Kindra Lierz, Kasey Opfer, Nicole Ortega at ECNL Finals Week
UPDATED – Congratulations to Kasey Opfer and her TSC Hurricane teammates who won 1-0 today over Sporting Blue Valley to claim the North American League title (think Europa Cup) for U16 ECNL Girls. An updated photo of the squad with their trophy can be found below.
For Nicole Ortega and Kindra Lierz, a strong run through the playoffs ended with a 1-3 loss today to the Albertson Fury.
A trio of players from Springfield have reached the Finals of the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) National Tournament. Kasey Opfer, with her U16 Tulsa SC Hurricane side, advance with a 3-0 record in group play, giving up a single goal. For Kindra Lierz and Nicole Ortega, the SLSG Elite squad was 3-0 while also being stingy, giving up a single goal to reach their U17 Final.
There are 73 clubs that compete in the ECNL and the playoffs were split into three levels. The Champions League featured the Top 32 teams as determined by points earned within Conference play during the year. The next 32 teams advanced to compete in the North American League championship and both Tulsa SC Hurrican and SLSG Missouri Elite advanced from that group. Playoffs in June in Colorado whittled it down to the final 8. They are now down to the Final two and will play Monday morning for the North American League title.
The Final Club Ranking that incorporates an individual clubs overall performance across all age groups. Tulsa SC currently sits 25th in the Country while SLSG has not cracked the top 36 in the late June ranking.
PHOTO GALLERY – 15 ECNL Games from Oct 2011 to May 2013
| U17 SLSG Missouri | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Time | Foe | Result |
| Thur Jul 11 | 10:30 am | Colorado Rush | win 7-1 |
| Fri Jul 12 | 10:30 am | Atlanta Fire | win 2-0 |
| Sun Jul 14 | 10:30 am | Solar Chelsea | win 5-2 |
| Mon Jul 15 | 10:30 am | Albertson Fury |
Results – The girls went 3-0 and earned all 9 points to advance to the 1st Place game which should be against the Albertson Fury Monday. The Fury was 2-0-1 with wins on Thursday and Friday followed by Sunday’s 1-1 tie against McLean, who face a Goal Differential difference of +7 versus +3.
| U16 Tulsa SC Hurricane | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Time | Foe | Result |
| Thur Jul 11 | 2:30 pm | Albertson Fury | win 2-1 |
| Fri Jul 12 | 2:30 pm | D'Feeters SC | win 3-0 |
| Sun Jul 14 | 2:30 pm | Strikers FC | win 1-0 |
| Mon Jul 15 | 10:30 am | Albertson Fury |
Results – The girls went 3-0 and earned all 9 points to advance to the 1st Place game which should be against the Albertson Fury Monday. The Fury was 2-0-1 with wins on Thursday and Friday followed by Sunday’s 1-1 tie against McLean, who face a Goal Differential difference of +7 versus +3.
Photos via Kasey Opfer’s Twitter feed. Good luck ladies!
