The Elm Grove Elite, EGSC's U11A Girls select soccer team, captured first place in the 2003 Elm Grove Memorial Day Tournament. The girls went undefeated in the Elm Grove tournament with five wins, all by shutout scores. The tournament championship was their third of the Spring 2003 season, following wins in the Reddan Spring Shootout in Madison and the MK A/B Select Tournament in Milwaukee.
The girls got off to a great start on Saturday, with two dominant games, totally controlling play, possessing the ball, and shutting out their opponents in defeating Sussex 4-0 and Pewaukee 5-0. Sunday saw the team continue their hot streak with a 6-0 rout of the Howard Hurricane in the third and last pool game. The Elite won their Bracket B, and moved on to the semi-finals.
In the semi, the Elite faced Team Elmhurst Premier (Elmhurst, Illinois), winners of Bracket C. Facing their toughest foe in the tournament, the girls didn't play quite as well. However, early pressure by the Elite forced Elmhust into a mistake and an own-goal, giving the Elite an early 1-0 lead. Neither team managed another score until late in the game, when the Elite punched in a rebound effort for a 2-0 lead, which held up as the final score and advanced the team into the championship game.
For the championship, the Elite faced a familiar foe in cross-town Brookfield White. In the third game of the day for both teams (fifth game in two days), it was evident that the girls were fatigued, as play was slow and ragged. Some great hustle by Maggie Shanahan down the left sideline enabled her to beat the Brookfield goalie to a long ball, and she nicely drove a shot into the far post side-netting from a very difficult angle. The score gave the Elite a 1-0 advantage midway through the first half. Neither team was able to muster another score and finished that half with that 1-0 margin. The Elite gained the upper hand in the second half, and generally controlled the tempo, keeping the ball in the offensive half of the field for the remainder of the game. Two more balls found the back of the net following a flury of activity in front of the Brookfield goal. The final margin was 3-0 and the Elite had captured their first Elm Grove Memorial Day Tournament championship.
The five W's give the Elite a 17-1 spring record, with 16 shutouts and a 70-5 scoring margin over their opponents. The girls are 13-0, unscored upon with three championships in tournament play. They are 4-1 in league play so far, with two league games left. They will also play in one more tournament this spring, in Rockford, Illinois on June 21-22.
Congratulations girls!!
Click here to visit their team website.