The FC Wisconsin Eclipse U15-U18 teams played their first ECNL National Event games in Phoenix, AZ this past weekend, with each team playing 3 big games at Reach 11 Soccer Park.  The national debut of the new club was noted across the country, with recognition from National Soccer Wire as well. 

The FC Wisconsin Eclipse U15-U18 teams played their first ECNL National Event games in Phoenix, AZ this past weekend, with each team playing 3 big games at Reach 11 Soccer Park.  The national debut of the new club was noted across the country, with recognition from National Soccer Wire as well.

The ECNL National Events are the biggest collegiate showcases in the country, but also play a large role in qualification for the ECNL post-season.  For teams in wildcard contention for post-season play-offs, (click here for the post-season qualification process), the national event results can make or break a team's chances to claim final play-off berths.

Replicating a college soccer schedule, at national events FC Wisconsin Eclipse teams arrive the day prior to competition (Friday, September 28 for this event), for a light training, team dinner, and meetings to discuss the weekend.  Then, each event features 3 games over 3 days for each participating team.

"Part of the reason players want to play in the ECNL is the ability to play the best teams in the country, at the best facilities in the country, in games that really matter," said coach Vito Parente.  "For these girls to be able to come to Phoenix and play teams from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Texas, Houston, Alabama, and more places is a great opportunity, and a great way for the teams to get closer with each other."

The U16 team led the way in results in Phoenix with a 2-1 win over Birmingham United (AL), a 0-2 loss to Irvine Strikers (CA) on day 2, and a big 2-0 win against Pleasanton Rage (CA) on the final day of competition.  Gaby Dorsey finished the weekend with 3 goals to lead all scorers in the club.  "I was really impressed with the character the girls showed this weekend," said Parente.  "They bounced back from a tough loss on day 2 with perhaps their best performance of the year against Pleasanton."  Chloe Knudtson anchored the back line all weekend, with impressive performances also from Katy Golabowski, Steph Fabry, Christina Feller, Kelly Goodman, and Brianna Jaeger in defense and Jordyn Bloomer in goal.  Mariah Downs scored one and assisted the other in the win against Pleasanton to make her first mark in the ECNL statistics.

The U15 team, with five U14s playing up for the weekend to provide more depth and additional player development opportunities, finished with a 0-0 tie against Sereno (AZ), a close 3-1 loss to MVLA (CA), and a 0-2 loss to San Juan (CA).  "The team created chances in every game, but couldn't quite find the finishing touch," said Christian Lavers.  "That said, they competed really well in every game, and this will be a great spark for the rest of the Midwest Conference season."  Jess Cooley, Payton Wesley and Mary Kate Simon led the way for the U15s with great work in attack and defense.

The U17 team competed well but dropped 3 games to Challenge SC (TX), LV Premier (NV), and DeAnza Force (CA), after losing 2 more players to injury during the week to bring the current "IR" to 4 players.  "We are getting better, but battling a lot of adversity right now," said Monica White.  "This is part of development at this level though, and it will serve us well in the future."  Erin Corrigan, Brooke Szafranski, Maddie Pung and Sophia Donofrio were rock solid all weekend, and multiple players showed signs of new toughness and determination.

The U18 team provided the spark of the weekend, rebounding from a tough start to the season and the event to finish with a 0-0 tie against Texas Rush on Sunday and an impressive 4-1 win against FC Dallas on day 3.  Jamie Karch led the team with 2 goals, supported by great goals by Ingrid Mortonson and Gaby Kiefer.  "There were so many players that stood up to be counted on the U18s this weekend," said White.  "There were players fighting through nagging injuries who really made an impact in key moments, and several players that were playing new positions, in tough circumstances.  We are really excited about the way this team has come together, and the support they showed for each other this week."  In perhaps the biggest surprise of the event, Anna Jurkin pitched a shut-out in 45 minutes as a replacement (and new) goalkeeper when Michela Ongaro went down with an injury after a great first two-and-a-half games.  

"This was a very solid performance for the club in our first ECNL National Event," said Lavers.  "Every point in the ECNL is so difficult to earn because these are the best players and teams in the countr - and it was exciting to see so many of our players take steps forward in their play and earn results this weekend.  These games also give us a lot of information to go home with and focus on in training for the next few weeks."

FC Wisconsin Eclipse U14s, who were off this weekend, are back in action at a U14 ECNL Inter-Conference Event this weekend in Rockford.  The U15-U18 teams will have the upcoming weekend off to rest and recover after Phoenix.