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In their first US Club tournament experience the U19 girls demonstrated excellent soccer skills, amazing stamina and fortitude, and superb sportsmanship to come away with 2^nd place in the “Come Up For Air” tournament in South Lake Tahoe. Playing with minimal or no subs the entire weekend and fighting through injuries and oxygen deprivation, Excel put their stamp on the first tournament of the season.

On Saturday both matches for Excel would be played without subs, in the altitude, with the UV index off the charts, on a turf field generating a ton of heat. In the early match the girls played Southern California based Hacienda Heights and came away with another 2-0 shutout. Lexi Nadeau scored both goals with an assist from center mid and team captain Emma Forsythe. Emma was all over the field all weekend despite a hip injury; diving, sliding, and getting generally pounded by oversized girls yet always getting back up to deliver as much as she got.

Saturday afternoon Sonoma played another So. Cal. team (Downey United) and unfortunately they saw some of the darker side of club soccer with their fans, coach, and some players. Excel generated a number of good scoring opportunities in the first half only to come away empty handed against the very physical Downey club. After several yellow cards and warnings to the United team, things started to escalate when the some of the Downey fans - who were already very verbally inappropriate - started getting uglier. Later the referee sent the Downey coach off with a red card. Downey scored the first goal well into the second half and with just a few minutes left, Karina Davis came up with the equalizer for a 1-1 draw. This vaulted the U19 girls into the Championship Match on Sunday against an excellent Davis Omega squad.

While checking in for the Sunday final, the Tahoe tournament director noticed the small roster for Excel and offered the services of her daughter (from one of the Tahoe teams) as an extra bench player. Not having participated in US Club soccer before and relying on the directors several assurances that it was legal and OK with the Davis coach, Excel agreed to play the final with the extra player which inadvertently turned out to be a clear violation of the tournament rules.

The final was a thrilling soccer match with outstanding efforts from both squads. Davis was undefeated in their preliminary matches and Excel fell behind 1-0 early but stayed very poised and continued to play solidly bouncing back with an Ellie Ceja header off a pinpoint Nicki Differding corner kick to equalize. Next Mallory Pridmore found Karina Davis just outside the six and she volleyed Sonoma to a 2-1 lead. Pridmore found the net herself for a 3-1 Excel advantage at halftime. The second half would give Davis Omega the wind advantage and with extra subs the chance to wear Sonoma down - particularly with the injuries mounting for Excel. Omega scored first in the second half to cut the lead to 3-2 before Karina Davis fired a pass to Cecy Corona on the right side and the Omega defender deflected the ball into the goal for a 4-2 advantage. Omega scored with a few minutes left for the 4-3 final, and apparent Team Excel championship victory.

After the final whistle the teams were asked to meet in the center of the field without the coaches so the tournament director could explain the rules violation she had unwittingly encouraged. Even though the Tahoe player played a little over half the match and did not figure directly in the scoring, her appearance was against the tournament rules. To their immense credit, the Excel team voted among themselves that they would concede the first place trophy without a challenge or complaint if the Davis squad felt they earned it.

Every single player should be singled out for their efforts. Special thanks to Ellie Ceja, Samantha Lind, and Mallory Pridmore for guest playing and to the Excel players who came and conquered: Nicki Differding, Karina Davis, Lexi Nadeau, Cecy Cornona, Kelsey Pridmore, Michelle Honey, Emma Forsythe, Sierra Nadeau, Doris Martinez, Rachel Glago, and Tori Dwyer. All of you showed tremendous heart, great maturity, and you played beautifully...