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July 26, 2001 STAFF REPORT It been a long wait but Tri-City Soccer U-14 Pink Panthers where announced as winners of the Western Slope Soccer League last week. The Panthers went through the spring schedule with a 6-1-1 record ( 15-1-2lifetime in the two-year-old WSSL) tying with Thunder Mountain of Palisade. Because the Panthers had won there in a head-to-head meeting earlier this spring, the local team were declare the league victors, the second season in a row. Palisade finished second and Montrose third. "It was a different spring season for us," coach Marc Meyer reported. "It seemed all the competitive A League teams got up for their games with us, especially Montrose. Montrose tied us and gave us our only league loss in our last 18 games. We really rocked them last fall scoring 17 goals to their one and I think they where embarrassed by those two losses and had lots to prove against us this spring." "I also believe I concentrated to much on set plays and defense (though they paid off with a lot of goals off those plays and only three goals allowed through eight games) this spring and not enough on conditioning as we had in the past and that showed in the later minutes of most games," he said. The Pink Panthers also played in the Sandia Cup in Albuquerque over Memorial Day Weekend. The Sandia Cup is one of the premier soccer tournaments in the West. "Although we only won one game and lost three, I was pleased with our overall performance. Going against Premier I and II level teams is tough for small town soccer teams like ours. Through the 70 minute games, nobody scored on us in the first 60 minutes of all four games. I'm proud of that as some of the teams faired much worse. Conditioning and the last 10 minutes where our down fall. The ladies are real close to competing at the Elite Premier I and II levels," Meyer added. The Pink Panthers also played in the Grand Junction Invitational in the competitive division finishing third but not losing any matches. "It was unfortunate the both Palisade and the Panthers drew the same flight because they where the two strongest teams in the field of eight teams," Meyer noted. The Panthers, like in league play, ended flight play tied with Palisade. But Palisade only allowed one goal and we allowed two so they advanced to the final game against Steamboat Springs winning 1-0. The Panthers advance to the third-place game against the Craig Storm, winning 4-0. Craig was the WSSL B League competitive winner with a undefeated spring record coming into the game. "Looking back on the tournament, it was probably a coaching error in our Aspen game when I held the score to 6-0 instead of letting the ladies score and run it up. If we had scored the seventh goal we would have went to the finals," he recalled. The Panthers also recently traveled to North Carolina with Monica Plewe, the first-year Montezuma-Cortez High School head girls coach, and some other high school players for a week of training with Anson Dorrance and the University of North Carolina Staff. The Tar Heel women have won 17 out of last 19 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I soccer championships. "I'm looking forward to the fall WSSL season as the Pink Panthers move up to the U-16 division though we are predominantly a U-15 team. We will be losing or having limited play from ladies who have been with us for the past four years, Gina and Karlyn Franchini, Maddy Stephens and Lisa Ehmke. We will miss them all. "Some will be playing volleyball this fall and filling in when that schedule allows with the Panthers. We will be adding MCHS sophomores Sara Cullington, Christine Brengle, Kerrie Kemp, and Brin Andrews to round out our roster of 18. It should prove to be some exciting soccer and we hope some people get out to watch us," he said. WSSL Fall League play will start the last week of August with five home games and five away games. |
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