The inaugural ECNL International Tournament, powered by Coaches' Voice and held in association with Everton International Academy continued on Thursday as the girls side of the tournament got underway with group play action. Four ECNL Girls clubs (Bay Area Surf, Legends FC, Michigan Hawks, and Solar SC) and four European sides (Chelsea FC, Everton, Rangers, and Wales) competed against one another in two groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to Friday's semifinals.
In Group A action, Solar SC led the way with three wins in their three games of group play, behind an excellent defense that did not concede a goal throughout group play. Solar defeated Bay Area Surf 1-0 in their opening game with a goal coming from Rhea Steil who was also named Player of the Match for the opening game. Solar then defeated Rangers 5-0 behind two goals from Addyson Boone, as well as goals from Mattilyn Gibson, Hannah Goncalves, and Addison Staats. Madison Ortiz was named the Player of the Match in the victory. In their final game of the group stage, Solar locked up the top spot in Group A with a 3-0 win over Wales. Quinn Mack was named Player of the Match and scored a goal for Solar, while Boone and Gibson also scored again for Solar.
Bay Area Surf also advanced to the semifinals in Group A, bouncing back from their 1-0 defeat against Solar SC in the opener to defeat Wales 4-0, before defeating Rangers 1-0 to secure their semifinal spot. Ella Vuong was named Bay Area Surf's Player of the Match with a goal in the win over Wales, while Milan Evans scored twice, and Lynn Byun also added a goal. In the 1-0 win over Rangers, Cecily Worthington scored the game winner to punch Bay Area Surf's semifinal ticket, while Jayle Swindle was named the Player of the Match.
Much like Solar in Group A, Legends FC led the way in Group B action with a perfect 3-0 record on the day to book their spot in the semifinals. Legends opened Group B play with a 2-1 win over Chelsea, as Koi Nesta Edwards and Mikiko Flynn each scored for Legends to help lead them to the win. Flynn's goal helped her win Player of the Match honors for Legends. In their second game, Legends defeated Everton 4-1, behind a Nesta Edwards hat trick along with a goal from Juliana Eva Lorraine Atencio. Aaliyah Sione Johnson was named the Player of the Match for Legends following the win. In their third game, Legends defeated Michigan Hawks 1-0 behind a goal from Player of the Match Vanessa Chiayin Bonner to secure Legends spot in the semifinals with the top spot in Group B play.
The second spot in Group B was secured by Chelsea who bounced back from their opening game loss to Legends by defeating Michigan Hawks 2-0 and Everton 3-0 to secure their spot in the semifinals.
Despite not advancing, Michigan Hawks knocked off Everton 2-1 in their opening group stage match, behind a goal from Louisa Cowen. EJ Landefeld, Eileena Chinyadza, and Lexi King were named the Players of the Match for Michigan Hawks across their three games.
Semifinal Matchups:
Solar SC vs Chelsea FC - 10:40 AM BST/5:40 AM EDT
Legends FC vs Bay Area Surf - 10:40 AM BST/5:40 AM EDT
Consolation Matchups:
Rangers vs Everton - 9:30 AM BST/4:30 AM EDT
Michigan Hawks vs Wales - 9:30 AM BST/4:30 AM EDT
Championship Match: 2:10 PM BST/9:10 AM EDT
To view the complete results and schedule for the ECNL International Tournament, click here. To watch every match of the ECNL International Tournament, click here.
