You can add a new title to the Sachem Speed resume – Eastern U.S. Champions.
The Girls U12 team won the U.S. Youth Soccer Region 1 Championship Tuesday morning, beating PDA Storm (N.J.) in the final, 1-0, in Kingston, R.I.
The title game capped off a whirlwind trip for the Speed, which started with opening ceremonies for the regional tournament last Thursday night in Rhode Island. All the teams lined up by state in the stadium and marched around the field.
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Friday morning, Sachem opened the scoring early with three goals in the first seven minutes en route to a 4-0 win against World Cup SC Elite from New Hampshire in the first round.
The next day, the Speed cruised to a 7-0 win against RI Strikers FC – Bettencourt, a Rhode Island team, setting up a matchup against a powerful PDA Storm squad.
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Sachem fell behind 2-0 in the first half, but rallied in the second half to tie the game with some dominating play by both offense and defense.
In the semifinals on Monday, Sachem again was matched against a powerful opponent: FSA FC Navy from Connecticut, ranked No. 7 in the country.
“The girls worked incredibly hard and kept the game scoreless through 55 minutes. Then we got a beautiful cross from the right wing and our center striker put in the only goal of the game,” said Speed coach Robert Rinfret.
Sachem moved on to the championship game – and victory – in a rematch with PDA Storm.
The Speed advanced as far as they can in their age bracket in U.S. Youth Soccer. Next year, they would be eligible to continue on to nationals.
Members of the winning team include: Bridget Abraldes, Gloria Arango, Alexa Billingham, Lakin Ciampo, Nicolette Constant, Allison Devall, Megan Fitzgerald, Sara Hobbes, Mariana Nieves, Jessica Nischo, Aryanna Ortiz, Brooke Papele, Skylar Papele, Mikayla Pulido, Allison Rinfret and Kathleen Turano. The team was coached by Robert Rinfret and Dan Papele and trained by Krista Minto.
Visit http://tournaments.usyouthsoccer.org/events/2014-Region-I-Championships/Schedule/U12-Girls/Division+1/ for more details on the tournament.
