YULIE LOPEZ SCORES TWICE IN SEMI FINAL VS. ATLANTA FIRE
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| Yulie Lopez in action vs. Atlanta Fire in the 2-0 semi final win of the Super Y National Finals in Tampa. Yulie scored both goals. |
Schulz Academy U13 Girls advanced to the Super Y-League North American Finals after winning their group and their semi final game at the event in Tampa, Florida. It marks the first time that a Schulz Academy girls team has made it to the championship game in club history. Lead by U.S. U14 National team player Yulie Lopez, the Schulz Academy Girls will go up against CASL Railhawks from North Carolina. Going into the final day of competition, the Schulz Academy U13 girls are the only Florida team left with a chance to win gold.
We are so proud how the team performed at this national event. The deciding group game vs. CASL, which we won 1-0, was played physically, technically, and tactically on a very high level. We had to win the game in order to advance to the semi finals, and the girls executed this game brilliantly!
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| Donish Cole scored the deciding goal vs. CASL and assisted a goal in the semi final win vs. Atlanta Fire |
“That’s exactly what we need at this stage. Last year we decided in addition to the already established extremely successful boys program to also develop a girls program. And reaching the Finals at the Nationals of the Super Y League is a huge step in this direction. The girls showed that they not only can play with but also beat the best girls teams in the country”, states Gary Cole, Director of Coaching of the Girls Program of the Schulz Academy.
The week at the National Finals of the Super Y League started with a 1-1 draw vs. West Michigan Fire with a goal scored by Brianna Raaf of a set piece. A late own-goal allowed the Fire to draw even and put Schulz Academy in a must win situation for the next two games.
The team had a much improved 2nd game vs. Coastal WFC as they cruised to a 3-0 win behind goals from Yulie Lopez, Renee Hart, and Donish Cole. Donish Cole assisted on two goals.
In a highly contested must win game vs. CASL for the group title and a spot in the Semi Final, the CASL Railhawks from North Carolina had the better start and controlled the game in the first 20 minutes with some precise passing. However, the first counter attack launched by the Schulz Academy team created a great goal scoring opportunity and swung the momentum in Schulz’s favor. The Schulz Academy girls came very close several times to taking the lead with both Donish Cole and Yulie Lopez producing terrific shots on goal that challenged the CASL goalkeeper and forced some great saves. Donish Cole also hit the left upright with a terrific left foot shot from outside the penalty box. Despite the turnaround the first half ended all tied up at 0-0.
In the second half, both teams didn’t want to open up their defense in order to keep the game under control. The decision of the game came in the 55th minute, when Donish Cole put the ball under the cross bar after collecting an assist from Yulie Lopez. With a very solid defense, led by goalkeeper Cheyenne Walker the win was not too much in danger for the rest of the game.
On Monday the team faced the winner of group B, Atlanta Fire, in the semi final. Two goals by Yulie Lopez (assists by Donish Cole and Samantha Mendez) secured the Schulz Team with a 2-0 win a spot in the Final of the Super Y League in Tampa on Tuesday where they will once again face CASL which they already beat 1-0 in group play.
“The game vs. CASL will be very difficult on Tuesday. I am sure the coaches of CASL did their homework, and analyzed the group game on Sunday. It’s an open game, and if our girls are not too tired after their first 4 games, I think they have a great chance to win the whole thing. But in reality the team already accomplished more than we all could expect, so the final is already a big bonus”, says a very content Josef Schulz, the president of Schulz Academy.
SYL Finals Update
Schulz Academy finished as runners up when they lost to CASL 1-0 in the 2008 Super Y-League North American Finals. A first half penalty kick was enough to give CASL the 1-0 win.
"I am very satisfied with our second place finish and I congratulate our girls on such a fine performance." said Girls’ Director Gary Cole, "I feel as if the game could have gone either way but CASL deserves our heartiest congratulations. They played extremely well and they were very organized defensively." continued Gary Cole.
Despite the loss, Schulz Academy has much to be proud of as they were the only Florida team to make it all the way to the Championship game at the 2008 North American Finals. In addition, four players from this squad will be eligible to play this age group again next year. The girls side of the Schulz program will only get better over time and this was a very promising start.
Congratulations to Donish Cole and Yulie Lopez for gaining selections to the All-Tournament Team!
