The Alliance Academy '99 Girls Black (Playing u12 GVSA Elite) continued their successful tournament run by topping a 24 team Palatine Celtic Cup field.  The girls played the entire weekend without starting goalkeeper Taryn Meiste who was sidelined with a broken hand and were forced to adjust to a IYS (Illinois Youth Soccer) imposed 9v9 format.  

"These two factors caused us some issues in our first match.  We were still in an adjustment period when we found ourselves down 2-0 to Inter Chicago," said team coach Abrahm Shearer.  

The team eventually settled in behind the goalkeeping of Jentri Corey and midfield play of Faith Kuzma and Maddie Alexander.  After the first half of their opening match, the girls rattled off thirteen (13) goals in the final 125 minutes of group play.  

The semi-finals and finals were a test of the girls ability to finish and while they were able to put six (6) goals on the board, they had another 10-15 chances that they failed to convert.

"We are going to work very hard over the next few weeks to improve in the area of finishing.  The girls are strong defensively and good at holding the ball under pressure so if we can improve in this area, we will be difficult to beat," Shearer noted.

(L to R Back Row) Taryn M., Faith K., Chamberlain M., Katie C., Jentri C., Riley, C., and Coach Abrahm Shearer.

(L to R Front Row) Hannah S., Lydia R., Bridget G., Maddie A., Taryn K., and Olivia K..