July 2007

Busy with two teams at back to back tournaments, Berhane is out of town. He will be back for another insightful article next month.

In the meantime, I hope he doesn't mind that I share a letter that he wrote to the coaches:

Dear Boca Coaches!

Thank you so much for making the Friday Play Days and the Club Picnic so much fun! As a soccer fan I felt so great to have that sense of a club and a sense of fun! What can beat Fridays when kids of all ages are out there playing soccer and having fun!!! Well a picnic with coaches and players playing together and a couple of excellent games by several of our teams and some barbecue were just as much fun!! The popsicles and icecream bars on Friday are not to be underestimated in fun value either! In other words, thanks so much and please let us remember to thank our parents and our managers who do so much for the club!

Berhane

On June 16th and 17th the Youth Academy participated in the 4th Annual Extreme 6 a Side Tournament for under 9/10 boys and girls teams. The tournament was a huge success. Four Boca teams made it to the finals of the tournament. It was very neat to see the young boys and girls develop a creative style of play that is becoming noticeable throughout the club. I saw smiling faces and moments of brilliance on the Bermuda grass of Railhead Park.

As we enter the summer months, we would love to see the boys and girls come out to the Friday Play Days. It serves as a fun 3rd practice for the teams to get sharp. The staff coaches and players have really enjoyed knockin' the ball around and eating ice cream underneath the shade trees of Larchmont Park.

Go Boca!!!

• July 4 - Office Closed - Happy Independence Day
• July 6, 20, 27 - Play Days - All Players - All Ages - Larchmont
• July 9-13 - U15-U18 Intensive Training Camps
• July 10 - Coaches Meeting
• July 12 - CASA Meeting
• July 12-15 - 9 teams to Beaverton for the Westside Metro Tourney
• July 17 - Manager's Meeting
• July 23 - 27 - U11-U12 Intensive Training Camps
• July 26 - CASA Meeting
• July 31 - US Club Passes expire

For a detailed calendar, view our website's calendar tab.

Jackie Hardesty has recently been awarded the Erika Wiese Humanitarian Award from Franklin Elementary in Elk Grove.

She has been given the $500 college scholarship for the most well rounded 6th grader which includes academics, athletics as well as social awareness.

Congratulations Jackie!

Two weeks into the soccer season, Beyer High had already lost twice and it looked as if the Patriots were vulnerable following the loss of a strong senior class. "A lot of good players graduated and about half our team was up from the JV," said forward Jennie Marshall, who just completed her junior season. "That confidence we had last year, it wasn't there because we were young."

It didn't take long for the Patriots to regain their mettle, as Marshall led them on a streak that didn't end until the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinals.

During that 10-week span, Beyer went 15-0-1, outscored foes 47-8 and won the Modesto Metro Conference title. It wasn't until a 4-3 loss to St. Mary's - a game decided by penalty kicks after 100 minutes of play - that Beyer suffered its third and final defeat.

Marshall, one of two captains, carried the burden of molding a cohesive unit of newcomers and veterans. Given her success, it's only fitting Marshall be recognized by being named The Bee's 2007 Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

"When I was a freshman, there were older players helping me," said Marshall, a three-year starter at forward. "I remember what it was like, being the new player.

"It was important to realize if we were going to be successful, everyone had to come together."

Marshall's performance made it easier for the Patriots to mature, as she provided the scoring and set the tempo for her less experienced teammates to follow.

The 5-foot-7-inch, 145-pounder scored 24 goals and - even more crucial to Beyer's success - had 16 assists. Those not only led to goals by teammates, but kept opponents from focusing too much of their attention on Marshall.

"It would have been easy to not pass the ball to someone because they didn't get a goal last time, but I made some of the same mistakes when I was younger," said Marshall, who has 53 goals and 29 assists in 72 career matches.

Nine Patriots had at least three goals and five had four or more assists, which explains why Beyer was still 4- 0-1 in MMC matches where Marshall didn't score.

When Beyer needed its aggressive leader to step up, however, she was always up to the task. After a hat trick in a conference-closing win over Davis, Marshall scored two goals in each of Beyer's three playoff matches.

"It's fun to see someone take your pass and score a goal, but I really love scoring," she said. "I feel confident going one-on-one with the goalie, because I'm fast and I'm aggressive. I don't get intimidated when they come out."

Boca '95 had an eventful day last Saturday in Turlock at the Cal State Stanislaus 6 vs 6 tournament playing against a variety of talented teams including a tough contingent from Stockton and a home grown group of big U13 girls.

The sunny, mild weather and the natural surface of the 50 x 44 playing field were both excellent, however, the day did not start off well as the big home team, playing down, seemed determined to dominate the event by leveraging their size and aggressive, physical playing style. Number 4, Bailee Lupton discovered this early in game one when she injured her ankle as she was taken out during a drive down field. The injury was concerning enough to warrant a trip to the ER for some X-rays which turned up a nasty sprain.

The day held many other note worthy events, including an appearance by Tara who did a great job in the box, especially considering that she is new to comp soccer; she's not afraid to stick her chin out there. Also performing wonderfully as keeper was #19, Maddy Deters. And without checking my facts first, I am going to go out on a limb and suggest that #11, Elena Hanson performed the first of the season goal- on-a-header, thanks to her skilled noggin and a perfect corner kick by #17, Julia Crawford.

Number 2, Missy Hanson, swept up both the front and back field alike in her fury. Number 23, Bailie Poe, kept the backfield nice and clean bringing her own hard charging style to the event and number 7, Julia Beck was on fire, as per usual battling it out all over the field all day long opening up opportunities by constantly pressing hard. Number 3, Taylor Nelson worked her magic dribbling down the line, faking her opponents time and time again, and #6, Clare Carroll, was there performing so many break-aways and shots on goal that the statisticians have given up trying to record it all.

Although Boca ended up losing that first game against Turlock, they maintained good standing by winning subsequent games. The good weather did not change too much but the misfortune in the first game changed dramatically in the second meeting with the Turlock Tornados. Early in the match with this physical team, #13, Marian Haarmeyer was struck by the goal keeper, sending her to the ground hard. Coach kept her in the game, and she met the challenge by stepping up the pressure and applying her own brand of aggressive play despite a second flagrant foul against her which lead to yet another foul, a direct free kick and a penalty kick, ultimately resulting in a hard earned goal by #18, Courteney Craney. In the second half, Boca kept the energy level very high and the tide had turned as the big team got tired and soon thereafter mentally collapsed with #5, Lizzy Hutchison pulling off a hat trick! Is that a Boca '95 first? New territory or not, it was exciting to see the bigger team being beaten by a smaller, younger team. The excitement was not over, though. Boca played its full roster meeting the Tornados once more in the championship game, again coming out on top with another victory and the title by way of another great team effort. Number 15, Emily Hansen, who normally keeps the back field safe was up front showing us that she can score, too. Way to go! Number 9, Brigid Lummis, who I hear is contractually obligated to provide at least 2 goals at each event also sent one to the back of the net in addition to keeping the intense pressure on and generally making things happen. Everyone pitched in to run Turlock ragged. Number 19, Maddy Deters passing and striking hard! And Boca had help from two Boca Blue players as well: Alyssa Zuniga and Tarryn Johnson who stepped right up and played brilliantly.

Great job, everyone! Great team work!