Philadelphia SC Coppa Rage win national championship

From heartbreak in 2021 to elation in 2022, Philadelphia SC Coppa Rage showed that a year of hard work really can pay off when they won the U.S. Youth Soccer U17 girls national title with a 5-0 win over Tonka Fusion Elite on Sunday morning in Orlando, Florida.   Rather than dwell on their defeat in the final as U16s in Orlando last summer, Coppa Rage used the experience to their advantage, prepping for the difficult weather conditions and leaning on the culture within the team to push each other to heights so lofty no other girls team from the city of Philadelphia has ever accomplished.   Coppa Rage also won the first U.S. Youth Soccer national championship of any team since 1967 when Lighthouse Boys Club won the U19 championship.   They did it with a balanced attack and a back five that limited chances throughout their five wins. After conceding four times in their first two group games - they had to overcome a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 in the first match last Tuesday - they conceded just once in a semifinal game against Utah Avalanche. They had to overcome a 1-0 deficit in that game but opened the scoring just 35 seconds into the final.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/mattralph_tbg/status/1551276313817800705?s=21u0026t=_2ynYOc2qEXx7FjLKykaBQ </div></figure>   Forwards [player_tooltip player_id='45394' first='Gianna' last='Rivera'] and [player_tooltip player_id='43418' first='Taylor' last='Mays'] both made the Best XI for the week because of their efforts leading the front line. Rivera had six goals and Mays had five for the week and both were involved in several of their other goals. Rivera's hold-up play and strength working against the ball in pressure opened up a lot of opportunities. [player_tooltip player_id='41028' first='Isabella' last='Brown'] scored three goals on the week too, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://x.com/mattralph_tbg/status/1550235702260109314?s=21&t=_2ynYOc2qEXx7FjLKykaBQ" target="_blank">one where she ran onto a perfectly lofted ball (from Merzedes Paino), </a>another from a free kick just outside the 18 and a penalty kick that propelled them into the final.   Left back [player_tooltip player_id='45366' first='Maura' last='Day'] had two Olimpico goals off corner kicks, including one in the semifinal and was part of that dynamic back line that was so strong. Center backs [player_tooltip player_id='45365' first='Abby' last='Fitzmaurice'] and Alexis Ocasio barely left the field all week and led a well organized back line in front of goalkeepers Kayla Kulp and Samantha Riddler, who were co-Golden Glove winners. Brigid McDonald was the right back.   [player_tooltip player_id="45395" first="Emma" last="Levin"], who scored 35 seconds into the final when she was played down the left flank by Rivera, added a goal in the 7-0 win over KC Athletics and midfielder [player_tooltip player_id='45376' first='Ava' last='DeGeorge'] also added a goal in that 7-0 win. Seven different goal scorers scoring 20 goals while conceding only five in five games is a pretty good recipe for a national title these girls will savor well into their high school seasons in the fall and into early 2023 when they regroup to try for a repeat.   Penn FC Youth 2004 Lightning girls came up short in their bid for back-to-back national champions with a 3-0 loss in the U18 girls final to Galaxy SC. The score wasn't indicative of how close the game was and a Penn FC team that was so dominant in the semifinal was never able to find the final ball. Still, they showed that last year's title was anything but a fluke with standout performances on the week from James Madison-bound Jamie Swartz (a Best XI selection), High Point-bound Alex Murphy, rising high school senior midfielders [player_tooltip player_id='45348' first='Liza' last='Suydam'] (a Best XI selection), Katelyn Economopoulos and Kristen Economopoulos and others. Defender [player_tooltip player_id='45339' first='Hannah' last='Costa'] stood out in the final with a number of important tackles that helped keep the game close.

From heartbreak in 2021 to elation in 2022, Philadelphia SC Coppa Rage showed that a year of hard work really can pay off when they won the U.S. Youth Soccer U17 girls national title with a 5-0 win over Tonka Fusion Elite on Sunday morning in Orlando, Florida.