Close CallCoppell's (Texas) 2-0 victory over McKinney Boyd pushed the team to first in its group at the Nolan Showcase on Day 2, writes Sheldon Shealer.
Coppell makes statement with win over McKinney Boyd
By Sheldon ShealerESPNRISE.com
Updated: January 10, 2009, 12:27 PM ET
FORT WORTH, Texas -- The scoreboard read: Coppell 2, McKinney Boyd 0.
Coppell topped McKinney Boyd at the Nolan Showcase on Friday afternoon.
But the truth is, the clash of the ESPN RISE FAB 50-ranked girls' soccer teams Friday at the Red Bull/Nolan Showcase was anything but a one-sided affair.
Coppell (Texas) scored in the first half with the wind at its back and held on for dear life in the second half before scoring a second goal in stoppage time to seal the victory. The result pushed FAB 50 No. 10 Coppell to first in Group E, followed by No. 35 Boyd (McKinney, Texas), with No. 50 Heritage (Colleyville, Texas) a close third. Any of those three teams could snag the group title in Saturday's final round of action.
In other key matches Friday evening, Lake Highlands (Dallas) surged to the top of Group A with a 2-1 win over Nolan Catholic (Fort Worth, Texas), Hockaday School (Dallas) moved ahead of Martin (Arlington, Texas) in Group B, Ursuline Academy (Dallas) clinched the Group C title with a 1-0 victory over Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) and Keller (Texas) took over the top spot in Group D with a 2-1 victory over Plano West (Plano, Texas).
Keller and Lake Highlands are the surprise teams of the event so far, each carrying a 2-0-1 record into the final day. Keller has a chance to lay claim to the top overall showing if it defeats Ursuline Academy, the third -- and only other -- undefeated team in the event.
The Nolan Showcase has 27 participants, with 20 competing in the invitational event. The showcase format does not offer a championship match but has a points system in place to award the highest finisher in each group.
Of the eight FAB 50 teams competing in the showcase, three are in Group E, and Coppell now controls its destiny going into Saturday's finale against Mayfair (Lakewood, Calif.).
"We knew going with the wind would be a factor, so we were pressing to get a goal," Coppell coach Chris Stricker said of Friday's game. Although the temperature was in the high 70s, a strong wind hampered play throughout the day at Texas Christian University, one of the four sites of the showcase.
Coppell sophomore sensation Chioma Ubogagu started -- and finished -- the Cowgirls' first goal. After collecting the ball at midfield lat in the first half, she passed it to Laura Sadler, who in turn sent it to Alyssa Diggs. Diggs faked to her left, creating enough space to get off a shot that was not cleanly handled by the Boyd keeper. Ubogagu, rushing the goal on the play, gathered the loose ball and easily scored.
McKinney Boyd took control in the second half as it played with the wind at its back. Boyd had a pair of shots hit the post, and plenty of dangerous scoring chances created by Oklahoma commit Emily Reid ended up in the arms of Coppell keeper Kailey Hicks.
"It was unfortunate we didn't put one in," Boyd coach Jimmie Lankford said. "You do everything right and sometimes you can't score. … It's like there was cellophane around the goal."
In the final minute, and having just dodged a Boyd scoring chance, Coppell earned a corner kick. Sadler sent the kick to the middle of the penalty box, where Kristen Hart was ready to finish the play -- and the match.
News and Notes
Player of the Day: Alison McCabe, Keller. On a day with several multigoal scorers, McCabe's two goals stood above the rest. Her first score helped secure Keller's 3-0 win over St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.). Her second goal proved to be the game-winner in Keller's 2-1 victory over FAB 50 No. 3 Plano West. Keller enters the final day as one of only three undefeated teams in the showcase.
Freshman of the Day: Maggie Fobare, Hockaday School. Fobare scored a goal and assisted on the other three goals as Hockaday defeated Midland 4-0 to move into first place in its group. Hockaday won its second match Friday, further securing its top spot heading into Saturday's finale against Plano West.
In the Stands: University of Texas coach Chris Petruccelli was in attendance, not only to watch the top prospects but also to root for his daughter, Garielle. Garielle is a freshman playing on the St. Stephen's Episcopal team.
The following are Friday's results from the Red Bull/Nolan Showcase:
Ursuline Academy 3, Grapevine 0 -- U: Sophie Campise, Jordan Snyder (2).
Marcus 4, Mayfair 0 -- M: Sara Singleton, Tamsin Stirling, Dani Presley (2).
Coppell 5, Tyler Lee 2 -- C: Lauren Johnson, Alyssa Diggs, Kristen Hart, Chioma Ubogagu, Haley Powers. TL: Not available.
Plano West 3, Flower Mound 1 -- PW: Victoria Rellas, Sam Wolf, Brooke Herrick. FM: Alyssa Quinones.
Keller 3, St. Thomas More 0 -- K: Karlee Summey, Alison McCabe, own goal.
McKinney Boyd 1, Colleyville Heritage 0 -- MB: Caity Heap.
Lake Highlands 0, Southlake Carroll 0 --None.
Nolan Catholic 2, Klein Oak 0 -- NC: Presley Smith (2).
Hockaday 4, Midland 0 -- H: Mallory French (Hannah Fobare), Fobare, Taylor Freeman (Fobare), Kathleen French (Fobare).
Ursuline 1, Marcus 0 -- U: Natalie Huggins.
Mayfair 2, Grapevine 0 -- M: Amy Highwart, Allie Sandoval.
Lake Highlands 2, Nolan Catholic 1 -- LH: Brinkley Field, Avery Atkins; NC: Morgan Ulliman.
Keller 2, Plano West 1 -- K: Brooke Kviz, Alison McCabe; PW: Not available.
Southlake Carroll 2, Klein Oak 1 -- SLC: Leslie Shurtleff (2); KO: Kristina Norton.
Martin 2, St. Stephen's 1 -- M: Not available; SS: Shelby Redman.
Colleyville Heritage 1, Tyler Lee 0 -- CH: Kat Ludlow (Samantha Howell).
Coppell 2, McKinney Boyd 0 -- C: Chioma Ubogagu, Kristen Hart.
Flower Mound 3, St. Thomas More 0 -- FM: Mallory Herron, Hannah Higgins, Jessica Disabella.
Hockaday 3, St. Stephens 1 -- H: Haley Williams (2), Taylor Freeman; SS: Kaylin Balley.
Midland 2, Martin 0 -- M: Jade Babcock, Shelby Morrow.
Standings
Teams listed with win-loss-tie record, followed by points earned (based on a six-point win, three-point tie, one point for each goal up to three and one point for a shutout).
Invitational
Group A
Lake Highlands 2-0-1, 21; Nolan Catholic 2-1, 18; Southlake Carroll 1-1-1, 12; Klein Oak 0-3, 1.
Group B
Hockaday School 2-1, 20; Martin 2-1, 17; St. Stephen's 1-2, 12; Midland 1-2, 9.
Group C
Ursuline Academy-x 3-0, 27; Marcus 1-2, 11; Mayfair 1-2, 10; Grapevine 1-2, 8.
Group D
Keller 2-0-1, 23; Flower Mound 1-1-1, 16; Plano West 1-1-1, 14; St. Thomas More 0-2-1, 4.
Group E
Coppell 2-1, 19; McKinney Boyd 2-1, 17; Colleyville Heritage 2-1, 16; Tyler Lee 0-3, 3.
x-clinched group title.
For More go to the following link:
http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/soccer/indexPLATINUM RESULTSColony vs Antonian (3-0)
Lewisville vs Mansfield Summit (2-2)
San Angelo Central vs Antonian (4-1)
Colony vs Mansfield Summit (6-1)
Amarillo vs Lewisville (2-0)
San Angelo Central vs Bishop Lynch (2-0)
We are excited to announce a partnership with CaptainU which will help each and everyone of the Showcase participants a better opportunity to get recruited.
