Granite FC's State Cup Runs

With Memorial Day almost upon us, the group stages of the NH State Cup are now concluded and its a good time to review how the four Granite FC COE entrants fared. Two of the four teams -- Steve's U-15s and Gary's U-17s -- are through to the finals (although in the interests of full disclosure it must be pointed out that the U-17s have been byed through to the final). The U-17s were State Champions in last year's U-16 bracket and we are all hoping that they will repeat again in June 1 against Seacoast.

The U-15s road has been more challenging. They have had to play World Cup, the Seacoast "A" and "B" teams as well as the Classics. They picked up two wins against the Classics and World Cup, drew 0-0 against the Seacoast "A" team and lost 1-2 against t he Seacoast "B" team. The best and most challenging match was last weekend against the Seacoast "A" team. the game was matched by very fast and physical play with scoring chances falling to both sides and with great defensive efforts and keeper heroics.

Aubrey, Dana and Jill Preparing to Defend a Seacoast Corner

Amanda Beating Her Seacoast Defender

This past weekend was another story. The girls' played two puzzling matches in which they struggled to find their form. Against the Classics, they drew first blood going up 1-0 but the U-15s then went flat allowing two goals and trailing 2-1 with as little as 12 minutes left in the match. At that point, it was as if a switch was flipped and the girls' started exerting consistent attacking pressure. The result was a four goal explosion that assured a 5-2 win for the Wanderers. These few minutes of explosive attacking play demonstrated to the girls exactly how dangerous they can be going forward. This late in the game effort assured the girls that they would go through to the finals regardless of the outcome of their final match against the Seacoast "B" team. In that match, a few players were forced to sit with nagging injuries. The rest took the field as if in a fog. Although the U-15s had passages of control, they never looked dangerous in the final 18. The lackluster effort was met with determination and effort by a surprisingly able Seacoast "B" squad. The COE girls' efforts were duly punished with a 2-1 loss.

Shawna Starting the Scoring Explosion Against the Classics with a Nicely Taken Penalty Kick

Alyssa Battling Hard in the Middle

While the U-15s have successfully charted a course through the group stage to the finals, the U-12s fell agonizingly short. Having drawn Seacoast 0-0 and beaten World Cup 6-0, all the U-12s needed to go through was a draw or a win against the Classics to get through to the final. In the end, the U-12s could not handle the task dropping a squeaker 1-2. Although the U-12s were storming the Classics' final 18 in the last 10 minutes of the match, the athletic Classics' players defended well and held onto the victory.

Tori Making One of Her Trademark Slides Against Seacoast

Averi Bringing the Ball Forward in Search of a Second Goal Against the Classics

The U-14s also had their share of bitter luck dropping an opening match against the Classics 0-2. The U-14s rallied to pick up a draw against the Express and a 4-0 win versus the Upper Valley Lightning. This left the Wanderers with the daunting task of extracting a win from the Seacoast United girls. The girls could not fulfill the task falling 0-3 to a very talented Seacoast squad.

Florida Spring Training

The girls styling their "Clearwater Beach" shorts

HC United and the Wanderers

Clearwater Chargers and Wanderers

Eleven of Len's U-12s returned last Friday evening from 5 days of training, friendlies and beach time in the Clearwater Beach area of Florida. The girls trained each morning for about 3 hours and played two evening friendlies against the Clearwater Chargers -- the girls' hosts for the week -- and HC United. The first friendly match against the Clearwater Chargers resulted in a 0-0 draw. The match was a physical affair in which both sides had opportunities in front of the net but neither side could convert. The second friendly match took place at the Ed Radice fields in Tampa against HC United. The HC United girls were very technical over the ball and were athletic. The Wanderers were reduced to ten players and two guest players from Clearwater -- Casey and Brianna -- but managed to hold their own in unaccustomed Florida heat. Nevertheless, for about 10 minutes in the second half the Wanderers lost their shape and concentration, made some poor decisions and paid dearly by giving up three goals in quick succession. Ultimately, the three goals stood unanswered resulting in a 3-0 loss. All in all, the week was a great experience of team building, training and play. It was a pleasure to get to know some U-12s from Florida and see the fine standard of play down there. It was also a pleasure to work with the folks from the Clearwater Chargers and we want to thank them for all of their hospitality. We hope that we can reciprocate some day.