SLSG High School Aged teams participated in what has been claimed as one of the most competitive Missouri State Cup tournaments in recent history. Club Director, Steve Pecher, felt the weekend was a complete success. “First of all, I want to thank MYSA as well as SLYSA, for organizing and hosting the State Cup Bracket play last weekend. And second, a huge thank you goes to the referees and volunteers for their time and commitment to the game. And finally, I’d like to thank the SLSG teams and their families for the time and effort they gave the club this weekend. Overall, each SLSG Elite and RL team performed extremely well, and in the end, we have two age groups through to the semis and finals.

Bracket Play Recap

02 SLSG RL had a fantastic weekend in bracket play, at times showing they are one of the top teams in the club and incredibly fun and dynamic to watch. On Friday night the girls wasted no time in getting on the board, scoring two early goals in the first half.  Their opponent, a well-respected Sporting Springfield group, responded, and came back to tie the match in the final minutes. Awesome game for all involved. On Saturday, the 02s were down 1-0 at half. They came back in the last 20 minutes of the second to tie the game up to 1-1 vs LFA Mckee/Hearty. This was the second game in the span of two days that the girls had to dig deep and fight to get a result. The final match of the weekend was vs LFA Orourke 02, winner would take home the State Championship (only four teams were in the tourney). LFA, the defending state champs, proved too much for SLSG. The game ended 0-2 but the entire staff was proud of the 02 performance. 

The 03 SLSG RL team, a club favorite this year because of their team spirit, work ethic, and loyalty to each other, unfortunately were dealt much the same fate in their first match, a loss to LFA Phillips 1-3. The following day in their second bracket match, the 03s came out and made a statement right from the start vs Pinnacle FC. 03 RL proved much too strong on the day, netting two and giving up zero for a convincing win. The next day, proved to be pivotal. The game was a gritty, and asked for a crazy amount of energy from the girls. This match was vs JB Pardo and the winner would go through to the semi-finals. The performance was not reflected in the score. With two crossbars hit and several other chances created, 03 RL dominated the entire but lost 0-1. Awesome weekend for the girls, the club is proud.

04 SLSG RL came out cleats blazing on Saturday with a 3-0 win under crazy wind conditions. Later that night, in what was their second game of the day, the 04'’s faced KC athletics in what proved to be the most physical match on the weekend. It was not until deep into the second half that the girls were able to capitalize off a corner kick to put them up 1-0. SLSG keeper, Lexi Stephens, made two outstanding saves en route to the 04 win and control of the bracket. Sunday, in an effort to win the group, the girls responded well to the competitive match the night before and defeated Kolping Kicks to land them a spot in the semis vs REAL WC Elite 04.

05 SLSG RL may have had one of the most exciting opening matches of the weekend. They were forced to come back from a goal down at half. The unbelievable come back began with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, giving SLSG a 2-1 win versus Kansas City Athletics. Later that night, in what proved to be the game of the group, the girls lacked the finishing touch they showed in the last minutes of their first match as they came up short with a 1-3 loss vs LFA Tottlebeen, the defending state champs. The 05s were needed a sizable win in the last match to give themselves a shot to go through the bracket with goal difference. And even with a great performance and a 1-0 win, they were unable to advance because of a tie breaker. But, most importantly, the club witnessed amazing performances by this group that had the entire staff smiling. 

06 SLSG RL also had an impressive weekend. First day they came out flying vs LFA Phillps, scoring at will to take control of the bracket with a 5-2 win. Later that day, in horrible wind conditions, the girls were able to scrape their way to a 1-1 tie versus Alliance, putting them in the drivers seat to advance to the state finals. Sunday, and a game versus Real WC, required only a tie. And that’s exactly what the girls were able to provide. The result, a 1-1 score line, booked the girls a ticket to the State Championship where they will face a talented Sporting STL team on October 25^th.