ASA Premier 99s Soccer Team Wins Prestigious Bethesda Thanksgiving Tournament

Under new coach Bob Thomas, the Arundel Soccer Association Premier (ASA) 99s Girls soccer team won the Patriot division of the prestigious 2013 Bethesda Thanksgiving Tournament over the November 15 – 17 weekend.

The ASA team had 2 hard fought games on Saturday playing in less than ideal conditions. The first game saw ASA take the field against tough inner-state rival Freedom Soccer Club (FSC) Premier that  resulted in a 1-1 draw. 3 hours

Later, ASA won a gritty 1 – 0 game over the 94th ranked team in the nation, HBC Buzz from New York.   Team Manager Joe Hoffman said “it wasn’t the prettiest of games, but in order to come out on top, you have to win the ugly ones”.

Sunday brought 2 more tough opponents and more weather challenges. ASA took the field in a constant drizzle and prevailing fog against the 40th ranked team in the nation, VYS Patriots Black, a team that they played twice, and split games with in the last month. This game saw ASA come out with 1-0 victory which earned ASA a spot in the championship game against McLean Real Green. As the sun was setting on the Soccerplex Field #3, ASA played a spirited McLean team, but the ASA girls played with heart and determination, controlled the ball for the majority of the game and weren’t to be denied. The team won their 3rd game of the tournament by a score of 1-0 and took home championship trophies.

Coach Bob Thomas said “We played good hard ASA Premier style soccer, and this is just the beginning of great things to come for this team”.

 Tournament notes:

Tournament record: 3-1-0 (3 wins, 1 tie, 0 losses)

Goals scored by:

Katie Hoffman vs FSC Premier

Harleigh White vs HBC Buzz

Caitlin Milley vs VYS Patriots Black

Tayah Rendina vs McLean Real Green

Team Tournament MVP- Maddison Wheeler allowed only 1 goal in 4 games. Maddie’s  motto “they cant win if they don’t score”