Boca Jrs 90 Girls Win Region G Championship

Boise, ID -- It was a word trademarked by basketball coach Pat Riley in the early 1980s when he was coaching the Los Angeles Lakers.  While the Lakers never accomplished it during his tenure with the team, the Capital Athletic Boca Jrs 90 girls were able to "threepeat" on Tuesday as US Club Soccer Region G Champions.

Boca won the U15 Girls Super Group by defeating Washington Premier FC 3-0 in the championship game.  Three first-half goals was all the team needed to win the Region for the third year in a row and advance to the US Club National Cup V Finals in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Capital Athletic opened the scoring against WPFC on their fifth corner kick of the match when midfielder Brittani Lum sent the ball to forward Jennie Marshall who headed it in at the back post.  In the 34th minute midfielder Molly Klier put the team up 2-0 on a left-footed blast from 35 yards that sailed into the upper corner of the goal.  An outstanding run by forward Alexia Poon opened up the opportunity for Klier.  Two minutes later midfielder Laura Nasseri slipped a pass to Marshall who beat two defenders and tucked the ball into the corner of the goal for the 3-0 advantage.

Boca dominated the entire second half as well but were unable to convert any more of their opportunities.  The game was also marked by outstanding defensive play by backs Abby Puente, Kelsey Costan, Lizzy Mayes, Elena Davert, Sasha Lucyga, and Brooke Harrison.  Goalkeepers Myia Williams and Millie Brown combined for the shutout.

Brown was the hero the day before as well when Boca took on FC Portland in the Semi-Finals.  Boca tied FC Portland 2-2 but won 3-1 on penalty kicks. Brown made three saves during the penalty kicks while Katie Kinney, Kelsey Costan and Brittani Lum all converted their kicks for Boca.

The match ended regulation play tied 1-1.  FC Portland had a 1-0 lead at the half but 16 minutes into the second half Nasseri connected with forward Elle Porter who beat a defender and ripped a shot into the goal at the back post from 25 yards away.  Boca took a 2-1 lead in the first overtime less than two minutes into the period when Costan overlapped from her right back position and sent a perfect cross to forward Brynne Konkel who headed it home. However, with less than two minutes remaining in the final overtime period FC Portland tied the match to send it to penalty kicks.

Boca won all three of its matches in the preliminary round.  They opened the tournament with Lake Oswego.  Boca, which scored 20 goals in the tournament for an average of four per game, didn't waste any time scoring against LOSC.  Brianna Scales sent a perfect cross to the back post which Konkel flicked into the goal less than 35 seconds into the game against LOSC to give Boca a 1-0 advantage.

Konkel was involved in the first 5 goals of the match, which Boca won 6-2, scoring three of them and assisting on two.  She was assisted by Klier, Poon and Marshall while she assisted midfielder Crystal Romero and Poon.  The only other goal of the match was a spectacular finish by midfielder Brittani Lum on a corner kick by Nasseri. Lum headed the perfectly placed kick by Nasseri through the legs of the defender at the back post.

In the second match of the tournament Boca took on local rival Placer United in a hard fought battle.  Boca took a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute when Marshall blasted a header to the back post which Konkel touched into the goal. Placer tied the game early in the second half.  However, Boca took at 2-1 lead in the 58th minute when Nasseri and Klier combined to assist Poon on a goal.  With only seconds remaining in the match Konkel scored her fifth goal of the tournament when she intercepted a clearance by the Placer goalkeeper and put it away.

Boca took on the host club Boise Capitals in the final preliminary game.  Boca exploded for five goals in the first half and went on to win the match 6-2. Nasseri and Scales combined to assist Marshall on the first goal of the match in the ninth minute.  Then Harrison, from her left back position, crossed a ball to Konkel for the second goal of the game.  In the 14th minute Marshall returned the favor by assisting Nasseri for a goal.  Porter scored the final two goals of the first half (one was assisted by Kinney) and Scales scored the sixth goal in the second half in the win.

Boca joined World Class (NJ), Tabagators (NV), Nomads (CAS), Hiberian (NJ), and Century United (PAW) as teams that have advanced to the National Cup. The tournament will take place July 22-25.