Two teams traveled to Florida over New Years 2014-15 to compete in the Disney Showcase tournament and they both had excellent weeks in Florida.  Vienna Thunder Black returned after capturing a tournament championship the year before and Herndon United went to the event for the first time.

 

Things got rolling well for Vienna right from the start of the weekend.  The team came out on fire, racing to a 7-0 win in their first game versus Concorde Fire from Georgia.  Their second game saw them facing Minnesota Thunder Premiere, and the game ended in a 0-0 draw that saw some great saves from Minnesota’s keeper.

 

The third and final group stage match for VYS was against Albertson Fury, who had also won and drawn their first two games.  This game also ended in a 0-0 tie.  This left three teams tied together in the standings with a win and two ties.  Unfortunately the tiebreakers didn’t work out for Thunder Black and they were placed into the 3rd place match.

 

Again keeping a shutout, the team captured third place for the week with a 1-0 win.  It’s rare than an undefeated weekend with zero goals against doesn’t end with a championship, but that’s exactly what happened here.  All in all the girls haven’t been beaten in eight games in the Disney tournament over the last two years and have walked away with first- and third-place finishes.

 

United sought to make the most of their first trip to Florida.  Faced with a group of teams from Florida, Texas, and Pennsylvania, there would be a lot of tough competition throughout the week.

 

The girls kicked off against West Florida Flames and set a strong tone from the beginning of the match.  They were able to go up 3-0 by the middle of the second half and closed the game with that result.  Game two put United against Sting Central from North Texas, who were also winners of their opening game.  The game was incredibly competitive and open, with each team creating chances throughout.  Sting took the lead with 15 minutes to go and looked to have the win secured, but United battled back and equalized with just minutes to go.  Herndon had a couple of chances to grab a winner in the closing stages but the 1-1 result held.

 

Needing a strong result in the third game to put them into the final, United controlled the tempo and chances early on against FC Revolution Fury but couldn’t get more than a 1-0 lead before the break.  Fury scrambled to equalize early in the second half but United’s response was professional.  The team scored again to take the lead almost immediately and got a third goal to seal the win near the end of the match.

 

FC Copa Milan awaited the girls in the final.  United put together one of their best performances of the tournament but couldn’t find the back of the net.  Down 2-0 at halftime the team pressed throughout the second half, but between some missed chances and some fantastic saves from the other team, couldn’t break through on the score sheet.  The game finished at 2-0, and while a disappointing individual result, the group has a lot to take away from their first trip to Disney.