Semifinals - Girls Academy Finals in Richmond, VA

The U17 GA Semifinals were set up on adjacent fields at the same time - Lou Fusz v STA and Galaxy SC v TopHat. It was, for the 2nd day in a row, approximately 200 degrees on the turf (I'm not good with actual temperature, but it was hot). That did not stop the fans from coming out to watch, though! Great to see some high level competition for a spot in the Championship Game! Who set themselves apart in these games?    Gracie Milam cut out STA attacks more times than I could keep track of. Milam did a great job of containing attackers until she had help and winning the ball with toughness and grit when the opportunity came. A tough defender that does not give up an inch of space. Once she had the ball, she sure showed why she's committed to Florida by carrying the ball through lines with pace, using croquetas to beat players, and then finding an attacker to connect a pass to.     The picture at the top of this article is of one of the saves Ella Moersch had to make to keep [player_tooltip player_id='158350' first='Brianna' last='Concepcion'] off of the score sheet. Brianna is a left footed midfielder that is silky smooth turning when she receives the ball and has a lethal left foot that she can use to score from almost anywhere inside of 40 yards. Concepcion just about caught the Lou Fusz keeper off her line long enough to give STA the lead, but a great save (and photo) came of it instead. Brianna's vision is great as well, as she picks out passes at all three levels when in possession. STA were shown a red card with a good amount of time left, and Concepcion was the player that made sure they were still a threat to score.     The Georgia commit won the Golden Glove for the event, and helped lead this Galaxy SC squad to a win in the GA Championship. Folliard has great size. She is super smart at coming out to cut off angles. Folliard is clean with the ball when it is played back to her feet, and has a great sense of when to distribute and to which level. Most of all, she carries this level of confidence and fearlessness that has to make her teammates and coaching staff feel calm at all times.     [player_tooltip player_id='233158' first='Jessica' last='Terada'] started her Finals weekend off with a goal on a corner in the quarterfinal game and continued a high level of play all the way throughout. Terada has great size and is a constant threat on set pieces for her team. She is also very smart when defending, clearing balls out wide when there is pressure, making sure not to give back possession in the middle of the field. She tracked back very well over the weekend, finding the ball with her head to cut out potential counter attacking opportunities. Great performances in the quarters and semis for her.     [player_tooltip player_id='233159' first='Emerson' last='Burke'] scored two goals from free kicks in the semifinal. She is a crafty attacker that just calmly beats people 1v1. Burke never seems to be in a rush, she always seems to get to the spots she wants. Once shes there she can set up teammates very well, or finish herself with great precision. Her shooting was obviously on display on the FK goals as well. Burke was named MVP of the event.    Of course, when we are at the final 4 of the GA Finals, there are plenty of other players that made their mark as well. Sydney Snow helped TopHat work themselves back into the game just before half, with a goal she had earned with hard work. [player_tooltip player_id='102480' first='Jane' last='Rogers'] and [player_tooltip player_id='105655' first='Claire' last='DeCook'] had some great moments on the wing for Galaxy against TopHat. Rogers drew and coverted a PK. DeCook scored a great goal to ice the game, a 4-1 Win for Galaxy.   In the other semi, Olivia Kaiser from Lou Fusz showed her quality by dribbling past defenders and taking great angles to cut off attacks from STA. For STA, Mary Kate Debono was very strong in the midfield, ensuring her squad would not be overwhelmed after they went down a player. STA was able to hold it to a scoreless draw after extra time, and ultimately won in PKs.   In the final, Galaxy SC prevailed, 3-2.

The U17 GA Semifinals were set up on adjacent fields at the same time - Lou Fusz v STA and Galaxy SC v TopHat. It was, for the 2nd day in a row, approximately 200 degrees on the turf (I'm not good with actual temperature, but it was hot). That did not stop the fans from coming out to watch, though! Great to see some high level competition for a spot in the Championship Game! Who set themselves apart in these games?