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The local FC814 u-16 Energy girls soccer team, which won its national Classic League in the Great Lakes Conference this past year, continues to be on a roll.
The team went undefeated at 3-0-0 and won its bracket at the Worldwide Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 8-11 where the top 40 teams in the nation gathered to battle for a spot in the United States Youth Soccer National Championships, which will also be held in Orlando. It is the first team from our area to accomplish this feat.
Energy coach Marc Frye said there were teams from all over the country among the 40 teams in the u-16 play, that included Alaska, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Washington, Oregon, West Virginia, Ohio and Georgia. There were 10 brackets of four teams.
The top three teams in each bracket advanced to the National Personal Recruiting Opportunities. The Energy downed Michigan in their opening game, 2-1, then shut out NY-Long Island, 2-0, and finally downed Florida's best, 1-0. They were one of only five teams to go undefeated during bracket play.
The Energy will go to Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 23-26 to play with eight teams in the champions bracket. Frye said it is extremely important to win their first game here as winning that game will insure they go to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Orlando in July. Twelve teams in total will make it to the USYS National Championships.
"If you lose your first game, you go to the wild card bracket, and you would have to win the wild card bracket to advance,'' Frye said. "By not winning your first game you must win the next three in the wild card bracket."
The Energy will gain additional points to boost their national ranking after winning their bracket in Orlando, but currently they are ranked first in the PA West and in the top 100 teams in the nation in their age group. The Energy are currently the PA West champions and were finalists in the National Presidents Cup. They continue to play indoor soccer action as they prepare for play in Tampa.
National level
n The U.S. Soccer Federation and Mexico Football Federation submitted a joint bid to host the 2027 Women's World Cup, projecting $3 billion in revenue. They will be competing against a proposal from Brazil and a joint Germany -Netherlands-Belgium plan.
"We believe the time is right to host a FIFA Women's World Cup that features a truly world-class experience for players and fans alike,'' U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone said. "This will not only unlock the economic potential of women's soccer, it will send a message to young players around the world that there is no limit to what they can achieve."
The U.S. last hosted the World Cup in 2003. The deadline to submit bids to host the Cup is now over, and FIFA will vote on a host for the Cup in May.
n The Columbus Crew were able to capture their third Major League Soccer title by defeating defending champion Los Angeles FC, 2-1. The Crew also won MLS titles in 2008 and 2020.
They lost the title game in 2015 to the Portland Timbers. Cucho Hernandez and Yaw Yeboah scored for Columbus. Hernandez was also voted MVP of the championship match.
Tom Schmitt writes a monthly soccer column for the Mirror.