AFC Lightning 92 White wins Disney Showcase

AFC Lightning 92 White are champions of the 2008-09 Disney Soccer Showcase for girls. Playing in the top U17 Girls division, Lightning had to get past two US Youth Soccer Region Champions as well as their age group’s current National Champion in order to win.

Held annually over the New Year holiday, the Disney Showcase brings together some of the best teams in the country. It is considered one of the most competitive soccer tournaments in the country. It also attracts a large number of college coaches looking to recruit talent for their programs and is the number one college showcase event.

Competition is divided into several levels, with the top 16 teams playing in the Showcase flight. Here, the teams are divided into four groups of four. Teams within each group play each other with group winners advancing to the semifinals. AFC Lightning was placed in Group B along with the McLean MPS Dragons, one of the top teams in Virginia; Sereno SC 92 White, Arizona State Champions and Sting SC 92, the Southern Region Champions.

Playing the McLean Dragons in an afternoon game on New Year’s Eve, Lightning went up 1-0 on an Erin Emerson goal in the first half only to have McLean equalize before half time. Another Emerson goal early in the second half put Lightning ahead 2-1. Late in the game Katrina Frost scored an amazing free kick, curving the ball into the upper corner of the Dragons’ goal from a few yards outside the penalty area. The game ended 3-1.

New Years’ day started out with problems even before the games began. On the way to the game one of the players and her parents were in a car accident. Luckily no one was seriously injured, though the car was no longer drivable. The player, Andrea Dawson, was shaken up and hit her head. She was not able to play in the game.

Despite dominating play for most of the first half, Lighting was not able to score on Sereno SC, whose goalkeeper made amazing saves on a Mandy McCalla header in the first half and an A’Shanae Monroe shot in the second. Sereno was able to score a goal in each half, defeating Lightning 2-0.

On Jan. 2 the team played the final game of round robin play. Lightning faced Sting SC 92 who had beaten them earlier this year in the semifinals of the Southern Region championships. At this point, three of the four teams could still win the group. In order to advance, Lightning had to win their game and have McLean beat or tie Sereno. Both games were played at the same time on adjacent fields.

McLean went up 1-0 on Sereno, giving Lightning the opening it needed, but their game was getting late and was still tied 0-0. The breakthrough finally came when Monroe crossed a ball into the penalty area for Emerson to run on to. With the goalkeeper and a defender coming at her from both sides, Emerson was able to flick the ball past them toward the goal with her heel. Carli Shultis, following play on the far side, slid in to knock the loose ball into the goal giving Lightning the lead it needed. The defense, led by Frost and Devon Fry held on for the rest of the game to earn a spot in the semifinals.

The semifinals and final were played on Jan. 3. With two games in one day, the halves were shortened. Lightning’s semifinal opponent was the PDA Fire from New Jersey. They are the Northeastern Region Champions.

Despite creating several opportunities, Lightning was not able to score. PDA, on the other hand, scored once in the first half and again in the second. With things looking down, Lightning’s coach, Andy Thompson, made a tactical change to help give the team more attacking power. The move worked, when with 18 minutes to go, Lightning got a free kick outside of the PDA penalty area. Emerson took the kick, passing it to Kelsey Barr who put it across the goal for Mandy McCalla to finish. Having cut the lead to one goal, Lightning pushed even harder. Emerson tried to score with a powerful header, but the ball hit the PDA goalkeeper in the chest and bounced out to Monroe. Monroe tried to lift the ball into the empty goal but missed a little wide. A few minutes later, Shultis put a ball across the goal, finding Emerson at the far post for a tying goal. Four minutes later it was Emerson again, this time with a breakaway to put Lightning up 3-2. Once again the defense held tight, securing a place in the final against Dallas Texans Red – the current national champions.

In the final, Lightning started out very strong and came close to scoring twice in the first five minutes. The Texans soon matched their pace however, with the game going back and forth from end to end. In the last ten minutes of the first half the Lightning girls seemed to tire a bit, allowing the Texans to launch an series of attacks. Several saves by goalkeeper Kaitlyn Stroud kept the score even. In the last kick of the half a Texan forward hit a very powerful shot toward the goal. It took an acrobatic move from Stroud to get to the ball and punch it clear, but once again she made the save.

In the second half the Texans were relentless in their attacks. The Lightning girls had occasional runs forward, but for the most part had to play solid defense to keep the Texans at bay. As the game moved to stoppage time, Lightning made a run forward that resulted in earning a throw in deep in Texans’ territory. The ball found its way to Jordan Sink who was open outside the penalty area. Her left footed shot was curving toward the far corner of the goal, but the Texans’ goalkeeper was able to tip it around the post. Andrea Dawson took the ensuing corner kick, dropping the ball right in front of the goal. The goalkeeper misjudged it and as the ball fell it hit a defender and bounced into the goal. With the 1-0 lead, Lightning was able to hold off the Texans for less than a minute when the referee signaled the end of the game.

Winning the Disney Showcase is the biggest achievement that this team has had so far. It caps off a season in which they went 3-0 at the CASL Showcase – a premier event in North Carolina – beating the Colorado runners up and the Ohio-North and New York-East state champions. They have also already qualified for the Southern Regional Championships to be held this June in Texas based on their 9-1-1 record in Premier League play in the fall. This was the team’s last event for now. They will be playing against each other at various high schools this spring before coming together again for state, region and hopefully national competition in the summer.

AFC Lightning 92 White with Disney Showcase Medals
Members of the AFC Lightning 92 with their Disney Showcase Medals in the front row are Kaitlyn Stroud, Erin Emerson, Devon Fry, Jewels Strickland, Carli Shultis and Erin Pincombe. In the back row are Coach Andy Thompson, Katrina Frost, Kayla Curtis, A'Shanae Monroe, Kelsey Barr, Mandy McCalla, Sarah Daane, Jordan Sink, Andrea Dawson and Courtney Reddig. Photo/Special.