REDS TAKE HOME NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIP
U-23 Team wins Title, Open
Cup Squad Falls in Semifinals
Tukwila,
WA
(8/5/07) – The Connecticut Reds quest for
two National Titles in Seattle this past
weekend came up short, but the SoccerPlus
squad took home the U-23 Championship
following a 2-0 win over the KC Dynamos.
Tiffany Weimer scored the
game-winning goal in the first half and
Erica Setton netted the insurance in the
second, as the Reds captured the U-23
National Cup Title in their first year of
existence.
Connecticut advanced to the
Final following a 7-0 win over the ICSL
All-Stars, who hail from California. The
Reds were dominant in the second half,
scoring 5 goals, including two from Caroline
Walden, who also assisted on the first goal
of the half.
The Reds, however, fell short
of the Open Cup title after falling to a
very talented and perennial power Ajax
America 1-0 in the first Semifinal match. A
fellow member of the WPSL, Ajax went on to
win the championship with a 2-1 win over FC
Indiana.
SoccerPlus CT Reds TEAM GAME REPORT
Match-up:
SoccerPlus CT Reds vs. Ajax America (CA –
WPSL)
Competition: U.S. Open Cup
Semifinal
Venue: Tacoma, WA
Date: August 3, 2007;
Kickoff – 11:00 a.m. PST
Attendance: -
Scoring Summary:
1 2 F
AA 1 0 1
CT 0 0 0
AA – Kandace Wilson (unassisted)
32nd minute
Statistical
Summary: CT / AA
Shots on Goal 6 / 8
Saves: 8 / 7
Corner Kicks: 1 / 3
Fouls: 10 / 5
Offside: 0 / 0
REDS ADVANCE TO NATIONAL
SEMIS WITH WIN
OAKFORD, PA (6/24/07)
– The SoccerPlus CT Reds defeated the United
German Hungarians 4-0 Sunday evening to
advance to the Final Four of the Open Cup
Tournament to be played in Seattle, WA
August 3rd-5th.
Paced by Tiffany Weimer (3
assists), Heather Hathorn (1 goal and 1
assist) and Bianca D’Agostino (1 goal and 1
assist), the Reds dismantled the UGH squad
who were playing on their home turf.
“It was the best performance
of the season team wise,” said Reds head
coach Tony DiCicco following the win. “We
had great goals scored, two in each half.
That is a sign of a fully committed team for
ninety minutes.”
The scoring started in the 20th
minute when Weimer’s corner found Hathorn,
who headed it in for the early 1-0 lead.
The same pair combined to
give D’Agostino her first goal in a Reds
uniform in the 43rd minute to
extend the lead to 2-0 before the half.
“That was a very important
goal right before halftime,” said DiCicco.
“It was an excellent finish after a good
piece of soccer.”
UGH almost pulled to within
one 7 minutes into the second half as the
Reds defense found themselves in a difficult
situation. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who
made some tremendous diving saves
throughout, was down with the ball behind
her in the penalty box, but she was able to
recover to preserve the shutout, the first
in the Reds short history.
“It’s about time,” said
DiCicco. “We’ve done enough to have a
shutout in the past, but we’ve had some
major breakdowns defensively to prevent
that. This team should be getting more
shutouts. The Regional final was a good time
to get our first.”
Connecticut quickly struck
two more times in the middle of the second
half to put the game away.
In the 68th
minute, D’Agostino was leading the Reds on a
2-on-1 break. As soon as she hit the penalty
box she crossed to the streaking Kristi
Lefebvre who immediately put it home.
Four minutes later, Niki
Cross hit a free kick from 35 yards out that
Weimer received and toed to Casey Frobey who
scored from point blank range to close the
scoring on the afternoon.
The Region I champion Reds
took home medals and a trophy following the
win, but they are not satisfied at this
point.
“We are proud to represent
Region I,” said DiCicco. “But we are not
done. We will take it very seriously in
Seattle.”
SoccerPlus CTT Reds TEAM GAME REPORT
Match-up:
SoccerPlus CT Reds @ United German
Hungarians
Competition:
U.S. Open Cup Tournament, Region I Final
Venue:
UGH, Oakford, PA
Date: June 24, 2007; Kickoff
– 6:00 p.m. ET
Attendance: -
Weather: Sunny, Mid 80s
Scoring Summary:
1 2 F
CT
2 2 4
UGH 0 0 0
CT – Heather Hathorn (Tiffany Weimer)
20th
minute
CT – Bianca D’Agostino (Heather Hathorn and
Tiffany Weimer) 43rd minute
CT – Kristi Lefebvre (Bianca D’Agostino) 68th
minute
CT – Casey Frobey (Niki Cross and Tiffany
Weimer) 72nd minute
Statistical
Summary: CT / UGH
Shots: 9 / 7
Shots on Goal: 7 / 4
Saves: 4 / 3
Corner Kicks: 7 / 1
Fouls: 13 / 10
Offside: 10 / 1
Reds Advance to Regional
Finals
Farmington, CT (5/20/07) –
The
SoccerPlus CT Reds defeated the Adirondack
Lynx 3-1 this afternoon to advance to the
2007 Regional Finals of the U.S. Open Cup
Tournament.
The Lynx
added a goal late from Brooke Knowlton, but
it was too little too late.
Once
again, the team was led offensively by
Tiffany Weimer, who scored two goals and
assisted on the other.
“My goals
and assists are attributed to the rest of
the teams play,” said Weimer following the
win. “I’m nothing without them.”
The Reds
got on the board early in the first half
after Katie Schoepfer fed Weimer at the top
of the box before Weimer beat the Lynx
keeper, Erika Bohn.
SoccerPlus CT
had some other chances in the first half,
but came up empty.
Schoepfer
scored the first from Weimer before the
latter netted a 35 yarder from Kristen
Graczyk.
Graczyk
was a dominant player on the field on Sunday
according to Reds assistant coach Lisa Cole.
“Kristen
was competing and winning every ball in the
air,” Cole said. “The back line has gotten a
lot better, but Graczyk was the main
difference.”
Cole also
praised the defensive play of Weimer, which
has been inconsistent thus far.
“I was
really impressed [with Weimer],” Cole said.
“If she can continue to do that then she
will be where she wants in the future, and,
she can help us win.”
Weimer
has had no problem on the offensive end with
the Reds, scoring a combined 3 goals and 3
assists in two games this weekend as she had
a goal and 2 assists in Saturday’s WPSL win
over the New York Athletic Club.
“I’ve
been working harder on my fitness and I feel
a lot better,” Weimer said. “I’ve been
getting respect from my teammates for doing
that and that has just inspired me to work
harder.”
The Reds
opponent in the Regional Finals, as well as
time and place is yet to be determined, but
the game will be played on June 24th.
• Top
of Page
