TSC 97 Red Girls Win Border Battle Gold!
Mar 08 2010 - TSC
The TSC 97 Red girls outscored collective opponents by a 13-1 margin to claim the U13 Gold (Wales) Division of the Border Battle tournament held in Kansas March 6-7, 2010 at the prestigious $36-million dollar Overland Park Soccer Complex.
Within the first five minutes of play in its tourney opener at Heritage Park, TSC got down by a goal and suffered the loss of its main keeper following a concussive collision in the box with JB Marine Wipke – an aggressive, acrobatic group that tumbled out gunning in the first half. With steely nerves and ample composure, TSC clawed back and found feet in 13 mph winds to tie it up by half-time. Despite losing another field player to injury (reducing their headcount to 12), 97 Red managed to find a chink in JB Marine’s amour and open the floodgates of goals in the second half to prevail 4-1. Later that evening at Overland Park, the 97 Red girls took care of business against the #1 ranked Iowa girls team Cedar Rapids Soccer Association. About two minutes in, TSC scored a ripper from downtown and never looked back, putting on a brilliant display of team ball under the bright lights to shut CRSA out 5-0.
Sunday morning, TSC finally got their long-awaited rematch with the Kansas state cup champs KCFC United. KCFC had barely knocked TSC off in PKs in the finals of the premiere 2008 Metro Fall Classic Tournament. TSC slotted in a through-ball to go up early and then methodically wore their opponents down with consistently disciplined pass-play, finishing the game with a 3-0 shutout to seal its finals bid and a rematch with the always tough and talented Missouri # 1 KC Select Rage, whom TSC just defeated in the HFC Cup semi-finals last October.
In a late afternoon final beneath gorgeous skies, it was a test of training, conditioning and wills as KC Select Rage and TSC 97 Red waged relentless tactical, physical, and mental warfare on a million-dollar battlefield. TSC was unable to convert any of several skillfully orchestrated opportunities but managed to survive a few dangerous KC Select advances, corners and free-kicks. After a scoreless defensive standoff in regulation, the contest went straight to penalty kicks (no overtime). TSC finally snapped its PK losing streak by sinking five untouchables. This focused shooting, coupled with a stellar PK knockdown by TSC’s former but ever formidable GK, allowed 97 Red to edge out Rage 5-4 in PKS and come home with golden hardware and yet another championship title to add to Coach Troy Tokarchik’s lengthy resume of achievements.
TSC looks forward to carrying this momentum into its Spring 2010 Oklahoma Premier League season opener with NYSA Fury Green on March 20 in Norman.
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