It had been a very busy January for the Sunrise Sting 2009X Girls Club, which completed a whirlwind tour that saw it achieve success on the pitch with tournament victories at the Jacksonville Invitational and one week later taking the title at the Florida Youth Soccer Association Futures Cup.
The good times continued to roll in February when the club captured the Weston Cup. All that success paved the way to a No. 1 ranking in the state as more tournament challenges loom in the future.
The Jacksonville Invitational posed a challenge with some of the top teams from Georgia and Florida doing battle. In some competitive games against Georgia teams, the Sting squeezed out victories with a 2-1 win against Southern Soccer Academy (SSA) and a 3-2 victory over Concorde-Atlanta.
Against the Southern Soccer Academy, the Sting’s Addison Mentz scored on a corner kick from teammate Camryn Smith. Late in the match, Brynlee Dunham took a pass from Valentina Huertas to score the winning goal. The team followed up that win with another competitive match versus Concorde. Down 1-0, the Sting got a defensive stopper from center-back Camryn Smith who was covering the goal line when a Concorde shot got past the goalkeeper. Smith cleared the ball right before it crossed the goal line.
The defensive save proved to be a pivotal point in the match and changed the momentum in the Stings’ favor. A few minutes later, the offense was able to capitalize when Elise McDonald scored on an assist from Mentz to tie the score at 1-1. Adriana Doles provided the firepower with a pair of goals for a 3-1 lead. A late goal by Concorde closed the gap to 3-2 as the whistle sounded for a Sting victory.
“The level of play, understanding and determination that our team displayed was remarkable,” said Sting coach Melanie Monteagudo. “As a former Sunrise SC player, I am thankful for the opportunity to coach, mentor and prepare these young women for what’s ahead. We’ve built an amazing bond, created tons of memories and I’m looking forward to what’s next for every one of them.”
The FYSA Futures Cup was played in Auburndale where the Sting faced off against longtime rival Cape Coral for the championship. Sunrise struck first when Natalia Aviles found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. Later in the match, Huertas connected with Dunham on a cross that pushed the lead to 2-0. Mentz closed out the scoring with a goal for the final 3-0 victory.
The Sting defense was led by Smith, Madison Connacher, Eliana Croke, Madeline Probst and goalkeeper Faith Hardy. Mirabella Ashton and Avery Stetler contributed several goals during tournament play. In the Futures Cup, Hardy and her defense did not allow a single goal. The team went on to compete in Big-6 League Play in Tampa and Cape Coral and went on to tie the Florida Flames at 0-0 and defeated Cape Coral 3-0. The club closed out January with an undefeated record of 9-0-1.
Refusing to rest on their laurels, the Sting proceeded to take on all competition at the Weston Cup. Competing in the U13 Gold division the club went on to defeat Weston FC 2009 Black 2-0, Krush 2009 Pre ENCL 6-0, Parkland 2009 Red 2-0 and finished off Tropical Soccer FCP Elite 4-2 in the championship match. The clean 4-0 sweep added more championship hardware to the growing trophy case.
The 2009X club has been playing together for three years and has been built strong chemistry among the coaches and players. It was a bumpy road at the beginning when the players first started playing 3v3 tournaments as they dropped 24 successive matches.
“The team has been improving year by year and we work hard, but what really distinguishes us is our style of play where we are a true pass-oriented team,” said coach Bruce Konners. “That has been our culture from the beginning. We track every single pass and have for three years. We’re a very analytical type of team. We have 10 to 12 passes in a row, which most teams cannot duplicate, but that is the style we emphasize.”
The Sting club doesn’t rely on one player for scoring as it has a talented 13-member roster that shares in the goal scoring as well as the glory.
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