Girls Under-19 place 2nd in Founder's Tournament

Click picture to see larger image
Nemesis, one of two AYSO Region 88 Under-19 Girls tournament teams, finished second in the Area F AYSO Founders CupTournament held on Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13 at Ladera Heights Park in Palos Verde. Despite injuries and high school track commitments of several players, the team battled through three difficult pool play games on Saturday to qualify for the semi-final game held Sunday morning.

The team’s first game of the tournament against a skilled Chatsworth team started on a high note as Emily Diaz, playing in her first Under-19 tournament, scored from her left forward position on a picture perfect cross from forward Taylor Luskin. Midfielder Tatiana Jimenez took a short pass into the penalty area from center midfielder Amy Rosales and placed it in the corner of the goal for Glendale’s second and final score. Glendale outshot the Chatsworth team fifteen to three, but hit the crossbar 4 times and each goal post twice. With only minutes left in the fourth quarter, Chatsworth robbed Glendale of a shutout, scoring on a long arcing shot to the top corner of the goal.

The afternoon match against a physical Woodland Hills team was cut short by a vicious injury to sweeper and defensive captain “JJ” Chavez who was forced to watch from the sideline for the remainder of the tournament. Although Glendale scored first, on a breakaway goal by Taylor Luskin, Woodland Hills tied the match on a free kick from just outside the penalty area and scored a second goal just before the injury to Chavez. The shortened game found Woodland Hills ahead 2-1 after the 25 minute injury delay that left only three minutes for Glendale to try to tie the match.
Glendale needed a win in the third and final game on Saturday against Camarillo, who only needed a tie to edge Glendale out of the last semi-final qualifying spot. After Emily Diaz was in the penalty area, her sister, Natalie, converted the penalty kick to give Glendale a 1-0 lead. A bad clearance by the Camarillo center defender allowed center midfielder Rosales to push forward and place a low shot in the corner of the goal in the third quarter to take a 2-0 lead. The Glendale defense, with Natalie Diaz filling in at the sweeper position for Chavez, held on to the shutout and the win to qualify for the semi final round despite a fierce attack from the Camarillo team in the final ten minutes of the game.

The semi-final match on Sunday morning pitted Glendale against an unbeaten and physically bigger Lakewood team that finished first in its pool on Saturday. The return of midfielders Claire Harrison and Dana Murphy, who had been at a track meet on Saturday, enabled Glendale to combine its superior speed and passing to dominate possession and shots on goal against the Lakewood team. Glendale’s first goal came in the third quarter, when 13 year old Ashley Aquino, also playing in her first Under-19 tournament, used her quickness and touch to beat two defenders and put a short shot past the Lakewood goalkeeper. The second goal came off a 20-yard, low, driving shot from forward Luskin that beat the diving Lakewood goalkeeper in the fourth quarter. The Glendale defense again rose to the occasion, holding off the determined Lakewood attack to preserve the shutout and win the game 2-0.

The cumulative effect of injuries sustained during the four prior games left the team with only 12 players for the Championship match on Sunday afternoon, and more injuries during the match forced the team to play shorthanded as it again battled the physical team from Woodland Hills. Despite playing with only 10 players for long stretches of the match, Glendale took the lead 1-0 in the third quarter when forward Kirsti Jackson struck the crossbar and Luskin put the rebound in the goal. Early in the fourth quarter an ankle injury put midfielder Murphy on the sideline, and Woodland Hills capitalized on the depleted Glendale squad with aggressive play that allowed them to score on a chip shot and a free kick that ricocheted into the corner of the goal with 5 minutes left in the game. Woodland Hills held off the Glendale team to win the game 2-1 and take the championship honors.
The stingy Nemesis defense anchored by goal keeper Christina Voskanian, outside defenders Teresa Cuccinello, Bridget Hahnlein, Tia Khouja, and center defender Celia Flores yielded only five goals in the five games that were played over the weekend. Midfielders Natalie Diaz and Claire Harrison filled in at sweeper for the injured Chavez in the last game of pool play on Saturday and the semi-final and final matches on Sunday. Midfielders Amy Rosales, Dana Murphy, Tatiana Jimenez, Bianca Ghermezian, Ashly Aquino, and Ebony Lopez teamed with forwards Taylor Luskin, Emily Diaz, and Kirsti Jackson to score 8 goals during the tournament.

The team, comprised of players who played in AYSO Region 88 during the fall season, is coached by Pat Chavez and Doug Wallis and includes students from Glendale, Hoover, Crescenta Valley, Flintridge Sacred Heart, Village Christian and San Dimas High Schools.