Youth: East Lake takes Disney title

LAKE BUENA VISTA – Goals from Danielle Gottwik and Riley Narum gave the East Lake Arsenal a 2-1 victory against the Richmond Kickers in the girls under-14 Showcase division of the Disney Junior Soccer Showcase on Sunday afternoon at the Wide World of Sports complex.

“I think that we played better and better each game,” Arsenal coach Diego Viera said. “We’re very proud of this, it’s very important to us.”

East Lake conceded only one goal in the tournament, having defeated the Atlanta Fire in the semifinals earlier in the day 1-0 on a goal by Alex Pallo. Viera said he hoped the victory would give his side more confidence in the future.

“Two years ago, we won Region C and the President’s Cup, then last year we won State cup,” Viera said. “Obviously when you win, things are going better, and the team is gaining in confidence. We’ll see what happens in the future.

The Brandon Flames also advanced to the final of the boys under-13 Predator division, but there were unable to hold a half time lead to the Norcross Fury, losing 2-1 after over time. Flames coach John Clare wasn’t too downbeat after the game, though.

“Overall, it was a good weekend,” Clare said. “I think we accomplished what we wanted to do, played some good opposition”

Jacob Goodall had given Brandon the lead in the 21st minute on a free kick that he curled beautifully into the left corner of the goal. Ben Skinner then tied the game for Norcross. Thomas Traynham then gave Norcross the lad early in the first overtime period. Clare said he hoped his side learnt from their experience.

“If we don’t learn how to win those tough games, then you’re just another team,” Clare said. “I didn’t think (any of the teams we faced) were better that were. Technically, physically, they were about the same as theirs , but they had than mental toughness at the end of the game.

Youth: East Lake, Brandon advance at Disney

LAKE BUENA VISTA – The East Lake Arsenal advanced to the semifinals of the Disney Junior Soccer Showcase’s girls under-14 showcase division with a 1-0 victory against Solar FC from Texas in its final pool game on Saturday morning at the Wide World of Sports Complex.

East Lake, which won the Florida State Cup in the spring, also defeated the Braddock Road Elite from Virginia and ASA Xtreme Elite from Georgia, building their success on a tight defensive unit that held all three opponents scoreless. While led by goalkeeper Rachel Taylor, and anchored by defender Gina Davis, East Lake coach Diego Viera said the side’s defensive record was a tribute to the work all 11 players on the field put in to defending as a unit.

“Gina Davis is a great defender, and it’s a lot of help,” Viera said, “but I think that our first defender is our center forward. It’s teamwork, everybody goes and I get to see in the effort on the field if they are able to be on this team. I can’t have any complaints about that part, so I’m more than happy with the team that I have, and I’m looking forward to seeing the semifinals tomorrow.”

The Brandon Flames also advanced into the boys under-13 Predator division semifinals, going 2-0-1 in pool play to advance. After a pair of victories on the opening day, the Flames drew 2-2 with Birmingham United on Saturday, and will play West Pines United in Sunday’s semifinals.

“Today, we didn’t play particularly well, but the first two games I was particularly pleased with the way that we used our combination play between the forwards and midfielders,” Flames coach John Clare said. “We were able to control the game a lot more, get our backs forward better, that pleased me the most, and the obviously the work-rate, the guys played with a high work-rate and won every 50/50 ball.”

West Pines have appeared very strong so far, a 4-1 win against Tampa’s Fusion Futbol its narrowest margin of victory. Clare believe his side will need to be very disciplined and try to create chances on the counter-attack in order to advance to the final.

“The most important thing is to keep it tight in the back,” Clare said. “We definitely need to keep the midfield compact as we go forward and defend, not get stretched, because they’ve got good, skillful players that if they isolate us 1-on-1 a lot, they’ve got pretty good passing. If we can keep them from getting a good rhythm, disrupt their play, and get the ball up to our forwards to allow them to create some chances for us, that’s going to be the key.”