Team Chicago Academy-Bahia won the U14 Premier Division at the Indiana Fire Juniors Turf Classic this past weekend in Westfield, IN. The team went 4-0-0 on the weekend with a goal difference of 20 for and 0 against. This marks the second straight tournament that Bahia went undefeated and did not concede a goal.

On Saturday morning Bahia defeated Canton Celtics (MI) 1-0 on Emma Crosswait’s goal from Natalie Massa and Mia Marconi after a great build-up. Saturday afternoon Bahia soundly defeated a composite Indiana ODP team made up of U12-14 players. The final score was 8-0.

In Sunday’s semi-final Bahia defeated WAZA (MI) 3-0 to set up a championship encounter with Kalamazoo TKO Crew (MI). TKO Crew had beaten MRL Premier I Division team and State Cup semi-finalist Libertyville FC 1974 1-0 in group play, so Bahia expected a tough battle. However, Bahia played its strongest game yet and easily beat TKO Crew 8-0 after a very impressive performance.

Up next for Bahia is a return to the Indianapolis area for two MRL Premier I Division games against FC Pride and Celtics on April 11th and 12th.

Team Chicago Academy-Santos also participated in the IFJ Turf Classic and finished 3rd in the U13 Premier Division after three strong performances. In its opening game Santos defeated GTFC Impact (Ohio North) 3-0.

In its second game Santos faced a tough SLSG Pre-ECNL team and went down 3-0 at the half after a couple of good early chances went begging. But it was a much improved Santos team that emerged for the second half, and in a strong display got back into the game with two unanswered goals to make the scored 3-2. Unfortunately, Santos was unable to find the equalizer, but the girls showed great spirit and heart to turn things around in the second half.

In the final game on Sunday Santos lost 1-0 to FC Pride (IN) in a very close game. A little better finishing and Santos could have gotten the win.

Next up for Santos is its MRL First Division opener versus Waukesha (WI) on Saturday, April 11th at 1pm at Nike Park.

Team Chicago Academy-Vitoria was the third TC team that participated in the IFJ Turf Classic. Vitoria finished as runners-up in the U12 Premier Division. On Saturday morning Vitoria tied SLSG (IL) 1-1 on Lizzie Albert’s goal after dominating both play and chances throughout the game. On Saturday night Vitoria defeated perennial powerhouse Libertyville FC 1974 2-0 on goals by Hannah Miller and Lizzie Albert.

The Sunday scheduled included two games against Chicago Fire Juniors South. In the opening game CFJS ran out to an early 1-0 lead, but Vitoria came right back and Kat Lemke tied the game. Over the course of the game Vitoria was the better team, but a couple of missed opportunities meant that both teams settled for a draw and an rematch in the final. In the final Vitoria had two 100% chances in the opening few minutes, but could not convert on them, and instead CFJS scored two quick goals to secure the win.

Overall it was a great weekend for Vitoria with four solid performances against three very competitive opponents in preparation for State Cup and MRL qualification play this Spring. Up first will be a State Cup game against Chicago Alliance on Sunday, April 19th.

Team Chicago Academy-Brasilia co-captain Nicole Mondi has accepted a great scholarship offer to continue her soccer career at Purdue University. Nicole, who plays her prep soccer for Head Coach Joe Moreau at Neuqua Valley H.S., will be part of 2017 recruiting class for new Purdue Head Coach Drew Roff.

Team Chicago Academy-Palmeiras, coached by Herb Schuler, went 3-0 at the Ohio Galaxies Showcase last weekend. The first game was a convincing 3-1 victory over the Star Red Devils. Goals game from Dominic Duffy, Emerson Beinhauer, and Josh Kolzow. Palmeiras got out to a fast start with two goals in the first ten minutes.

In the second game Palmeiras earned a win in dramatic fashion over WCSC Elite. After dominating the game the score was still 0-0 entering the final 30 seconds when Emerson Beinhauer earned a free kick directly outside the box. Palmeiras sent everyone into the box except the goalkeeper. After a scrum in the box Dominic Duffy put the ball into the net. As soon as he scored the referee ended the game and gave the team a 1-0 win.

In the third game Palmeiras did not get many chances in the first half against Dexter FC Michigan. Dominic Duffy scored on a late first half free kick to tie the match 1-1 at half. In the second half Palmeiras stepped up the quality in the attacking third. With 10 minutes left Cal Nettleton received the ball at the top of the box. He cut the ball onto his right foot past the defender and bent the ball into the far post upper 90 for the eventual game-winner. Cal’s goal was the class of the weekend.

Over the weekend the defense was brilliant. Bennett Curtis held down the back line as center back. A mix of Wes Anderson, Antonio Magno, and Jack Olmstead covered the wings in the victories. Shoale Badr was brilliant in goal letting in only two goals in three games.

Next weekend Team Chicago Academy-Palmeiras opens its MRL campaign in Milwaukee vs Bavarians and FC Waukesha.

Team Chicago Academy-Bahia traveled to Phoenix, AZ for the prestigious SC Del Sol Presidents’ Day Tournament. In the U14 Premier Division Bahia finished in 3rd place with a 2-0-2 record just narrowly missing out on a spot in the final on goals-scored.

In Friday’s opening game Bahia defeated AZ Arsenal 1-0 on Allie Anderson’s great strike from 25 yards after a Natalie Massa free-kick.

On Saturday Bahia struggled to a 0-0 tie against Pride FC from Colorado in the 80+ degree heat. However, Bahia had several 100% chances which went begging, and this came back to haunt the team in the final group standings.

On Sunday Bahia needed to get a better result against Rio Rapids Riot from New Mexico than Pride FC got against AZ Arsenal to win the group and secure a spot in the Final. Unfortunately, Bahia missed out by the slimmest of margins as the 0-0 tie was 1 goal worse than Pride FC’s 1-1 tie with AZ Arsenal.

In the 3rd place game on Monday Bahia had its strongest performance and easily beat New Mexico Rush 3-0. Allie Anderson had another two bombs from distance as Bahia went up 2-0 at the half. Emma Crosswait assisted on both goals while Natalie Massa and Sarah Davies both assisted one goal.

In the second half Emma Crosswait finished off the Rush with a great goal from Natalie Massa and Sophia Majher’s link-up play. Abbie Brennan and Reagan Sanders combined for the 4 shutouts in Phoenix, and the defense of Erin McCarthy, Megan Olah, Sarah Davies, Maddie Monaco, Zaira Solis, and Jeff Pochyly stood tall in front of them. A special shoutout to Mia Marconi for her hustle to get back to make a crucial goal-line header clearance which preserved the clean sheet in the 3rd place game.

Team Chicago Academy-Cruzeiro standouts Kerry Abello and Sarah Avery will be representing Illinois ODP at the National ODP Championships this weekend at the Reach 11 complex in Phoenix, AZ. They will be members of the IL 1999 team which won the Region II championships in Rockford last July.

The girls will take on New York West in the semi-final on Friday at 1pm. With a win they will face the winner of Florida-Cal South in the championship game at 8:30am on Sunday.

Good luck girls!