The Internationals traveled to Fox Cities, Wisconsin with three of our girls teams (U15, U16, U17/U18) to compete for the Region II Title June 23-28, 2006. All of our teams represented our club and state with class and style.

Our U15 and U16 teams captured first place at the 2006 Ohio North State Cup held in May and June to earn a spot at the Regional Championships. Our U17/18s earned a spot at regionals by way of a strong performance in the Midwest Regional League competition. In addition, our U10 and U12 girls also captured a State Cup Title but do not go on to compete at Regionals as the regional competition starts at U13.

In the preliminary rounds the U15s finished their group play with 4 points by defeating Iron Kids Premier from Missouri and tying Arsenal Primo from Nebraska. A loss to eventual regional champion Eclipse Select (Illinois) prevented the U15s from advancing to the semi-finals.

The Internationals competed in the U18 bracket with a combination of our U17 and U18 players. The U17/18s earned a spot in the regional semi-finals by finishing group play with 7 points. They defeated KCFC Alliance (Kansas) and Bangu (Minnesota) and tied St. Louis SC (Missouri). In the semis, they loss to the eventual regional champions – Eclipse Select from Illinois. Even though they came up short, the U17/18 team competed hard and finished a very respectable third place in Region II.

After winning all three games in their bracket over Hammer FC Premier (Ohio South), Eclipse Select (Illinois), and Bangu (Minnesota), the Internationals advanced to the semi-finals where they bested the Michigan Hawks team by a score of 2 – 0 (both goals by Taylor Moront). The first goal came off a cross from mid-fielder Allison Ramsey, with a header goal by Moront. The second goal developed from a defensive win, a pass to mid-fielder Lauren Burke and an excellent through ball to a streaking Moront, who drilled home her second goal of the game.

The win advanced them into the Region II Championship game where they met the St. Louis Soccer Club who were the 2005 National Champions. At the conclusion of the first 40 minutes there was no score with both teams mounting attacks and counter attacks. Early in the second half, St. Louis was awarded a corner kick that resulted in a goal. Holding their 1 – 0 lead over the Internationals, it looked as though St. Louis would be repeating as the Regional Champions and heading to the National Championship tournament. However, with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation play, Hannah Johnson took a pass from Paige Maxwell and broke into the box for a goal scoring opportunity, but was taken down from behind and a penalty kick was awarded. Courtney Mercier stepped into the penalty area and on the referee’s whistle, beat the St. Louis keeper to even the score. At the end of regulation play, the score remained tied at 1 – 1. Per tournament rules, there would be two fifteen-minute overtime (OT) periods. If the score remained tied at the end of the second OT period, the championship would be decided on penalty kicks (PKs). At the conclusion of the first OT period, the score remained tied at 1 – 1. Early in the second OT period, the Internationals mounted a counter attack that sprung Paige Maxwell on a breakaway at mid-field. Beating two defenders, Paige side-stepped the St. Louis keeper in the 18 yard box and was on her way to scoring when the St. Louis keeper reached out and tripped her from behind, prohibiting a sure goal. Play was stopped and the St. Louis keeper was issued a yellow card and the Internationals were awarded a PK. Once again, Courtney Mercier stepped into the penalty area to take the PK and on the whistle, rocketed the ball past the St. Louis keeper to put the Internationals ahead 2 – 1. With less than 90 seconds left in the second OT period, it looked as though the Internationals would win this hard fought battle. However, St. Louis was not willing to concede the game and maintained control of the ball in the Internationals’ defensive third of the field. St. Louis was awarded a corner kick when the ball was deflected off an International defender. St. Louis placed the corner kick at the top of the six-yard box and, after several attempts to clear the ball by the Internationals, St. Louis was able to sneak the ball into the goal to tie the match at 2 – 2, sending the match into PKs.

The Internationals won the coin toss and elected to start first the PK round. Internationals took the first PK and it was denied by the St. Louis Keeper. The first St. Louis PK scored. The next three International PKs found the back of the net from Courtney Mercier, Kay Young and Kerri Krawczak. Gabby Morrin denied St. Louis’s second and third PKs, but the fourth got by her. Going into the fifth PK, the Internationals were leading 3 – 2. If the Internationals scored on the fifth PK, they would close out St. Louis and win the championship. Alison Ramsey stepped up to the ball and on the whistle, buried her shot into the back of the net, giving the Internationals the Regional Championship!

After the win, head coach Zdravko Popovic had this to say: “Our U16s came into this competition physically and mentally prepared to win a Regional Title. I am so proud of the way each and every player on our roster contributed to the win. We finished our chances up front, our mid-field was solid, and our defense was superb throughout the entire event. We faced some of the best competition we’ve seen all year as the event showcased the great quality of soccer in Region II.”

The U-16 Internationals Girls Soccer Team will now travel to Des Moines, Iowa to compete for the National Championship from July 25 – 30, 2006 against the winners from Regions I, III and IV.

Click here for the complete Internationals U16 Girls Roster .

This marks the fourth time in club history that an Internationals Girls team has won a Regional Title (see history below).

Notable Regional Results – Internationals Girls:
2006: U16 - FIRST PLACE; U18 - Third Place
2005: U13 - Semifinalists
2002: U16 - Second Place; U14 - Second Place
2001: U17 - Semifinalists; U15 - Semifinalists
2000: U16 - FIRST PLACE; U19 - Semifinalists
1999: U13 - FIRST PLACE; U15 - FIRST PLACE
1998: U17 - Second Place; U13 - Semifinalists; U14 – Third Place
1996: U20 - Third Place
1995: U12 - FIRST PLACE
1993: U14 - Second Place
1992: U16 - Third Place

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