Six C.O.E. Teams Go Through to State Cup Finals

U-13 Jamie Sherburne Making

One of Many Runs Through the Classics' Defense

U-13 Megan Ethier lets loose a Volley on the Classics' Net, Tori Sailor Waiting for the Rebound

U-16 Leah Gundrum Blocking a Cross

U-16 Aubrey Ouellet Making a Big Save

The NH State Cup group stage came to a close last weekend and, when the dust settled, six of the seven C.O.E. teams that had entered were through to the finals. The U-12 boys and the U-16 girls have earned their second consecutive trip to the finals with the U-18 girls going for the sixth consecutive time. Joining these teams for the first time will be the U-11 girls (playing up at U-12), the U-13 girls and the U-15 girls.

Two games are worth noting from this past weekend because of the quality of the C.O.E.'s attacking play. The U-16s and U-13s both had must win games against their Classics' counterparts and the Classics' athleticism and physical style of play are well suited to frustrate sides such as these that like to get forward. In both games, the girls matched the physical intensity and threatened to score for long stretches. Not surprisingly, the U-16s poured in 5 goals and, although the U-13s only managed 2 goals to the Classics' 1 goal, the truth is that players like Tori Sailor, Jamie Sherburne and Megan Ethier spent long periods of the game marauding into the Classics' defensive 1/3rd of the field.

Now, onto the Londonderry West Fields complex and the Seacoast sides that await!

C.O.E. Teams Looking Strong as They Enter the Last Weekend of State Cup Group Play

Amanda Roberts Battling to Hold Up the Ball Against Seacoast B as the COE Gets Forward

Mackenzie Logan Looking to Press Upfield Against Seacoast B

Summing Up th e Whole Day for the U-13s Against Seacoast A --
Jo Cossey Going Down with a Sprained Ankle

Two weekends are down and one is to go in the group stages of the NH State Cup and every team is in the hunt for finals berth! Each team -- the U-12 boys and the U-11 (playing U-12), U-13, U-14, U-15 and U-17 girls have all put in at least one strong showing and are looking for more this Saturday and Sunday (May 16 & 17).

U-11 Girls

The U-11 girls, playing up an age in the U-12, 8 v 8 division, are making their first appearance on the State Cup stage. They have played two tough and gritty games against Seacoast and World Cup and came away with 3-2 and 2-1 wins respectively. Sparked by a great keeper performance from Hannah Smith, very energetic midfield play from Brianna Purcell and Marie Laplante, solid defense from Megan Olsen and Alyza Sayward, and gritty runs from Shannon Ryan at Striker, the girls' two wins, combined with two losses by the Classics guarantees the U-11s an appearance in the finals.

U-13 Girls

With two games under their belt, the u-13s have had the best and worst of times. In their first match, they comprehensively drubbed the Seacoast B team 4-0. They played wonderful flowing football and were unlucky not to have scored a handful of additional goals. The form was not to last when they laced up their cleats against the Seacoast A team the next day. The girls were listless and lacked cohesion from the start. Seacoast, on the other hand, came ready to play. From the 1-1 draws that have been the result of the girls' other two games this year with this Seacoast side, our girls know that nothing but a top notch performance will do the trick. Predictably, our girls went down by two goals within minutes. Even this did not wake the girls from their torpor and, in the end, the U-13s endured a painful 5-0 loss. All is not lost, however. A win this coming weekend against the Classics would assure that the girls' go through to the finals for another crack at Seacoast.

U-14 Girls

An entirely new team that came together for the first time this past August at our annual Kimball Union Academy pre-season camp, the U-14s have already assured a berth in the semifinals with a 2-0 win over the Express. The 2-0 scoreline does not adequately capture the dominance that the girls displayed in the match as the U-14s spent large amounts of the game linking up and attacking in the Express' half of the field. Although its not entirely clear who the U-14s will face in the semi finals, it appear probable that it will be the Classics. For anyone interested in watching an exciting, new team in the girls' side of the tournament, kick off will be Sunday at 1:00 pm in Pembroke.

U-15 Girls

Unlike the U-14s, the U-15s are a team that has been together for a few years. Nevertheless, with the departure of some longstanding stalwarts and the arrival of several new players the team has a new look and this is translating into different and better luck in the State Cup than in past years. The U-15s drew the Classics 1-1 in their first match and then fell 0-1 to Seacoast in their second match. Both results were unfair to the U-15s because in each game they had control of long runs of the play. The result against Seacoast was particularly cruel because Seacoast's goal came from a dubious penalty call made very late in the game. That said, the girls' remain alive for a finals berth. The outcome of the Seacoast versus Classics match this weekend will determine whether the C.O.E. U-15s advance.

U-16 Girls

The U-16s had little trouble sending the Seacoast B team crashing out of the tournament when they pounded Seacoast with 7 goals as against 1 for Seacoast. The win came at some cost, however, with Liz Pettis going down with a broken collar bone. Steve Hetherington's girls face off against the Classics this coming Saturday in a match that will determine whether it is the Classics or the C.O.E. that goes forward to take on the Seacoast A squad in the Finals.

U-18 Girls

No State Cup report is complete without some mention of the U-18s, last year's State Cup winners. With their historic dominance of the event, no other club but Seacoast put a team forward for the competition. The girls are headed once again to the State Cup finals against Seacoast-- State Cup Finalists by acclamation!

U-12 Boys

Last but not least, the C.O.E.'s first boys team started well with a 6-2 win over Seacoast and a 3-3 draw with the Express. The boys, led by coach Dave Eliot, put in compelling attacking performances against both teams and need only to shore up their defensive shape. A win against the Classics this coming Sunday will assure that the boys advance to the finals.

U-15 & U-16 GIRLS TRYOUTS

U-15 GIRLS
Sunday November 2 -- 10:30AM - 12:00AM
Saturday November 8 -- 3:00PM - 4:30PM
Sunday November 9 -- 11:00AM - 12:30AM

Coach: Winston Haughton -- 603.204.9005

U-16 GIRLS
Sunday November 2 -- 9:30AM - 11:00AM
Sunday November 9 -- 9:30AM - 11:00AM
Monday November 10 -- 6:30PM- 8PM (NH Sportsplex, Bedford)
Saturday November 15 -- 9:30AM - 11:00AM


Coaches: Steve Hetherington & Lenny Webb -- 603.204.9003

All tryouts will be held at the Nashua Corp Field (unless stated, otherwise).


Registration 30 minutes before tryout start time.


Directions: From North, take exit 10 off rte 3 south, at the ramp take a left, go through a set of lights and at the next set of lights turn right, take DW highway south, past Mobil garage, continue south and on your left you will see a sign "Nashua" take the next left into a industrial space at the bottom of the ramp go to the far left corner of the parking lot, and field is through a small entryway at the top of the parking lot.
From South: Take Exit 10 off Rte 3 North, turn right off ramp, and at the next set of lights turn right, take DW highway south, past Mobil garage, continue south and on your left you will see a sign "Nashua" take the next left into an industrial space at the bottom of the ramp go to the far left corner of the parking lot, and field is through a small entryway at the top of the parking lot.

For more information about Granite FC C.O.E., go to www.granitefc.org or www.granitefc.blogspot.com

U-13 TRYOUT

Len and the U-13 Girls

Granite FC U13 girls are looking for one or two additional players for the Winter and Spring season. The team is currently playing in MAPLE and looking for players who are interested in playing at a higher level and have a desire to improve there technical and tactical understanding of the game. We play and train in Nashua, NH and conduct winter training at the NH Sportsplex in Bedford NHIf you are interested, we are hosting open sessions on Wednesday November 5th and 12th 4.30pm at Nashua Corp Fields, Merrimack NHFor more information please contact Lenny Webb at lennywebb@gmail.com or at (603) 204 9004
Guest

U-17s Breanna Robinson Starts Big at University of Hartford

Breanna Robinson in Action for the U. Hartford Hawks

Breanna Robinson of the State Cup Champion U-17s has started her college playing career just like she ended her COE career -- fast and with a huge impact. Breanna just started her playing career for the University of Hartford and came on as a substitute in the teams' second game against Farleigh Dickinson University to score two goals in quick succession. Her electric performance has the America East and Division I soccer world buzzing as she was named the America East rookie of the week and earned one of the striker spots on the TopDrawerSoccer.com College Team of the Week. It looks like the America East schools are about to learn what Region I teams have had to learn, Breanna is one of the most dangerous strikers you will ever encounter. Everyone in the club will be watching her play this fall with great interest.

For more on Breanna's big week --

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/component/option,com_topdrawer/Itemid,315/nid,3695/?SPID=5380&DB_OEM_ID=12400&SPSID=52142

http://www.americaeast.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=5380&SPSID=52142&&ATCLID=1568083&DB_OEM_ID=14000

http://www.hartfordhawks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=1568209&DB_OEM_ID=12400

An Active Pre Season -- Kimball Union and the Granite FC Friendlies

Christina Napolitano of the U-14s Attacking the Stars from Midfield

U-13s on the Eve of the Granite FC Friendlies

Most of the COE teams will be bringing their pre-season preparations to a close this week as we approach the traditional start to the Fall season -- Labor Day tournaments. In addition to training at the "Corp," the preseason activities have included our annual overnight camp at Kimball Union Academy and our series of friendly matches the weekend before Labor Day. Both were a great opportunity to train the girls hard and see how they play together in game settings.

The U-11s, U-13s and U-14s all travelled to Kimball Union Academy and trained intensively all day and into the evening of August 16, 17 and 19. Blessed with great weather and fantastic facilities, a tremendous amount was achieved in a short period. Although the girls grumbled a bit about the food, they managed to survive and have a good time. The highlights of each day was the three matches between the U-13s and U-14s. On Saturday night, the U-13s cohesion and understanding opened up the U-14s leading to a 3-0 drubbing. Although the U-14s are an entirely new team and this result could be expected, the U-14s did not take it well and put in a gritty and compelling effort Sunday evening that resulted in a 4-1 payback. The match on Monday, was a much closer affair with the U-13s taking a 2-1 win to get bragging rights for the weekend.

The next weekend -- August 23 & 24 -- the U-13s and the U-14s hosted ten teams at the Corp in the annual Granite FC Friendlies. In a festive atmosphere, the U-14s entertained the Stars U-13 United and U-14 Athletic teams as well as the U-14s from Delta FC and North Shore United. The U-13s played the Stars United U-13s and U-12s, the New England Comets U-13s and the Benfica U-13s.

The most compelling game played by the U-14s was against the Stars United U-13s. Although the Wanderers ultimately fell to the Stars 5-4, the girls showed that they could penetrate and score on a team that defends very well. As the U-14s' cohesion and understanding improve we can expect the defense to tighten up which would result in a winning score line.

For the U-13s, the girls best game came against the New England Comets -- Connecticut's U-12 State Cup Champions. The U-13 Wanderers surrendered a 1-1 draw to the Comets in the closing minutes of the game but showed strong passages of possession and build up play throughout the preceding 55 minutes. With better finishing -- excepting Molly Hemond's wonder goal from 25 yards -- the score line would have earned the girls a win.

With all of this preparation under their belts, the U-11s, U-13s and the U-14s should be prepared for travel to either the Seacoast facilities or Lancaster, MA for Labor Day tournament play. Successful league play in MAPLE and GSYSL play hopefully lies immediately beyond.

U-17s Take State Cup Championship

Gary's U-17s with Big Smiles (No Doubt, in Contemplation of their Late June Long Weekend in Maine,

site of the Region I Championship Tournament)

The U17s have been quietly going about their business since they came together last last Fall. Playing college showcases and competing in Region I's Northeast Subregional league they have been waiting their chance to show their stuff in the State Cup having been byed through to the finals. There can be no ignoring the U17s any longer because on June 1st they triumphed over Seacoast in a close and toughly contested State Cup final. Gary's girls had their hands full with a talented Seacoast team but were able to jump out to a 1 goal lead in the first half. Carlee Brion blasted a loose ball from a set play into the back of the net. The girls jumped out to a 2 goal lead early in the second half when Bree Robinson pounced on a rebound from a cross by Cassy Muse and pushed it past the Seacoast goalie. Seacoast made it close by scoring their only goal with about 15 minutes to play. Seacoast went on the attack for the final 15 minutes but the girls held strong for the 2-1 victory.

The result is a testament to the strong ties that hold this team and their coaches together. Many of the young women on this team have been playing together since they were girls in the u-11 and u-12 years -- then flying under the banner of the old MISL club. When MISL folded they moved to the Phantoms and when the Phantoms were subsumed into the Classics, they came to Granite FC. Through it all, they have shown a fierce loyalty to each other and their coach, Gary Karibian. With the blending of four players from the original squad that started the COE in 2003 they have made a potent combination that looks forward to the challenges ahead in Maine.

Congratulation to the u-17 players, coaches and families!!! Everyone at Granite FC is proud to be associated with each of you.