A Day of Chilly Weather in the books for the NEPS

Sheldon Shealer/ESPNHS
Clear Lake (Houston, Texas) keepers warm up prior to the team's opening match against Coppell (Texas) at the National Elite Prep Showcase at Texas Christian University.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- When POWERADE FAB 50 No. 4 Ursuline (Dallas, Texas) and No. 18 American Heritage-Delray (Delray Beach, Fla.) met Thursday in the opening match at the National Elite Prep Showcase, something had to give between a pair of teams that were a combined 27-0. It ended up being American Heritage-Delray’s defense.

Boston College commit Jana Jeffrey had a goal and one assist and Candace Johnson delivered a strong performance to lead Ursuline (11-0) to a 3-0 victory, handing American Heritage-Delray its first loss in 18 matches. “This was a bit of an eye-opener for us,” Delray coach Steve Burgess confessed. “We’ve had a good run in Florida for the last eight years or so, and now we’re getting to see what it’s all about at this level.”

For Ursuline, the result starts to make amends for last year’s showing at this event, where the then highly regarding private school program hobbled to a 1-3 showing and fell from the national rankings. “Last year, we didn’t do well here,” said Johnson, whose centering passing early in the match led to a goal by Kellie Schnurr, before Johnson scored a goal of her own. “We wanted to make a statement this year with a decisive win.”

Throughout the day, ESPNHS will update the top team and individual performances from Thursday’s opening round.

PLAYER OF THE DAY
Jana Jeffrey, Ursuline Academy: The Boston College-bound forward assisted the team’s second goal and scored the third as the Bears humbled American Heritage-Delray 3-0.

IMPACT FRESHMEN
Mayra Pelayo, American Heritage-Delray: Pelayo is a technically sound player who demonstrated great skill on the ball. Coach Steve Burgess said Pelayo is still getting used to the speed of play since the high school game is filled with players two and three years older. Pelayo plays club soccer for magicJack.

DAY 1 Results CLICK BELOW
http://nationaleliteprepshowcase.blogspot.com/p/2012-schedule-as-of-12111.html

Teams set for Fort Worth's Elite Prep Showcase tourney | Sports | Grapevine Courier

Teams set for Fort Worth's Elite Prep Showcase tourney Sports Grapevine Courier

The Battle for #1 Starts Tomorrow; American Heritage vs Ursuline Kicks it all off at 1pm at TCU

NEPS hosts the Nation's Top Teams; Twelve of the Top 31

It's only one tournament lasting 48 hours in Ft. Worth, Texas, but it ultimately will play a major role in the POWERADE FAB 50 rankings for the rest winter high school season.

This week's National Elite Prep Showcase, formerly known as the Nolan Showcase, features nine teams currently ranked in the Top 25 -- including the current 1, 2, 3 and 4 squads.

Multiple programs from California and Florida join a Texas-dominated field for the most nationally significant event of the season, which starts Thursday and wraps up Satuday.

From Florida, St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) used this event to jumpstart a national No. 1 ranking in 2011. The Raiders return with an undefeated record in 2012. Undefeated American Heritage-Delray (Delray Beach, Fla.) enters this year's event with a chance to earn even more national respect. Meanwhile, Rosary (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Murrieta Valley (Murrieta, Calif.) will look to make a statement for California soccer.

The homestanding Texas programs, led by No. 1 Boyd (McKinney, Texas), will need to roll the out-of-state opponents to maintain a strangehold on the top of the national rankings.

CLICK LINK for More
http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-soccer/team-rankings/fab50/_/season/winter/

ESPNHS Top 25 in Action this Week at NEPS

FAB 50 girls' soccer scores, Jan. 9-15

Coaches Manual

Coaches Manuals with rules and showcase information will be sent to each coach on Monday, Jan. 9th.

2012 Schedule Updates

There is a slight adjustment in the 2012 NEPS Schedule that is reflected on the 12/19/11 schedule update. An email will also be sent to all the coaches on those changes. The schedule that is one the website will ALWAYS be the official schedule.

The teams that will be affected by this schedule change are Flower Mound, Amarillo, Georgetown, Midland, Antonian, St. Stephen's, Murrieta, and Nolan.

There were also adjustments made to HOME and AWAY teams so make sure you check your schedule to she who will be the home team. Each team will play 4 games.