Preparing for Cal South National Cup requires playing at a high level. So, to insure a high level of competition, the CVU GU-15 Pride team decided to play in the Nomads College Show Case as well the DBWV Premier Showcase.
The Nomads tournament featured top teams from around the county. CVU first took on PSV Union, one of the top teams from the Bay area. The first half ended a scoreless draw, but in the second half CVU raced out to a 3 to 1 win. Emily Jones crashed her second free kick against the crossbar, and Lauren Belak-Berger beat the defenders to finish for goal number one. Emily did it one better, putting the next free kick into the upper V for the 2:1 lead. Finally, Autumn Fox finished off a great counter attack started by Taylor Perry and Fanny Lindvall.
The second game against RSF Attack was a tight affair with Lauren Belak-Berger scoring the early goal off a corner kick. Late in the second half, CVU had a couple of costly defensive lapses and the Attack capitalized to rake a 2:1 win. The third game was against the Wolfpack team. CVU started out strong, creating several good options to score. As the game progressed, play became a littlemore sloppy, as the teams paid tribute to the high pace played in the first half. The game ended in a scoreless draw. Nonetheless, CVU qualified for the Quarter Finals. There they met the CSL gold Palmdale Thunder team. It was a very tight game with the Thunder outplaying CVU in the first half while CVU created the better of play in the second. It all ended in PK’s, where Thunder’s sixth shooter converted the deciding kick. All said and done a good weekend against some very solid competition.
The following weekend at the DBWV Shootout, CVU Pride opened against the Honolulu Bulls. Both teams played very well, with Lauren again scoring in a 1:0 contest. The second match featured the Cypress Elite, and CVU dominated the game earning another shut out in a 2:0 affair. Game three was against a very solid Ballistic team from Nevada. They scored first and had the run of play in the first half. After an “inspiring” halftime speech by coach Eric Privat, the girls came out strong grabbing the equalizer. Once again PK’s loomed. This time, CVU was not to be denied scoring a perfect 5 for 5 with Lauren, Rebecca Koval, Emily Jones, Andrea Saldarriaga and Taylor Perry each converting.
So it was on the finals where the Honolulu Bulls were waiting for a rematch. Again, this was a very close affair, and things looked destined for overtime, until Jessica Mundwiller found Autumn Fox on a great through ball. Autumn made no mistake burying the shot past the on rushing keeper into the side netting.
There is an old saying that offense wins games but defense wins championships. Clearly, this held true for CVU Pride as Keeper Allie Altman only gave up only one goal in the tourney. The Defense lead by Emily Jones, Andrea Saldarriaga, Desi McBride, Kelly Wilmont and Julie Watson only conceded 4 goals in eight games (over two tournaments), truly an outstanding performance especially considering the quality of the opposition.
In midfield, Rebecca Koval, Fanny Lindvall, Jessica Mundwiler , Sarah Ruble and Rachel Cookus played outstanding possession soccer, while making sure that no one was able to penetrate our defense. Lindsey Clark and Autumn Fox created a lot of pressure on the opposing teams, with their outstanding speed and great crosses. Lastly, forwards Emily Bredberg, Taylor Perry and Lauren Belak-Berger got the job done.
