Vipers rewrite PA record book
The FC Bucks Vipers won a national title in the USYS U-18 Girls National Championship Sunday morning.
By Steve ShermanSports Editor
The FC Bucks Vipers (E-PA) made history last Sunday, July 26 in girls soccer. This year’s U.S. Youth Soccer Region I Champion, the Vipers capped their national tour off with a 1-0 victory over Ohio Elite.
In so doing, the group became the first girls soccer team in Pennsylvania to claim a USYS national championship.
In a national tourney that began July 21 at Citizens Bank Fields at Progin Park in Lancaster, Massachusetts, FC Bucks posted a 3-0-1 mark.
On Sunday morning, the Vipers took on Ohio Elite, a Cincinnati team that won Region II this year. Ohio entered the finale with an identical 2-0-1 mark, having battled FC Bucks to a 2-2 deadlock last Friday, July 24.
In the championship however, after the sides battled to a scoreless standoff in the first half, Vipers midfielder Maddie Evans of Abington scored the game’s only goal in the 70th minute, sending the girls home with the Francis J. Kelly Cup.
The quest for the cup this season was completed in honor of head coach Eddie Leigh’s son-in-law--fallen Philadelphia Police Officer John Pawloski.
In February, the policeman was gunned down in the middle of breaking up an altercation between a cab driver and his assailant that took place in the city’s Olney section.
“The kids were just devastated at everything that happened,” stated Leigh, whose daughter Kim was married to Pawloski. “This was just something they wanted to do.”
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Last year, FC Bucks beat the Cincinnati team twice--once in Ohio’s Blue Chip Classic and another time in the Nashville Invitational.
In last Friday’s game, with her team trailing 1-0, Kaitlin Kerr, a soon-to-be-senior at the Pennington School, scored first for FC Bucks, taking the feed from Pennsbury High School alum Yvonne Moyer, who is headed to Penn. Kerr’s goal came two minutes after Ohio’s first strike.
The opponent took the lead once again with a goal that came in the 53rd minute of play but Holland’s own Erin Galen (Villa Jo) reached the back of the net off a feed from Colleen Williams, of Titusville in the 72nd minute, locking the final tally at 2-all.
The Vipers kicked off the tournament July 22 by defeating Pleasanton Rage, 3-1 on two goals scored by Evans, a center-midfielder from Abington who is headed to Penn State. Evans scored on feeds from Hoy and Kerr. Goal number three was tallied by Heidi Sabatura off a feed from Alexa Carugati, of Newtown. Ironically, both are Pennington School grads who are headed to Villanova in the fall.
Splitting time in goal for FC Bucks was Tara Murphy, a Council Rock South alum who is headed to Rhode Island and Kate Heim, of West Windsor, NJ. Murphy made four saves in preserving the win.
The Rage is this year’s Region IV champion from California.
“The game we played against California could have been the best we’ve played all year,” stated Leigh. “They are a very good possession-oriented team; we were fortunate to get them to turn the ball over a few times.”
As an encore, FC Bucks blanked Edmond Soccer Club (ESC), 2-0, Thursday, July 23. Hoy opened up the scoring for the Vipers and Sabatura finished things off with her goal that came off a feed from Kerr.
ESC is this year’s Region III champion from Oklahoma.
“Oklahoma was the kind of team that stood by in the back and waited for us to make a mistake,” explained Leigh. “Luckily, we didn’t make any and were fortunate enough to get a pair of goals by them.”
Playing between the pipes in all three Viper wins was Gabrielle Pakhtigian, of North Wales. Gabby made seven saves in the opening win and three more in the shutout victory. Headed to LaSalle University in September, she captured the Golden Glove award, surrendering a lone goal on a penalty kick
This year’s Under-18 Girls champion for Region I, the Vipers captured the title on July 7 for the second straight year in the final minutes of the championship.
Of the 10 defending US Youth Soccer Region I Champions, only four repeated as champs at regionals which took place July 2-7 at the Barboursville Soccer Complex in West Virginia.
In the regional title tilt, the Vipers won the match against Montclair United (NJ) when Evans scored the game's only goal in the 89th minute of play.
For their efforts, the Vipers advanced to their second straight appearance at nationals. FC Bucks made it to the national semifinals last year, though this was their first trip to the finale.
The group of girls who make up the Viper roster are a veritable who's who among Bucks County girls soccer players, including Neshaminy alum Lyndsay Pierson of Langhorne, Pennsbury graduate Yvonne Moyer of Levittown, and Council Rock North alum Clare Roche, of Washington Crossing. All are committed to Division I soccer programs in the fall. A forward for the Vipers this summer, Moyer will play her soccer at Penn in the fall. Both defenders, Pierson is headed to Pitt and Roche is going to George Washington.
The list doesn't end there though. It also includes defender Alysha Mallon, of Newtown, and midfielder Colleen Williams, of Titusville. Mallon is a Villa Jo grad and Williams is from Hopewell Valley Central. Both are headed to Dayton University to play soccer this fall. Galen, a Villa Jo Marie alum from Holland, is headed to West Chester.
Carugati is a defender from Newtown and Sabatura is a forward from Lawrencville. Kerr hails from Bensalem and has a year left at Pennington before she heads to Duke in 2010. According to Leigh, Kerr keys the offense along with Evans.
And Taylor Houck, a CB South graduate from Chalfont, is committed to play soccer at Nebraska. Coach says, she and Carugati helped keep opponents off the scoreboard throughout nationals.
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Vipers headed to NCAA Soccer programs
Vipers headed to NCAA Soccer programs
1 Alexa Carugati- VILLANOVA (Newtown) Defender
2 Carly Edgecomb– VILLANOVA ( Princeton) Defender
3 Madlyn Evans– PENN STATE (Abington) Central Midfielder
4 Erin Galen- WEST CHESTER (Holland) Winger
5 Caitlin Heim- WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY (West Windsor) Goalkeeper
6 Taylor Houck- NEBRASKA (Chalfont) Defender
7 Jennifer Hoy- PRINCETON (Sellersville) Forward
8 Kaitlyn Kerr- DUKE 2010 (Bensalem) Central Midfielder
9 Alysha Mallon- DAYTON (Newtown) Defender
10 Yvonne Moyer- PENN (Levittown) Forward
11 Gabrielle Pakhtigian- LA SALLE (North Wales) Goalkeeper
12 Lyndsay Pierson- PITT (Langhorne) Defender
13 Clare Roche- GEORGE WASHINGTON (Washington Crossing) Defender
14 Heidi Sabatura- VILLANOVA (Lawrenceville) Forward
15 Rachael Sheehy- PRINCETON (Exton) Central Midfielder
16 Colleen Williams- DAYTON (Titusville) Central Midfielder
2 Carly Edgecomb– VILLANOVA ( Princeton) Defender
3 Madlyn Evans– PENN STATE (Abington) Central Midfielder
4 Erin Galen- WEST CHESTER (Holland) Winger
5 Caitlin Heim- WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY (West Windsor) Goalkeeper
6 Taylor Houck- NEBRASKA (Chalfont) Defender
7 Jennifer Hoy- PRINCETON (Sellersville) Forward
8 Kaitlyn Kerr- DUKE 2010 (Bensalem) Central Midfielder
9 Alysha Mallon- DAYTON (Newtown) Defender
10 Yvonne Moyer- PENN (Levittown) Forward
11 Gabrielle Pakhtigian- LA SALLE (North Wales) Goalkeeper
12 Lyndsay Pierson- PITT (Langhorne) Defender
13 Clare Roche- GEORGE WASHINGTON (Washington Crossing) Defender
14 Heidi Sabatura- VILLANOVA (Lawrenceville) Forward
15 Rachael Sheehy- PRINCETON (Exton) Central Midfielder
16 Colleen Williams- DAYTON (Titusville) Central Midfielder
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