News and Announcements

Team Chicago Academy-Falcons won the Superclubs Champions Cup in Rockford this weekend.

They started out falling to 2-1 to a tough Chicago Blast side, but they then bounced back in impressive style with a 5-0 win against Tigres de Cicero. In the 3rd and final round-robin game the Falcons tied 2-2 against Midwest Red Devils, which was all they needed to advance to the final.

In the championship game Falcons avenged the earlier loss to the Chicago Blast in a rematch of the first game. In a drama & excitement-filled championship match, the Falcons battled hard to emerge victorious.

As the final seconds of regulation closed in, Emerson Beinhauer was awarded a penalty kick, which he converted to force extra time. Strong defensive play from Matt Montrose, Connor Ahler, and Trey Eichamer led the team and kept the high pressured Blast offense off the score board. Again, as the finals seconds closed in of extra time, Alfonso Pizzo received a pass from Adam Bose and beat the Chicago Blast goalkeeper to win the tournament in exciting fashion.

Team Chicago Academy-Cruzeiro had a very impressive showing at the IYSA U13 MRL Qualification competition this past weekend in Rockford, IL. Playing in extremely difficult conditions, Cruzeiro had to emerge victorious from its 4-team round robin to qualify for the Midwest Regional League in the Spring.

Cruzeiro got off to a great start with a convincing 5-0 win over Panthers on Saturday morning. Riley O’Brien had 2 goals and an assist in the game while Jamie Goralski, Jordan Kind, and Lauryn Wesoloski rounded out the scoring.

In the 2nd game on Saturday Cruzeiro beat Eclipse 4-0 behind Jamie Goralski’s 2 goals in 1 minute in the 2nd half. Jordan King had gotten the opener in the 1st half and Mia Lakstigala capped off the scoring with 15 minutes to go.

Heading into the final game on Sunday morning against Strikers, Cruzeiro knew that a tie, or even a narrow loss, would see them qualify for MRL. However, the Cruzeiro players made an emphatic statement with a very comfortable 6-0 win. Sarah Avery came up from her right-back position to score the eventual game-winner before Kerry Abello unleashed a bit of magic on the Strikers.

Kerry had 5 goals including both an Olimpico (directly off her corner-kick) and a powerful free-kick from 25 yards out. But most impressive was her mazy run over 65 yards beating 5 players before she calmly slotted the ball home at the foot of the far post.

Goalkeepers Bailey Witt and Anna Aubuchon earned the 3 shutous in goal with great play behind a very strong effort by the defenders.

For the other Team Chicago Academy teams in MRL competition this weekend it was a bit more of a mixed bag. Botafogo, Santos, and Internacional all had to postpone their home games due to the weather and field conditions.

Botafogo will play the postponed game v. Chicago-Inter Homer Glen at 7:30pm this Wednesday 10/17 at PlayUSA. The other two games are TBD.

Team Chicago Academy-Eagles traveled to Northbrook, IL to face FC-1 Academy Elite in its quest for the U14 Boys MRL First Division title. In the battle of undefeated teams, Eagles lost a tight game 3-1 and will now need a win in its final game v. Chicago Fire on 11/4 to finish 3rd and hope for a wild-card berth into the Spring Premier Division.

Team Chicago Academy-Brasilia traveled to St. Louis to take on two of the other top-3 teams in the U14 Girls MRL First Division and unfortunately came up a little short in both games. On Saturday it was a 3-0 loss to JB Marine and Sunday a 2-0 defeat to Futura Academy. With a win in its final MRL game v. Chicago-Inter on 10/27 Brasilia can still finish 2nd in the Division and qualify for the Spring Premier Division.

This weekend will feature some big MRL match-ups for Team Chicago Academy teams – including the 3 teams who are trying to extend their perfect records.

On Sunday 10/15 Team Chicago will host a triple-header of MRL games at Gentile Field at 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm.

Team Chicago Academy-Internacional who are currently in 3rd place will kick off the festivities at 3pm against FCX Black who are currently tied for 1st. Internacional will need a victory to stay in the hunt for the U16 First Division title and promotion to the Premier Division.

At 5pm Team Chicago Academy-Santos will play host to North Shore United in a match-up between the only 2 teams with a perfect 4-0 record in the U17 First Division. With a win Santos will all but assure the title and promotion to the Premier Division.

Finally, Team Chicago Academy-Botafogo will put its perfect 4-0 record in the Premier Division on the line against Chicago-Inter Homer Glen at 7pm.

In addition to these 3 big home games, Team Chicago Academy-Brasilia will travel to St. Louis to put its perfect 4-0 record on the line against JB Marine and Futura Academy. With 2 wins Brasilia will secure the U14 First Division title and promotion to the Spring Premier Division.

Team Chicago Academy-Eagles will travel the short distance to Northbrook, IL to take on FC-1 Academy in another top-of-the-table match-up. The undefeated Eagles are currently in 5th position in the U14 Boys First Division, and will need a win this weekend and another win 11/3 to earn at least 2nd place and secure promotion to the Spring Premier Division.

Finally, Team Chicago Academy-Cruzeiro will travel to Rockford, IL to compete in the IYSA U13 MRL Qualification tournament this weekend. With 3 wins this weekend Cruzeiro will earn a spot in the Spring MRL competition.

Brasil Girls win Octoberfest Classic!

Posted by Jamie Boe at Oct 12, 2012 7:00AM PDT ( 2 Comments )
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Team Chicago’s U11 Brasil Girls took home the first place trophy from the GLSA Octoberfest Classic in Libertyville, IL this past weekend. The Brasil Girls, coached by Brian Bierman, outscored their opponents 11-1 over the 4-game tournament.

The team kicked off pool play with a 7-0 victory over Libertyville U10 Orange. Nearly half the team’s members found the net, with goals by Eden Short (2), Jacqueline Stasny (2), Nikki Coryell, Tamara Hernandez, and Yanna Papoutsis. Allison Adams, Ellie Cast, and Bella Espinoza contributed with solid performances at mid-field, while Julia O’Dekirk and Sophie Benmore’s strong defensive play helped Emily Mauder earn the shutout on goalkeeper duty.

Game 2 proved to be a well-matched duel with Team Evanston Orange. After 50 minutes of play, neither team had notched a goal, ending in a 0-0 tie.

After a scoreless first half of Game 3, Nikki Coryell knocked in a corner kick from Eden Short. With another great cross from Short, Coryell sent it home once again to seal the 2-0 victory over BTSC Barcelona and earn the Brasil Girls a berth in the final.

In the Championship game versus Palatine Celtic, the Brasil Girls opened the scoring first with Eden Short finding the net early in the first half. Palatine answered not long after, notching the only goal of the tournament against the Brasil Girls. The game remained tied at 1-1 throughout the second half, sending the match into overtime. Near the end of the first OT period, Bella Espinoza chipped in a goal to give the Brasil Girls the lead. With no time remaining, the referee called a handball in the box, setting up a Palatine penalty kick. The shot went wide left of the net though, preserving the 2-1 win and a 1st place finish for the Brasil Girls.

Santos Maintained its Perfect MRL Record!

Posted by Phil Nielsen at Oct 8, 2012 12:33PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
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Team Chicago Academy-Santos maintained its perfect MRL record with 3 wins in Wixom, MI this past weekend to move into the lead of the U17 Girls First Division Green.

On Saturday morning Santos defeated MI Jaguars 2-0 on goals by Kristen Brots, on a PK committed against Kelsey Pruett, and Kaela Leskovar on a perfect attack that was started by a Katie Ciesiulka driven diagonal through-ball into Talise Romain’s perfectly timed run out of the back. Courtney Keefer and Abbey Fuster shared the shutout in goal.

Saturday night Santos beat Livonia Meteors 2-1 on goals by Kaela Leskovar, from Heather Handwork, and Hannah Rodgers.

Finally, Santos defeated Vardar Ann Arbor 3-1 on Sunday morning behind a Kaela Leskovar brace less than two minutes apart in the 2nd half, and a Heather Handwork goal before the break.

Team Chicago Academy-Internacional lost a heart-breaker in its MRL Division game on Saturday conceding two late goals after Kiley Czerwinski had given Internacional the lead off a corner-kick with less than 10 minutes left in the game.

Alena Sidwell, Kiley Czerwinski, Jori Romano, Miranda Lambert, and Tori Christiansen had very strong performances for Internacional.

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