Team Chicago Academy-Nautico had a great showing this past weekend at the Germantown Showcase in Memphis, Tennessee. Playing on saturated fields in front of dozens of coaches, the girls won their group with a final record of 2-0-1. They stubbornly refused to submit to the conditions and patiently kept to their style of passing while showing off their skill, depth, versatility, as well as the flare Team Chicago is known for.

The first game was against Warren County United where the girls flew out of the gates scoring all 3 goals in the first 20 minutes. The first two were in the run of play with nice finishes from Tracey McCoy and Kristen Eichamer, and the 3rd was off a deep corner from Lindsay Van Blaricom.

The second game was the best and most challenging of the 3. Playing Tennessee’s #6 ranked ’96 Lady Lobos Rush Nike under the lights and in front of a healthy group of college coaches, Nautico persisted through injuries, a physical opponent, and a messy field to a 2-2 draw with goals from forward Sabrina Georgeff and a second tournament goal from Tracey McCoy.

In the third and final game Nautico faced off against the United ’96 FC International where the midfield controlled the majority of the game. This led to goals from Kristen Eichamer and Sabrina Georgeff and a 2-1 victory which put them on top of the group.

The defense was strong with Katelyn Laraia in goal and Emily Curtis, Rachel Pavlinec, Lexi Boyer, Lindsay Van Blaricom, and Kristen Schneider sharing the 4 defensive duties. The passing brain is spread throughout the midfield which was played by Stephanie Kulczycki, Rachel Schneider, Kelly Shugh, Kristen Eichamer, Maddie Perna, and Nicole Gapen. And up top, the finishing was done in large part by the forwards Sabrina Georgeff and Tracey McCoy.

Team Chicago Academy-Santos midfielder Mary Rounce and her mother Laura feature prominently in award-winning director Steve James’ (Hoop Dreams) documentary Head Games about the prevalence of concussions in sports.

Mary and Laura will be hosting a special screening of the movie at Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove on Monday, January 14th at 7:30pm. Director Steve James will be joining them as will several other crew and cast members.

We would love to have as many Team Chicago players and families in attendance. Head Games is a must-see expose of concussions in youth, college, and professional sports. Attached is a flyer with more information.

Team Chicago Academy-Botafogo standouts Zoey Goralski and Zoe Swift have been named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) 2012 High School All-American Team. The honor is Goralski’s second as she was also named a 2011 All-American.

Zoey Goralski plays her prep soccer for Team Chicago Academy coach Joe Moreau at Neuqua Valley H.S. Zoe Swift led her Naperville North H.S. team to the 2012 IHSA State Championship.

Team Chicago Academy-Internacional and Team Chicago Academy-Santos wowed an impressive contingent of college coaches at the CASL Showcase in Raleigh, NC this past weekend.

Playing in near perfect weather conditions, and in front of more than 90 college coaches over their 3 games each, Santos and Internacional displayed great Team Chicago Academy style soccer on a difficult playing surface. The college coaches represented schools from top Division I, II, and III programs throughout the Midwest, South, and Northeast as well as top NAIA programs.

Santos tied Freestate Strikers 1-1 on Friday before beating HBC 1-0 Saturday, and Javanon 4-0 Sunday to emerge on top of its group. It is now Santos’ 3rd major National College Showcase in a row without a loss and an impressive 9-0-1 record.

Internacional lost 1-0 on the opening day to HBC, but then defeated Richmond Kickers 2-0 on Saturday, and tied a very strong Ohio Premier team 1-1 on Sunday.

Team Chicago Academy-Botafogo ran out to a perfect 4-0 start in USYSA National League play this past week in Wilson, NC. Led by tri-captain Hope D’Addario’s 2 goals and 4 assists from her right back position, Botafogo scored 15 goals while only conceding 1.

Botafogo opened play on Thursday against North Shore United from Wisconsin and just like in this summer’s USYSA Region II Final Botafogo won 3-0. Meegan Johnston opened the scoring in the 6th minute from Hope D’Addario’s cross. Hope then converted a PK in the 50th minuted before serving a perfect corner-kick for Gianna Dal Pozzo to emphatically head home in the 58th minute. Megan Geldernick and Kiley Dunning shared the shutout in goal.

On Friday Botafogo took on Empire Revolution Academy from Western New York and Bryce Banuelos quickly put the game out of reach with two great goals. In the 4th minute Jenna Romano and Rachele Armand provide the assists after a perfect training ground run out of the back, and in the 20th minute Hope D’Addario and Zoey Goralski provided the perfect link-up play.

Zoe Swift then took over with two spectacular goals in the 36th and 55th minutes, on either side of the lone goal Botafogo conceded all week, assisted by Kaitlin Johnson and Gianna Dal Pozzo. Darby Moran then closed out the scoring at 5-1 in the 80th minute from a perfect Molly Piech set-up.

The toughest test of the week came on Saturday against Albion White from California South, but after a nervy first 15 minutes Botafogo slowly established dominance and after Hope D’Addario’s Olympico goal in the 39th minute, which proved to be the game-winner, there was never any real doubt about the eventual outcome.

A very strong second half performance saw numerous near-misses for Botafogo, but it was a thing of beauty that finally put the game to rest in the 70th minute. Zoe Swift collected the ball at the edge of the penalty box, and after cheekily nutmegging the hapless defender she served in a perfect cross, which Kaitlin Johnson headed home with an incredibly powerful airborne header. Megan Geldernick recorded her second shutout of the week in goal.

For interviews with tri-captain Jenna Romano and Assistant Coach John Rizzo as well as game footage please check out this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8yrg-J-mbk&feat… at the 0:18-0:42 mark and the 6:25-7:57 mark.

Botafogo saved the best for last, though, and put on an incredible display of patient possession soccer as well as incisive combination attacking in Sunday’s 7:30am match-up against Players SC from Nevada. By the 7th minute Zoey Goralski and Bryce Banuelos had already made it 2-0 assisted by Gianna Dal Pozzo (2), Ashley Handwork, and Zoey Goralski.

Ashley Handwork made it 3-0 in the 26th minute from Hope D’Addario and Dana Miller, and Gianna Dal Pozzo toe-poked the 4th goal home in the 41st minute after a great combination with Zoe Swift. Swift then finished the scoring in the 64th minute when she nutmegged the Players’ defender out of the air on her first touch from Ashley Handwork’s pass before calmly slotting it home at the foot of the far post.

Megan Geldernick and Kiley Dunning shared the shutout in goal and have now only allowed 4 goals trough 13 National League and MRL Premier Division games this Fall.

Next up for Botafogo will be the final 3 games of the National League season to be played in conjunction with the Disney Showcase in Orlando, FL December 31st-January 3rd. With two wins out its 3 games there Botafogo will earn a berth in next summer’s USYSA National Championships in Overland Park, KS.