RSL Girls Ease Into Super-Y Finals

from tbo.com

Qualification for the United Soccer League's Super-Y North American Finals ordinarily isn't a walk in the park. Someone forgot to tell that to RSL Florida's girl's under-17 team, which coasted through its qualification schedule that ended on Saturday.

In 10 games, RSL scored 65 goals, and gave up only six. It didn't lose a game, and only drew twice, in its final two games after qualifications was already assured. In short, there was a lot for Coach Jim Cote to be pleased about.

"The goal is to get the national championship," Cote said. "The kids have played a lot of soccer with regionals and all that kind of stuff, but we used our pool of players between the 16 and 17's, used all 26 kids, had 16 at every game, and your goal is to get to the national championships. You want to play in November and compete for a title."

The number of players was a key for Cote. With most of the Super-Y games being held in the hot Florida afternoons, having 16 players available for each game was critical to the team's success. Now, his squad will try to better the semifinal berth their predecessor's achieved in 2007.