Paris FC U12 brings home Gold from Michigan Invitational

Article & photos by Melissa Ostrowercha

The Paris FC U12 team was invited to play up in a U13 invitational in Michigan last weekend and the team rose to the challenge returning home with the trophy.

The girls travelled to Brighton, Michigan to take part in the Powerade Invitational and since they were playing up an age category, they got their first feel for playing on a full sized pitch! It seems the extra field was no big deal as the team dominated game play throughout the weekend.

There were eight teams (two groups of four) in their bracket of the tournament They played three round robin games in their group of four, and the winner from each group faced each other in a final championship match.

The first game on Saturday afternoon at the Brighton highschool turf football field started slowly as the girls settled into their positions on the big field, with the added complication of playing on a turf surface instead of grass Kennedy S #17 opened the scoring late in the last seconds of the first half off a rebound from Clare F. #4. We came out strong in the 2nd half, with Clare F. striking a long goal from the 20 yard line, and a third goal came only two minutes later as Miecah O #6 took advantage for a breakaway on a through ball from Clare F #4. Kennedy S. #17 popped in a cross from Clare F a little while later, and we closed out the game late with a deep tap from Paige M #64 on another long send from Clare F Game two was another on the turf, at 6:30 Saturday evening against ScorMeulensteen Orange. Although we dominated every play, and they could not beat our midfields and defense, we struggled to find the net Despite 32 shot attempts, Paris did not bury one until the beginning of the 2nd half, when pressure from Kennedy S. put the ball right on Clare F #4's foot and in the net Clare pocketed the insurance goal late in the 2nd off a through ball from Miecah O. #6.

Game three was early the next morning at 8am and indoors at the dome at the Legacy Centre! This time the opponent was Michigan Stars Lightning, who had also notched up two wins in the group A win or a tie would take Paris to the finals; they edged them out in the goal differential. However, the girls came to play and the net would not elude them in this game! Paris played a dominant game on road to the final in a 9-0 win. Goals were 6 by Clare F, 2 by Paige M. #64 and 1 by Miecah

O #6

The team entered the finals with a 3-0 record, 16 goals for and zero against! Their opponents, the Michigan Tigers Silver, had followed a similarly dominant path through their group, however, and were no slouch with 18 goals for and 2 against The game was on the grass finally, at 3:30 on a SCORCHER of a hot day

The game started off with Paris pressing hard and a few good shots on net. Clare F. #4 sent a cross to Paige M. #64 and she buried it, however the goal was called off! The linesman said that Clare's cross had gone over the goal line Tough start! However, Miecah O #6 scored nine minutes into the game with a close range rocket off the crossbar and in. The Tigers answered back ten minutes later with a hard shot from their midfield in the top corner and it was a tie game! Paris carried that 1-1 into the second half, with both teams pressing hard However, they breathed a sigh of relief only a minute or so into the second half when Clare F. drove down the sidelines and crossed it in to Miecah O., #6 who stretched hard and slid it past the goalie for her second of the game! All of the girls started to feel the heat as the game stretched deep into the second half, and play was back and forth. However, with fifteen minutes remaining, Miecah O. came up big in the corner and delivered the ball to Clare F, who battled through three defenders to send a sailing deep ball into the opposite pocket for the insurance!

Coach Rob then put the brakes on the game, subbing players on and off for rest breaks and trying to hold back the Tiger's pressing for a goal. The girls played defensively and executed the plan perfectly, however, and the whistle blew on a 3-1 Paris win for the gold medal!! The team plans to return next summer, hopefully, to defend their title! Article & photos by Melissa Ostrowercha