PLANTATION/KENDALL PARTNERSHIP BEARS FRUIT AT CASL RALEIGH SHOOTOUT
U15 Girls win Premier Bronze Championship

U15 Girls
Head Coach Marcelo Valdivia and Assistant Coach Chris Boxer, held a combined try-out for members of both U15G teams and selected the 17 players that would represent the Plantation/Kendall Elite partnership at the tournament. Joining the team from Kendall SC’s U15G White were Cerene Arsenault, Alexia Clark, Jessica Clark, Ruthie Leiva, Scarlet Montoya, Barbara Murillo, Jasmine Paterson, Katrina Seidenthal, Heather Williams, and Nicole Zamora. With a few joint training sessions under their belts, they headed to Raleigh, NC where they met Maryland’s 2nd-ranked team, SAC Fury Premier, in their first match.

The 27-degree weather initially affected both teams, but once they warmed up Plantation/Kendall got on the board before half time. The second half produced a flurry of opportunities, which the girls from South Florida converted into three more goals to post a 4-0 victory. Two goals came off the foot of Scarlet Montoya, while Jasmine Paterson and Caitlin Zeytoonian added one apiece.  Ruthie Leiva and Brianna Stampler had outstanding work in the mid-field, while the defense held tight with Nicole Rios and Heather Williams.

The second game pitted Plantation/Kendall against North Carolina’s OCSA 92 in a match that seemed to be headed in the same direction as the first one, but the locals turned it into a contest.  Ruthie Leiva and Jasmine Patterson scored consecutive goals to give Plantation/Kendall a two-goal lead at halftime, but the team from NC came out blazing in the second half and was able to cut the deficit in half midway into the frame. The defense then stepped it up with Katrina Seidenthal, Katherine Brisbin and Jennifer Nardone not allowing another score, while Melanie Meyer added another goal to close out the final score 3 -1 in favor of Plantation/Kendall.

Going into the third game against Virginia Rush, the Virginia team needed a win to make it into the final, so they came out like gang busters from the initial whistle. Virginia Rush struck first taking the lead, but the Florida team held tight and continued to push forward looking for the equalizer. Midfielders Cerene Arsenault, Jessica Clark and Barbara Murillo had outstanding games and were able to earn a penalty kick, which Nicole Zamora converted to tie the match. Julia Kantor was spectacular on goal, making acrobatic saves, and Alexia Clark contributed in defense to preserve the tie and send the Plantation/Kendall team into the final.

The deciding game against Cincinnati United Premier, who reached the final with the same record as Plantation/Kendall in the preliminary round, was a nail bitter. It went back and forth until Plantation/Kendall struck first with the beautiful goal by Jasmine Paterson. The contest would remain this way until 2 minutes into injury time, when a Cincinnati player took advantage of a bad bounce sending the ball into the net out of the reach of outstretched keeper Julia Kantor, and forcing the game into overtime - two five minute halves with no golden goal. After the first 5 minutes the two teams remained tied and in the last minute of the second overtime, Caitlin Zeytoonian found Jasmine Patterson moving in full stride towards the Cincinnati box and she finished the play with another outstanding goal. The defense then closed Cincinnati down and completed the victory and the championship for Plantation/Elite Elite.

Plantation/Kendall Elite U15 Girls Members
Front Row L-R: Julia Kantor, Nicole Zamora Second Row L-R: Katherine Brisbin, Jennifer Nardone, Briana Stampler, Ruth Leiva and Caitlin Zeytoonian Back Row: L-R: Coach Chris Boxer, Jasmine Paterson, Melanie Meyers, Scarlet Montoya, Cerene Arsenault, Katrina Seidenthal, Alexia Clark, Nicole Rios, Heather Williams, Barbara Murillo, Jessica Clark, Coach Marcelo Valdivia

U18 Girls
The U18 girls, who played in the U19 Showcase Fuschia group and swept all their matches to go 3-0 for the tournament, featured six members of Kendall SC’s U18G White: Monica Aguirre, Jeanne Canto, Arisse Fernandez, Brooks Burdick, and Andrea Roca. They scored wins against North Carolina’s CASL’ 89 Spartan Premier (2-0), Virginia’s LMVSC Patriots (1-0) and Georgia’s Concorde Fire Elite (4-0). In the game against CASL Monica Aguirre made a move around two players and made a great pass to Arisse Fernandez who found herself alone with the GK and placed it around her to contribute to the 2-0 win. Against LMVSC Patriots, Jeanne Canto had the lone goal on a tremendous shot from the end line on the right side that curved in with little angle to spare. In the last match versus Georgia’s Concorde Fire Elite, Kendall SC’s girls accounted for half the scores in the 4-0 win, with Arisse Fernandez breaking the game open with a shot off a volley from 25 yards out that she nailed in the upper left side of the goal. Later Monica Aguirre scored from 20 yards out with a shot she created hitting it on the upper right side.

U17 Girls
The U17 girls, a squad composed entirely of Plantation Eagles players, went 1-0-2 in the tournament’s U17 Showcase Sienna group. They earned consecutive 0-0 ties versus Minnestota’s WSC Eclipse and North Carolina’s CASL Spartan United Black and posted a 1-0 win over Tennessee’s ERSA Express 91.

U16 Girls
The U16 girls were joined by Daisy Vexlund, a member of Kendall SC’s U18G White team, who started every match in the tournament. Playing in the U16 United Bronze group, they finished 1-1-1 with a win against Massachusetts’s MPS Cape Cod Lady Crusaders, a 2-2 tie with South Dakota’s Dakota Gold Destiny Challenge and their lone loss at the hands of Richmond Strikers Elite (1-2).

Our hats off to all the Plantation/Kendall teams for a superb performance.