2005 News Archive

4 + 4 + 0 = Tournament Championship

September 6, 2005—The Spirit United "Coppa 82" U-13 boys played 4 games, scored 4 goals, and gave up 0 goals to win the Constellation Cup in Baltimore Maryland this past weekend. A smothering defense and strong goalkeeping were key factors as "Coppa 82" beat three top ten ranked teams in Region 1 en route to winning the tournament championship.

Freedom Finalist at Kick-Off Classic

August 29, 2005—The Spirit United Freedom U-11 Girls advanced to the final round after a must win 3-1 game against TEYA Fury. A Freedom goal only seconds into the final against the Ephrata Hurricanes looked promising. But the back of the net was not to be found the rest of the game despite good pressure by the offense, which led to a hard fought defeat of 1-2. This gave the Freedom girls a second finalist finish in as many tournaments in the new season.

A TRUE SPIRIT VICTORY

Front Row (L to R) Megan Updegraff, Alexis Noles, Kaela Fortino; Second Row (L to R) Alex Simmons, Bridget Currie, Ashley Hamilton, Lauren Dodson, Megan Hennelly, Courtney Najmolan; Back Row (L to R) Team Mgr. Mike Weaver, Megan Martin, Emilie Johnson, Tracey Weaver, Jessica Henderson, Jackie Fuhrman, Meghan Staudt, Coach Gwen Ferrier; Missing: Lindsey Mattia

August 16, 2005—The Spirit United Chaos U-14 Girls, in their first tournament of the season, lit up the fields with a first place victory at the West Chester Summer Classic, August 6-7. Chaos was joined by guest players from two other Spirit teams, Courtney Najmolan, Megan Hennelly & Lindsey Mattia of the Spirit United Courage and Lauren Dodson & Emilie Johnson from the Spirit United Storm making this tournament a true Spirit victory!

Freedom were Finalist at Twin Valley Summer Classic

August 16, 2005—Participating in their first tournament the Spirit United Freedom U-11 Girls started their season off with a 2nd place finish at the Twin Valley Summer Classic, one day tournament. In scorching temperatures they registered wins against the Wyomissing Lady Spartans and Calico Lightning to qualify for the championship game against West Chester. The girls battled the heat and fell short to West Chester in the final game. We only had 10 players due to vacations, but 3 Frenzy guest players were a big help. Congratulations Girls to a great start to the season!

The Sting (U12 Boys) are Regional Bronze Medalists!

July 12, 2005—As State Cup Champions, The Spirit United Sting represented the EPYSA at the Region One Championships held in Virginia Beach over the Independence Day Holiday. The boys dominated state champions from New Hampshire and Rhode Island before finally falling to the eventual regional champions from Maryland in the semi-final game. Their State Cups Championship and Regional Championship Bronze Medals capped off a season where lots of hard work and dedication from the boys, their coaches, and their families, translated into on the field success. Congratulations Sting!

Chaos Take 2nd place win at the SCCSA Tournament

July 10, 2005—The Spirit United Chaos U-13 Girls completed their season with a 2nd place win on June 12th at the SCCSA Spring into Summer Classic Tournament. This one day tournament offered the Chaos an opportunity for four hard fought games with a tournament record of 2-1-1. Team is coached by Gwen Ferrier.

Thunder Ends Season as Champions

June 16, 2005—The U9 Girls Thunder ended their season on Sunday by taking first place in the SCCSA Spring into Summer Tournament. The girls battled the heat, winning all four of their games. They scored 27 goals, while giving up only 3 during the course of the tournament. Go Thunder!

Spirit United Predators Win Virginia Cup

June 6, 2005—Participating in the 30th annual Memorial Day Virginia Cup soccer tournament, the U-14 Spirit United Predators coached by Wes Davis, went 4-1 in the three day tournament and were victorious in bringing home the Virginia Cup. On the first day of play the Predators won two games, turning back two game opponents from Virginia. They beat LMVS Patriots 2-1 and Alexandria Thunder 1-0. The team used solid defense, with persistent midfield and striker play to control the tempo in each game.
     Sunday's action saw the Predators finish out the preliminary round games with a 2-0 loss to a tough West End Knights team from New Jersey. Regrouping in the afternoon's semi-final game, the team soundly defeated the #1 seed from the second bracket with a 4-1 victory over New Jersey opponent East Windsor Dynamo.
That set the stage for Monday morning's championship game rematch with the West End Knights. A tough fought game, reminiscent of a heavyweight fight, saw the Knights again jump out to a 2-0 lead by the half. But not to be denied, the Predators stayed strong and relentless at both ends of the field. With goals by Ian Weigand and Allesandro Cesario they tied the score by games end. Two scoreless overtime periods resulted in the game going to a shootout. Spirit keeper Jamie Dillon stopped kicks three and four by the Knights and Mike Lentz, Todd Weaver, Adam Matteo, and Norman Joyner provided the four straight successful PK's for the Predators to seal the Championship.

U16 Boys Win Ukrainian National Invitational

May 29, 2005—The U16 Raiders finished their 2004-05 campaign by capturing the Ukrainian National Invitational. The boys played exceptionally well throughout the tournament and allowed only one goal in four games. On Saturday, they defeated AC United and Council Rock 2-1 and 2-0 respectively. On Sunday, they beat the hosts Ukrainian Rebels twice, including the Final Game to finish the tournament undefeated! The score for both games was 1-0. Congratulations to all the Raiders for a great season!!!

U12 Boys Sting won the EPYSA State Cup!

May 22, 2005—The Spirit United U12 Boys Sting capped off a fantastic run in the EPYSA State Cup with a victory in the finals over a tough SuperNova squad for the Tournament Championship! Guided by head coach Bennie Jaszczyszyn and his assistants Panos Stevis and Chuck Faulkner, the boys posted five wins over highly ranked opponents en route to the title. A stingy defense gave up only two goals for the entire tournament while an aggressive offense averaged over two goals a game. The Sting will represent Eastern Pennsylvania in the Regional Championships in Virginia Beach during the July 4th week. GO STING!!

Raiders Champions of EPYSA Challenge Cup 2005

May 22, 2005—The U16 Boys Raiders captured the 2005 Challenge Cup this past Sunday after defeating Parkwood SC 3-0 on double over time. The Raiders who came into the final only allowing one goal throughout the tournament, found a very tough opponent determined to put an end to the team's successful campaign. The 0-0 deadlock in regulation was broken when the Raiders scored three unanswered goals during the two periods of overtime to give them the 2005 tittle. The team is coached by Juan Lazares.

Surge wins Challenge Cup 2005

May 22, 2005—The Spirit United Surge U-14 team progressed to the finals of the Challenge Cup on May 22 to play the CASA Thundercats for the championship. Regulation time ended in a 1-1 tie and after two scoreless overtimes, the teams prepared for penalty kicks. Parents and players watched tensely as each player took her shot, then the cheers erupted as the Surge finished with a 5-4 victory. The road to the Challenge Championship began in April with a 3-0 win over the Phoenix Flames then a 5-0 win over V/E Thunder. In May the Surge beat Stroudsburg 7-4 and moved onto the semi finals. There they prevailed over PSC Crew with a 6-0 victory.

Freedom won the Fleetwood Tournament

May 22, 2005—The Freedom (U-10 Girls) came out of the winter ready to go. Unfortunately, the weather this spring didn't cooperate. Their first spring tournament was cancelled due to the weather. Next was the Burke Cup which had been rescheduled twice, the Freedom then pulled out because of conflicts. However, the girls came ready this past weekend at the Fleetwood tournament. The girls ran over Radnor Red Hot with a 6-0 win. In the second game against Wyomissing, the girls didn't start out well and fell behind. To their credit they managed to turn it around and finish with a 3-3 tie. They made sure that their previous poor start in the second game didn't happen again against Cocalico Kickers in their third game of the day. The girls started out strong and never looked back. They went on to win 4-1 over Cocalico. At this point, the Freedom found themselves tied with Conrad Weiser Rugrats for first place with 8 points each. Their last game just happened to be against Conrad Weiser where the winner would take home the championship trophy. It was a battle from the opening whistle, however at half the Freedom had the lead by one. The Freedom struck again mid way thru the second half and held off the Rugrats to go on and win the championship 2-0. Congratulations Girls on a great tournament!

Surge Finalist at YMS Epic Tournament

May 15, 2005—The Spirit United Surge U-14 team played three exciting games to reach the finals of the EPIC Tournament in Yardley, PA on May 7 and 8. Beginning the series with a 5-0 victory over Kirkwood, the team then played two games decided by penalty kicks. The YMS Speed Demons were the first challenge. On Sunday the Surge prevailed over the Medford Predators.Losing to Howell 3-0, the Surge came home with Finalist trophies and memories of some very exciting soccer!

Spirit United Premier U14 Boys win Jefferson Cup!

4/8/05—The Spirit United Premier U14 boys team won the U14 Elite Division title at the prestigious Jefferson Cup held in Richmond, VA recently. The boys won the Cup in tremendous fashion in what is believed to be only the 3rd boys Jefferson Cup title in the club's history.
     After tying GSC Team America (ranked # 8 in Region 1) of Virginia 2-2 in their opening game, the skies opened up and the remaining Saturday schedule was canceled.
     Sunday's full day of events started with a 3-0 victory over Coral Springs Storm (Florida). That lead to a semifinal match v. SAC United from Maryland. (ranked # 7 in Region 1) A convincing 4-0 shutout led the boys to the finals v. the Baltimore Boys (ranked # 12 in Region 1) @ Striker Park.
Spirit had played Baltimore a month ago in a Region 1 league game and found themselves on the losing end of a 2-0 game. This game was much different from the very beginning as the Spirit back four allowed no chances for the Bays while the midfield and strikers from Premier penetrated the Bays defense numerous times. In the end the Spirit United Premier boys emerged with a 3-0 victory in the championship game and hoisted the Jefferson Cup! It marked the 3rd consecutive year the boys made it to the finals but their first title.
     The team is currently ranked # 15 in Region 1 and # 2 in PA East (according to national soccerrankings.com). They are playing in the Region 1 Premier league as well as gearing up for the EPYSA State Cups in which they are the # 2 seed in the tournament.

SPIRIT U-9 Strikers Capture Far Post Indoor League Championship

4/6/05—The Spirit U-9 "Strikers", coached by Jon Pierce and Jon Maxwell, played 8 games this season to be seeded #1 in the semi-final play-off game vs. TE Avengers at The Far Post. The Spirit United Strikers demonstrated hustle, teamwork, and great passing as they outscored TE Avengers 3-1 to advance to the Finals vs. Methacton. Strong goaltending by Greg Pelton and tremendous field play by the Strikers led to a 4-2 victory to win the Far Post Indoor League Championship.