When the Lake Norman SC U20 Eclipse bowed out of the USL W-20 League national championships with a 1-2 mark in group play, the club completed what has arguably been the best run of results in the club’s history.
And they all came from the girls side of the program.
Included was LNSC’s first ever state cup championship, a ASL National championship, second place in the US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup U15s, and the run to the USL W-20 final in Braden-ton, FL.
“This is the most successful season in club history,” offered Lake Norman SC Executive Director Philip Poole. “It is mirrored by our growth in the club overall.
“The ’98 girls were the #1 qualifier for the Region III Premier League. The ’99s were state champs and went 1-1-1 in the Region III championships in Norman, OK. The[show_disconnected][show_to accesslevel=’Subscriber’] ’97s were US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup National finalists, the ’96s were ASL runnerup, ’95s finished third at Disney and won the ASL National Championship.
“We have had over 40 girls go on to college soccer in the past three years.”
Among the factors behind this season’s successes, Poole mentioned the hiring of Adam Denton as Director of Coaching Girls/Eclipse from the Charlotte Soccer Academy.
The national title came in the Atlantic Soccer League, which is a collection of some of the strongest non-ECL clubs on the east coast.
“We play under US Club,” said Poole. “We play our league games at showcase events. We beat LDC (Pennsylvania) in the final and Baltimore Bays before that.”
The Under-20s won the Southeast Conference of the USL W-20 League, thus qualifying for the final four at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL.
“The USL U20 (now called the W-20 League) is the third highest tier for women’s soccer in the nation behind the National Women’s Soccer League and the USL W-League.
Lake Norman midfielder Amanda Karlsson, who earlier in the summer earned her first international U20 cap for Sweden with an appearance against the U.S. U20 WNT, was one of the youngest players in the W-20 League. She was named to the league’s all-tournament team.
“Amanda qualified for the Swedish team because her parents are Swedish,” said Poole. “I called the federation. They had her checked out while playing at Disney for LNSC. From there she was invited into camp and will be invited back again.
“She has been with us for three seasons. She will play college soccer at Ole Miss in 2014.”
The U15s journey to the US Youth Presidents Cup championship game in Auburndale, FL, began by winning the North Carolina state Presidents Cup. They then captured the Region III title in Decatur, Alabama.
They advanced through group play in Florida where they met SC Del Sol from Arizona in the championship game. After playing to a 0-0 draw, LNSC lost a hard 4-2 decision on PK’s for the title.
Looking back over the course of the past 4-5 months, Poole could see the progress made by the club, which was driven by the efforts and successes of the players.
“It is great for us to see our players thriving on levels where we had previously not been,” said Poole. “I put it down to the commitment of our families. Our membership is superb.
“I believe we have an outstanding coaching staff. I am so proud of how hard the players and coaches work on a daily basis.
Sometimes these kids train 4-5 days a week and miss out on some important occasions, but they are all worth it when they see their hard work is leading to these achievements.”It Was A Season To Remember For Lake Norman Soccer
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