Strikers' U-17 girls heading to
Texas with title as goal
Friday, Jul 20, 2007 - 12:06 AM
By FRED JETER
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
There is only one box left to fill
in on the Richmond Strikers Elite
checklist.
State Cup: Check.
Region I: Check.
Nationals: To be determined.
Coach Shannon Richard's U-17 girls
have a hearty appetite for success.
The more they win, they more they
savor the next victory.
"Yes, I definitely think we've got a
good chance," Richard said of
nationals, which are being played in
Frisco, Texas. "These girls train so
hard and they all love it - every
single one.
"If
they're not training with the team,
they're training on their own."
The
U.S. Youth Soccer national
tournament has wound down to its
final four in each age group. The
U-17 girls teams left are the
Strikers, Dallas 90 Red, Southern
California Eagles and Michigan
Hawks.
Richmond opens pool play July 25
against Dallas. Following a
three-game round-robin, the top two
will square off for the national
crown July 29 at 7:30 a.m.
FOLLOW THE TEAM: Daily reports and
complete results will be available
at
http://Championships.USYouthSoccer.org
Games will be played at Pizza Hut
Park, home of the FC Dallas entry in
Major League Soccer. Frisco is a
northern suburb of Dallas.
REGIONALS: Competing in the Region 1
tournament in Portland, Maine, the
Strikers outscored the other State
Cup champs by a combined 26-1. They
defeated Vermont 8-0, Maine 10-0,
Pennsylvania West 3-1, New Jersey
3-0, and in the final, Pennsylvania
East 2-0. Seven players contributed
to the gold rush of goals.
"Our goals are equally distributed,"
Richard said. "That makes us tougher
to play."
EARLY COMMITMENTS: Seven Strikers
who are rising seniors already have
made their college choice. They are
Kristin Lescalleet, University of
Richmond; Lauren McCoy, Villanova;
Molly McKeon, Virginia; April Price,
Rutgers; Lindsey Rowe, George
Washington; Kathleen Russell,
Richmond; Lindsay Wicher, Santa
Clara.
BEST
OF THE BEST: The Strikers were well
represented on this spring's
All-Metro squad. First-team picks
were Lescalleet, Anne Lumpkin,
McKeon, Rowe and Russell. Strikers
making the second team were Allie
Albright, Annemarie Cole, Price and
Emily Tatum.
TRACK RECORD: This is arguably the
most successful group of girls in
area soccer history. A nucleus of
the same team has won the Virginia
Club Champions League in each of the
past six years. This season's bag
includes nine victories over state
champions, plus a decision over
Canada's No.1 ranked U-17 outfit.
The Strikers are traveling to Texas
with a full head of steam. In three
spring tournaments, they have
outscored their foes 38-6.
