Team Chicago Academy-Vitoria has had a couple of very successful weeks. May 9th-10th the team traveled to Rockford for three MRL qualification games against Honor SC (3-0 win), Chicago Premier (3-0 win), and Chicago Fire Juniors West (5-0 win). With the impressive results Vitoria qualified for the U13 MRL this upcoming Fall.

Last night Vitoria faced Chicago Fire Juniors South in its final round-robin game of the IYSA U12 Girls State Cup. Needing a win to qualify for the Semi-final Vitoria found itself trailing 1-0 after 8 minutes in the first half and with a mountain to climb. But Lizzie Albert drew level mid-way through the 1st half from Olivia Guerri’s assist. With less than 2 minutes left in the half Lizzie dribbled past 3 defenders in the box and squared the ball to Olivia Guerri. Her shot was initially saved by the GK, but Sam Poglitsch was there to net the eventual game-winner off the rebound.

During the break the Vitoria girls committed to playing a better 2nd half, and this resulted in a fantastic goal 10 seconds into the 2nd half. Lizzie Albert found Kat Lemke on the left flank and she walked the ball in and calmly slotted it in for the 2-goal lead. Mid-way through the 2nd half Lizzie stole the ball from the CFJ South center-back and extended the Vitoria lead. Finally, on the very last play of the game Ava Hensley played a great slotted pass to Sam Poglitsch in the midfield, and Sam quickly toe-poked it forward for Lizzie to run onto and hammer home her 3rd goal of the game for the final 5-1 score.

With the win Vitoria earned a berth in the IYSA State Cup Semi-final this Saturday 5/30 at 8am at the Naperville Polo Grounds v. FC United.

Team Chicago Academy-Bahia qualified for the IYSA U14 Girls State Cup Semi-Final with a 1-1 draw against Arlington Aces. Bahia will face Eclipse Elite Black this Saturday 5/30 at 2pm at the Naperville Polo Fields.

Only needing a tie to advance after two comprehensive 4-1 and 4-0 victories over Libertyville FC 1974 and Honor SC, Bahia did just enough to get the job done on Saturday. After conceding an early goal Emma Crosswait got the all-import tying goal with a great shot from 25 yards out mid-way through the 1st half.

Team Chicago Academy-Bahia hosted a very successful MRL Premier I Division weekend at the Commissioners Park turf field beating Ohio Premier North 4-0 on Saturday and Omaha FC 1-0 on Sunday to move into a tie for 4th place with two games to go. With these wins Bahia now controls its own destiny. Wins in both the final games would see Bahia finish as runners-up and earning a spot at the USYSA Region II Championships in Fox Cities, WI.

In Saturday’s game Sophia Majher put on a clinic netting a beautiful hat-trick before an OP North defender scored the own goal of the century on a diving header off a Mia Marconi corner kick. Abbie Brennan and Reagan Sanders earned the shutout in goal.

Sunday’s game against an undefeated Omaha FC team was much tighter. Bahia was the better team in terms of possession and play, and 10 minutes in Paige Miller got the eventual game-winner when she ran onto Sophia Majher’s through-ball and calmly slotted it home. Needing the win to stay in contention, Bahia played a disciplined 2nd half to hang onto the lead. Especially, after having lost starting center-back Erin McCarthy 5 minutes into the game through injury. Abbie Brennan earned the shutout in goal.

The final two MRL games are Wednesday 6/3 at Campton and Sunday 6/7 at Kalamazoo College v. MI Jaguars. Up next for Bahia is its third and final State Cup round-robin game against Arlington Aces at Gentile Field on Saturday at 2:30pm. Bahia needs a tie to secure a spot in the Semi-Final.

2015-16 TEAM CHICAGO COACHING PLAN

U18 GIRLS VASCO JOE MOREAU
U17 BOYS PALMEIRAS HERB SCHULER
U17 GIRLS BRASILIA DAVE LOVERCHECK
U16 BOYS GREMIO JOSH ROBINSON
U16 GIRLS CRUZEIRO PHIL NIELSEN
U15 BOYS OLIMPICO DAVE LOVERCHECK
U15 GIRLS BAHIA PHIL NIELSEN
U15 GIRLS PONTE PRETA JESSE SALAZAR
U14 BOYS BOA HERB SCHULER
U14 GIRLS SANTOS MATT CHURA
U13 BOYS CORINTHIANS HERB SCHULER
U13 GIRLS VITORIA PHIL NIELSEN
U13 GIRLS RIO BEN TATHAM
U12 BOYS SAO PAULO+ROMA HERB SCHULER
U12 GIRLS NACIONAL PETE LAMBERT
U12 GIRLS HUSKIES NIKKI SCHULER
U11 BOYS LIGHTNING+PORTUGUESA MAGNO BARRETO
U11 GIRLS FLAMENGO DAVE LOVERCHECK
U11 GIRLS CHELSEA MAGNO BARRETO
U10 BOYS FLUMINENSE+BRASIL BOYS JESSE SALAZAR
U10 GIRLS AMARELINHA DAVE LOVERCHECK
U9 BOYS RECIFE+CORITIBA JESSE SALAZAR
U9 GIRLS SANTA CRUZ BRIAN BIERMAN
U8 BOYS ATLETICO BRIAN BIERMAN
U8 GIRLS REAL BRIAN BIERMAN

This past weekend, both Team Chicago Boys U9 teams – Fluminense and Brasil Boys – traveled to Racine, WI to compete in the Ace Midwest Spring Soccerfest. Like Buffalo Grove and Glen Ellyn in the fall, TC left its mark on another area as the boys battled through adverse weather conditions, physically challenging opponents, and consistently inconsistent officiating.

Brasil Boys, who were punching a bit above their weight, finished with a 1-2-1 record to settle right in the middle of its group. The most impressive games were both on Saturday as the boys battled back multiple times from being down goals to beat KUBA Elite by one and tie the hosts Ace South Arsenal, both in the dying minutes. The now nicknamed Cardiac Kids earned this title through fitness, a stubborn commitment to employ their 1v1 skills, and support from both teams’ players and parents.

Fluminense’s road was more evenly matched, and the players also persisted to show off their skills and teamwork en route to dispatching every opponent to finish a perfect 4-0. The most impressive game came in closing the tournament when facing a strong and very emotional KUBA Elite team. It took more than a half for the boys to gain control of the game, but once they did, KUBA made it clear they were not used to compete against the individual skill Fluminense possesses. So with the sidelines heated and the game still in flux, frustrations boiled onto the adjacent field enough to distract spectators from their priorities as they watched the boys patiently play through KUBA’s blatent attempts to knock them off their game. On two separate card-able occasions, the boys proved that the best way to retaliate is on the scoreboard by finishing their own free-kicks, celebrating, and finishing off the game and tournament in style.

By the end of the weekend some stats were impressive such as both teams’ versatility: A combined 13 different goal scorers and 10 different goalies. However, the lessons learned, not only by players, but possibly even more so by parents – like play to the whistle or the hustle rule – will be used both on and off the field. Another huge positive was the club feel of having both teams’ players and families at the pool and cheering from the sidelines in support.This made the tournament’s challenges like weather or refereeing an even sweeter success. Thank you to all the families that made this possible, and may the boys carry these lessons far past this weekend. Go TC!