F.C. Torpedoes Drown Aquagirls to Claim U10 Bracket 3 Title

Dateline: November 8, 2009, Lindbergh Park North Field.  F.C. Torpedoes capped a successful season this afternoon on Lindbergh North field, beating Aquagirls 1-0 and claiming the OPAYSO U10 Womens' Bracket 3 Championship.

The teams, which sported similar records coming into the final game, were evenly matched.  Although Torpedoes played exceptional defense and passed well, keeping the ball mostly in Aquagirls' end for the first half, there was no score through three quarters.  Emma Nikolai was not tested much, but stopped all shots, which fullbacks Sarah "Go San" Steadman and Kelsey Burress played stout defense.  The real star of the first three quarters was midfielder Lauren Flowers, who played both offense and defense and was all over the field.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Torpedoes finally broke the match open.  Flowers made a beautiful pass through traffic to Center-Forward Braley Failor, who turned the ball and kicked hard for the goal.  The ball smashed hard to the Aqua goalie's face; Failor watched her crumple, offered her a hand, and then tipped the rebound into the corner of the goal.

The Aquagirls' goalie, daughter of their coach, lay on the pitch for a full five minutes.  "She's not hurt," said the coach, "but I'm sure she's upset about that goal."  Indeed she was, pleading her case with the referee that she had possession of the ball when Failor kicked it.  To no avail -- "good goal," pronounced the Ref.  And the score was 1-0.

The Aquagirls mounted a ferocious rally after that, desperately trying to get a tying goal, but the Torpedoes' defense held stout.  As the clock ticked off the final seconds, goalie Emma Nikolai made a terrific save to hold the one-goal lead, and the whistle blew ending the match.

After the match, Coach Nikolai held an impromptu awards ceremony, giving each Torpedo a first-place trophy.  Coach Nikolai and Assistant Coach Steadman were each photographed with their daughter and a big smile.