Over the November 13, 14 weekend SOCA’s U12 Girls Blue team traveled to the Richmond area where they won their division championship in the Capital Fall Classic soccer tournament with an undefeated performance.

On Saturday, the locals jumped off to an impressive early morning start with a 9-0 thumping of the PWSI Courage from northern Virginia.  The comprehensive display featuring a strong attacking mentality boosted team confidence and got the girls off to a dream start, lifting them for the remainder of the event.

In the late morning match against Wilson Explosion of North Carolina, despite tired legs, SOCA was able to squeeze out a 2-1 win before heading for rest and recuperation prior to the next day’s matches.

Sunday morning provided the last match-up in group play, where SOCA faced a stubborn host squad from the Richmond Strikers.  In a tough game ending 1-1, the result was enough for the SOCA’s Blues to advance to the final.

Having found a way to prevail over various conditions, the squad was riding the wave into the final against another NoVa opponent, Gunston Spirit.  Coach Dan Rosensweig characterized the championship match as a “worthy final, between two good teams who were well organized, committed to keeping possession and tried to build and create chances in the attack”.  SOCA won the match 2-0 and the players were radiant in their success.

Rosensweig said the theme of the event was “the WE WEekend”, where the group was going to be greater than the sum of the parts.  He praised his charges for a total team effort and for learning to win in a demanding tournament setting.

Juliana Pierce earned distinction for her performance throughout the tourny, bossing the game from her central midfield position, covering acres of ground and notching the game winner in the final.

VPSL league play for the SOCA Blue teams will resume in the spring, following an early season kick-off tournament event.

Complete Capital Fall Classic tournament results can be found here:  https://events.gotsport.com/events/schedule.aspx?EventID=83978&GroupID=1071923&Gender=Girls&Age=12