The Elm Grove Select U13 Girls captured first place in the Girls U13 White division of the 2004 Palatine Celtic Cup tournament played on the Labor Day weekend, Sept 3-5, in Palatine, Illinois.
The girls won their bracket by coming from behind to defeat the Hinsdale Hurricanes 2-1 on Saturday, and then receiving a forfeit from the Elgin Kickers. In their final pool game on Sunday, the girls clubbed the local Palatine Celtic Cyclones 9-0, putting them on top of Group B.
In a semi-final game played on a stormy Monday morning, the girls jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead over the Rockford Sirens, and made the score hold up for the remainder of the game, moving the girls into the championship game. In that game, they battled the Sockers FC team from Palatine to a tieless score through regulation and two tense overtime periods. Elm Grove came out victorious in the shoot-out making all five of their shots, while keeper Katie Jacobson stopped a Sockers shot giving the girls the championship!
The five wins moves the team's record to 8-1 at this early point in the season, not bad for a new Select team with everyone just getting to know each other.
Members of the U13 Select team are Dana Anderson, Amy Bennett, Haley Catterson, Jordan Clarksen, Brenda Gonzalez, Katie Jacobson, Jessica Kosmider, Leah Metcalf, Hannah Nell, Betsy Stone, Maggie Shanahan, and Mackenzie Wacker. Anne Perry, Ellen Chamberlin and Rachel Koontz were playing up with the U13 Academy team and were unavailable for this tournament. Guest players who provided a key spark were Katie Klinger and Jess Allemang. The team is coached by Danny Madrigal, with assistance from Digital Takawira.
Congrats, girls!