The ECNL National Showcase Events are the most prestigious and highly recruited collegiate showcases in the country, featuring the best players from all over the country competing for spots in the ECNL National Championships.  At the 2012 ECNL Showcase in Sanford, more than 400 college coaches at the event watched FC Wisconsin Eclipse players competing ... and winning. 

The ECNL National Showcase Events are the most prestigious and highly recruited collegiate showcases in the country, featuring the best players from all over the country competing for spots in the ECNL National Championships.  At the 2012 ECNL Showcase in Sanford, more than 400 college coaches at the event watched FC Wisconsin Eclipse players competing ... and winning.

The U16 team finished the event as one of the very few unbeaten teams in any age group, with 2 wins and 1 tie, while the U17 team finished 1-2.  Overall the program record of 3 wins, 1 tie and 2 losses was one of the best weekends in the young history of the club.

The U16s beat Solar Chelsea (TX) 2-0 in the opening game of the event, behind second-half goals from Steph Fabry and Payton Wesley.  In the second game, Allison Jacobson was the lone scorer in a 1-0 win against Concorde Fire (GA).   The final game saw a back-and-forth and tightly contested 2-2 game against McLean (VA).  Steph Fabry again opened the scoring early in the game with a great volley over the onrushing keeper.  McLean fought back with great attacking soccer in the second half to take a brief 2-1 lead, before Gaby Dorsey scored the tying goal deep in injury time, to snatch a well-deserved point and preserve the unbeaten weekend.  

"I was very impressed with the U16 team all weekend," said coach Vito Parente.  "They showed this weekend the tremendous progress they have made from last year to this year.  In the ECNL Showcases this year, the team now has 4 wins, 1 loss and a tie.  In this league, that is quite an achievement."

Beyond scoring in every game, the U16s kept a clean sheet in the first two games, and the final game may have featured some of the best overall play of the season.  Goalkeeper Jordyn Bloomer, and the defensive line of Chloe Knudtsen, Brianna Jaeger, Katie Golabowski, Christina Feller, and Mary Kate Simon showed fantastic intelligence, organization and individual defending.  The team also showed quality with the ball, with great periods of possession and dynamic attacking play.  Break-out performances from Fabry and Mariah Downs kept the opposition constantly on edge.  

The U17 team earned their first showcase win of the year in a close 1-0 game against East Meadow (NY) behind a penalty kick goal from Erin Corrigan.  In game two, the team dropped a disappointing 1-0 decision against SoccerPlus (CT).  In the final match of the event, the 17s played a spirited match against Concorde Fire (GA) and were unlucky to finish on the wrong end of a 0-2 final score.  

"The win against East Meadow showed how much the players have grown and developed over the past few months," said coach Monica White.  "The penalty was well-earned off a great combination between Caroline Fink and Katie Cavanaugh, and the entire team showed a lot of toughness and determination in defending multiple corners and set pieces in the final 20 minutes of the game."

Centerbacks Corrigan and Cassidy Blanchard led a gritty defensive effort in all of the games, with solid performances from the outside backs Sophia Donofrio and Emma Keckeisen and key saves from goalkeepers Elyse Hansen and Mollie Rosen.  In possession, Maddie Pung and Jen Eberhardy created good periods of possession, especially in the final game, and Cavanaugh led an increasingly dangerous attack.  

"This event showed why the ECNL is such a great platform for player development and exposure, and these games showed the great progress of the FC Wisconsin Eclipse players," said Christian Lavers.  "From an identification perspective, more than 50 different college coaches watched the U16s in their win over Concorde, and dozens of schools were in attendance at every game for both teams.  On the field, the players continue to grow in skill and ideas, and the results are showing it more and more every week.  We are very proud of what these players have done in the club’s first season."

FC Wisconsin Eclipse players now have the month of January off to rest, recover, and rejuvenate before starting training again on January 30 to prepare for the final regular-season ECNL National Showcase Event in Dallas, Texas at the end of February.  

The ECNL Sanford Event was a great way to end 2012, and a great spring board for even more success for FC Wisconsin Eclipse players in 2013.

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