, or at least it felt like Chicago (Springfield wasthe new windy city). Both Elite and their opponent Carrera had trouble adjusting to the seemingly endless wind. Paige Townsend got the first goal after a beautiful breakaway and a perfectly slotted ball from Lacker. However, It wouldn’t be long before Carrera turned the wind from enemy to friend as a nice gust helped a high ball float into the back of the Elite net. With the game tied at 1’s, it was up to Elite midfielder Kelly Devlin to push Elite into second place. With one hard cross at an unprepared defensive set, Devlin was able secure elite its second victory of the tournament.

 The final game of the day put Elite up against another tough KC Select squad. The wind continued to dominate the flow of the game, making each move and pass more difficult. Elite withstood the wind and found their rhythm in possession. They continued to control the game and create attacks at the KC Select goal, but goals just would not fall for Elite. The score ended in a 0-0, which was enough to secure a second place finish in the U16 Gold bracket. The Elite 96’s finished their weekend 2-1-1 with a new set of medals to add to their wall.

Another well played weekend ladies! Congrats on your silver medals!

Elite 93’s

The U19’s were entering their first tournament since facing a former National Champion, Shattuck St. Mary’s, in the Challenger tournament in KC a few weekends ago. Their first opponent was the fierce and skilled KC Select squad. After well battled first half, KC Select was able to net their first goal about 15 minutes into the second half. That would be all they needed to propel them to their first of four wins in the tournament.

 The second game was played under the lights vs. an athletic Lady Hawks team. Dani Coffman, normally a standout outside mid and forward for Elite, stepped into the net for 80 minutes of intense soccer. Missouri Elite stuck first with a fantastic near post goal by Lindsay Owens. Unfortunately, the Lady Hawks were not done, and scored early into the second half to tie the game 1-1. Mo Elite fought hard for the remainder of the second half to try and secure their spot in the final, but it would not be secured on Saturday, as the Lady Hawks defense held and the score ended 1-1.

 Sunday morning, the final spot in the U19 final was still up in the air. Mo Elite needed a win vs its in town rival, Springfield Soccer Club. The last time the two teams met, it ended in a 1-1 draw. Elite came out very strong, showing they were determined to get to the final and get another shot at KC Select. Goals from Brittney Baker and Tawny Stowell were able to sink SSC into its defensive shell and secure Elite a rematch with KC Select in the final. The morning game ended with a final score of Mo Elite 2 and SSC 0

 The U19 Final was set with Kansas City powerhouse KC Select matched against local powerhouse, Missouri Elite for the second time in two days. KC Select was determined to stay on top, but the Elite 93’s promised that they were going to have something to say about that. The game proved to be a much bigger battle than KC Select was expecting with both teams getting opportunities early. However, KC select was able to capitalize on one of their opportunities, putting them up 1-0. You could tell Missouri Elite wanted it, but it just wasn’t meant to be on a sunny day on Cooper 3. That goal would be enough to secure first place for KC Select with Missouri Elite getting the Silver.    Final Score: KC Select 2, Mo Elite 0

 Great job Elite 93’s!

 This was a great turnout for all Missouri Elite squads. Congrats to all of the girls on their weekend success.

While in South Bend, Indianna participating in the Regional President’s Cup tournament in June, the Missouri Elite U15 girls took a tour of the Notre Dame facilities.  The Notre Dame Women’s Soccer team are the current National Champions, defeating Standford 1-0 last fall to claim their third national title.

The Missouri Elite FC 2000 girls brought home the title again this weekend winning four straight games and conceding no goals in the process in the U11 girls division of the 2011 Ozarks Coca-Cola Dr Pepper Cup at Lake Country Soccer in Springfield, MO.

The tournment started for the girls on Friday night against a very strong Ajax Elite FC -Limpert team from St. Louis.  The game winning goal was scored by Missouri Elite defender Hanah Carr on a long-range shot take from the defensive half that bounced over the keeper and into the back of the net. A second goal was provided by midfield Brinnae Cooper. Final score 2-0 in favor of Missouri Elite FC.

Missouri Elite scored four goals on Saturday in a 4-0 victory over Sedalia Select Juniors which basically secured their spot in the final on Sunday.  Forward Julia Snyder started the scoring for Elite, followed by a brace for Brin Cooper and the scoring was finished with a penalty kick by Lily Ragsdale.

In Sunday mornings final pool play game, the Elite 2000 girls outscored Toni Glavin Lions – Hibernian by a score of 3-0.  Forward Julia Snyder again provided the game winner.  Brinnae Cooper and Everett Kirkman provided the additional goals.

Brinnae Cooper scored the game winner in the final (her fifth goal of the tournament), McKenzie Duncan scored two goals, and Julia Snyder got the final goal (her third of the tournament) as the girls cruised to a 4-0 victory over the tough KC Legends Crushers.  Missouri Elite goalkeeper, Emillia Bratanov was credited with a fourth shutout in four games and the Elite 2000 teams outscored their opponents 13 goals to none in the tournament.

Congratulations ladies on another successful weekend!  I know everyone is looking forward to seeing the blue tiger warmups on display next weekend in Arkansas!!!

The Missouri Elite FC 2000 girls team opened the spring 2011 outdoor season by winning the U11 girls division of the Champions Challenge Tournament at Lake Country Soccer in Springfield on March 12th and 13th.

The Elite girls started off the weekend with a 2-0 win over St Louis Scott Gallagher Illinois Green on Saturday.  Brinnae Cooper and Meredith Sheffield provided the goals in game #1.  In the late game on Saturday, Missouri Elite posted a solid 3-0 win over NW Arkansas Lightening Strikers Black and basically guaranteed their spot in the final with the win.  Goals in game #2 were scored by Brinnae Cooper (2) and Meredith Sheffield.

In the early game on Sunday, the Elite girls faced the very strong Norco Pavlacic team from St. Louis.  Norco had won both of their games on Saturday defeating the Maumelle Dragonfiles 3-2 in their first match and defeating Springfield Soccer Club 7-0 in their second game.  In a hard fought match that saw opportunites for both teams, it was Norco who was able to capitalize and they defeated Missouri Elite by a final score of 2-0 to secure their spot in the final for a rematch between the two teams.

The Missouri Elite FC 2000 girls stepped out on the field with intensity for the championship match and never let down.  The Elite defensive line of Hannah Carr, Maddie McLain, Morgan Gunther and Crozbi Gannon was strong and proved to be almost inpenetrable.  Elite goalkeeper Emillia Bratanov earned her third shutout of the tournament and created numerous scoring opportunities for the Elite offense with her huge punts out of the back.  Newcomer McKenzie Duncan scored the game winning goal, and her first ever goal in Elite blue, when she chested a cross over the goal line to give Elite the lead in the first half.  Forward Julia Snider blasted the ball into the back of the net late in the first half to secure a two goal lead for Missouri Elite over Norco going into the halftime break.  Both teams continued to push forward in the second half, but the defensive efforts were rock solid and shutdown all scoring opportunities.  The score remained 2-0 at the final whistle and Missouri Elite had avenged their morning loss to Norco and earned the tournament championship hardware for their resolve and effort.

Congratulations ladies on a well played tournament and a great start to the 2011 spring season!!!

Incredible Pizza Fall Classic - U15 Champions

The Elite 96 girls opened play on Saturday defeating WSA Alliance and the Pink Panthers.  The Elite 96 team clinched a spot in the final with an important 1-0 victory over Springfield Soccer Club 96/96 I on Sunday morning.  The Elite girls went on to capture the U15 girls championship with a 1-0 victory over Claremore Freedom.  Congratulations ladies on a great tournament!

The Missouri Elite 2000 girls went 2-0-1 in the U11 Girls Gold Division and were tied on points and goal differential with the eventual champions, KCFC Force.  But the next tie breaker was based on goals against instead of goals scored, and the KCFC Force team advanced to win the finals.  The Missouri Elite girls defeated KC Core Elite 5-3 and tied KCFC Force 1-1 on Saturday and then defeated KC Fusion by an impressive 5-1 margin on Sunday before getting sent home early.

The Missouri Elite 92 team finished 1-1-1 in the U19 Girls Silver Division.  Their only loss was a 1-3 loss on Saturday evening to the Wichita Storm team that went on to win the final by a score of 3-0.

The Missouri Elite FC 2000 Girls team added another championship title to their resume by winning the 2010 Founder’s Cup at Lake Country Soccer in Springfield, MO.  They defeated the Rush Nike team from Kansas by a score of 4-1 in the opening game on Saturday and then defeated Futura FC Brookside Roos by a score of 6-0 in their second game.  The Elite U11 girls played the North Arkansas Long Shots on Sunday morning and won 8-0 to advance to the finals.  They faced the Rush Nike team again in the finals and came away with a 2-1 victory to win the championship title.

The Missouri Elite FC 94 girls team had great first tournament as a team and also walked away with a championship title.  In their first game as a new team, the girls defeated Xtreme by a score of 5-0 on Saturday and then went on to defeat PUFC Lady Hawks by a score of 3-2 on Saturday evening.  It was a late goal by sophomore Macie Cotter (Willard) on a corner served by freshman Whitney Snow (Camden) that earned the Elite U17 team a 1-0 victory over a tough young Prodigy Topeka Tornado team from Kansas and sent the Elite U17′s on to the finals.  The Missouri Elite FC 94 girls took control in the finals and posted a 6-1 victory over the Mambas HS Premier team to win the championship title.

Congratulations ladies!  What a great way to start the new year!!

The eleven Missouri Elite FC teams that participated in the Ozark Summer Sizzler 3v3 tournament on Saturday, July 31, brought home 5 first place titles and 3 second place finishes.

Elite – Portugal (comprised of Poplar Bluff senior Allie Thomas, Parkview senior Kelsey Loderhose, Camdenton freshman Whitney Snow and Nixa freshman Bailey Pesek) finished first in the High School Girls Black division.  Elite – Netherlands (comprised of Nixa senior Kristen Miller, Nixa senior Kelsey Bartell, Rogersville senior Stevie Heidzig, and Lebanon junior Carsyn Beard) finished right behind them in second place.

Elite – Switzerland (comprised of Poplar Bluff junior Marissa Burroughs, Willard sophomore Macie Cotter, Clever sophomore Brionna Cooper, and guest player Lindsey Owens from Willard) finished first in the High School Girls Red division.

Elite – USA (comprised of Nixa freshman Andrea Marquez, Republic freshman Sara Marcotte, Republic freshman Tabby Iles, and Willard eighth grader Makenna Cotter) finished first in the High School Girls White division.

Elite – Spain (comprised of Nixa eighth graders Shalynn Thomas, Alyson Galler, Lindsey Frerichs and Kendall Letts) finished first in the U14 Girls Red division.  Elite – Argentina (comprised of Maggie Chappel, Parker Owens, Sierra Carlson, Rebecca Rosebrough and Kalie Huff) finished second in the U14 Girls White division.

Elite – Germany (comprised of Julia Snider, Maddie McLain, Brinae Cooper, Crozbi Gannon and guest Sarah McDowell) finished first in the U11 Girls division.  Elite – Australia (comprised of Morgan Gunther, Sydney Hazelrigg, Hannah Carr, and Carli Prosser) finished second in the U10/11 Girls division.  It went to the third tie-breaker to determine the winner as they tied head-to-head and scored as many goals as the team that won the bracket, unfortunately our girls gave up one more goal than the eventual winners.

Congratulations to all the participants in the Summer Sizzler 3v3 event.  It was a fun day filled with lots of Elite bonding opportunities.  Our club was very well represented.  Way to go Elite!!!

Here’s the link to the photo album for the event.  The password is summer2010.  Be sure to check out photos #557 (Crozbi), #839 (Hannah), #850 (Amanda) and #924 (Lou).

http://www.yogile.com/summersizzler2010

Heading to the 1st Annual St. Louis Scott Gallager SC Nike Cup, the girls were ready to conquer the big city teams.  Arriving at the field, the girls were welcomed to a turf field and the best U10 girls team on the St. Louis Scott Gallager SC Missouri side, SLSG-Porto . Taking some time adjusting to the new surface, the Elite 2000 girls made it out of the first game with a 1-1 tie, with Sydney Hazelrigg scoring our lone goal. After a lunch break celebrating Alysan Burgbacher’s last coaching stint before college, the girls headed back to the fields with their sights set on a commanding win; and that is exactly what they did, with goals coming from Rheaghan Lesh, Julia Snider and Brinnae Cooper, stomping SLSG- Illinois Blue, the best team in Illinois in that age group by a score of 3-0. With a good night’s rest and Sunday morning smiles, the girls took on yet another SLSG team. Tied 0-0 at half, the scoring was opened in the second half by Elite player, Julia Snider. The SLSG Redstar team countered quickly with an open breakaway goal to even the score at 1-1.  But Brinnae Cooper added the winning goal for Elite in the final minutes to give Elite a 2-1 victory. After showing their dominance in the U10 round robin bracket, the Missouri Elite 2000 Girls’ team were rewarded with the first place trophy.  The best part….ice cream afterwards courtesy of SLSG club!

 A special congrats and thanks to Coach Alysan Burgbacher! We sure will miss you next year!

The Missouri Elite FC U14 girls finished second in the 2010 Ozarks Coca-Cola Dr Pepper Cup held at Lake Country Soccer in Springfield, MO on April 10-11.  The Elite U14 team went 3-0 in pool play to reach the finals.  The began their run by defeating Panathinaikos on Saturday morning 1-0 on a long-range goal scored by stopper Andrea Marquez.  Elite then defeated Qwest on Saturday afternoon 2-0 with goals from Shay Thomas and Alyson Galler.  Elite finished pool play on Saturday morning with a 1-0 victory over Springfield Soccer Club 95/96 II on another goal from Shay Thomas to move on to the semi-finals.  Bailey Pesek scored two goals and Shay Thomas got her third of the tournament as Elite rolled past Blue Valley SC Stars Liverpool in the semi-finals by a score of 3-0.  Elite goal keeper Katie Harlan was credited with earning the shutouts in the first four games.  In the final, Elite finished second to KC Select Surge by a score of 4-1.  Shay Thomas got her fourth goal of the tournament late in the game after KC Select had built a four goal lead.  Congratulations to the girls for making on a strong run to the final and a well played tournament.