Va. State Cup: Beach FC U15G Red defeat Loudoun 96G Red on rainy afternoon at HRSC

By Jimmy LaRoue

A few minutes still remained in the match, but Loudoun 96G Red coach Randy May knew it was essentially over.

He had just seen one of his team’s defenders turn the ball over at midfield -- a “technical breakdown,” he called it -- and watched as Beach FC U15G Red striker Ella Bonner, an ODP Region I player, dribbled in and scored on a breakaway, giving Beach FC a 2-0 win at the Hampton Roads Soccer Complex in Virginia Beach, Va. on Saturday.

The result sees the Virginia Beach side advance to the quarterfinal round in the Under-15 Girls division of the Virginia Youth Soccer Association State Cup, where a matchup with fourth-seeded D.C. Stoddert Metros Blue 96 awaits.

Bonner, according to Beach FC coach Karl Greaves, is one of the team’s top goalscorers.

Beach FC took a 1-0 lead in the first half on a nice bit of combination play, as Bonner played the ball back to Darby Moore, whose blistering 20-yard shot beat the Loudoun goalkeeper. Still, Loudoun 96G Red managed to hang around despite having just come together as a team in June.

“We’re starting to rebuild the team from what it was a couple of years ago,” May told Potomac Soccer Wire.

May said Loudoun did not create enough quality scoring opportunities, but goalkeeper Jessica Ambrose kept the Northern Virginians in the game, snuffing out numerous attacks. For Greaves, he said that despite the win, the team strayed from what it had been working on in practice.

“Regardless of whether it’s State Cup or any other game, you have to stay focused on what you’re preaching,” Greaves said. “And we struggled with that today. And obviously, you heard me.  We’d love to advance in State Cup, but the priority is to make sure they’re getting better.”

Greaves has the team playing a 4-3-3 formation, with the goal of having the team understand the importance of positional play, getting the outside backs involved in the attack, stretching the field and having a center forward who can hold the ball.

Beach FC is playing well so far this season, according to Greaves, and has created a lot of goal-scoring opportunities, but has not scored many goals, which is keeping other teams in games.

“I’m generally happy with what they try to do, the ideas they have on the field,” Greaves said. “But we’re not consistent with it.”

He said Tacora Lemelle, as the team’s top player, is one of the most consistent players despite her small size.

“She usually can slow things down for us, speed things up for us, can really help us in terms of composure,” Greaves said. “I rely on her more than anyone else.”

Bailie Fout, as the team’s goalkeeper, has bailed Beach FC out numerous times, Greaves said.

“She has a little bit too much to do in some of the games, simply because when you don’t finish, it comes back to bite you,” Greaves said.

For Loudoun 96G Red, May has mostly Loudoun-based players that have been on younger, ‘B’ teams and is trying to pull them into a cohesive unit.

“The leadership parts are still emerging,” May said, noting some players who had been role players are still learning to be leaders.

“I say role players on their previous teams because they could have been starters, but the level of play, the expectations are now quantum leaps above what they were,” May said.

He said the team’s style of play would evolve as well, noting the players are used to playing more direct and is trying to coach them into having a more sophisticated, tactical awareness. 

“They haven’t really grasped the idea of how to do it consistently,” May said. “So it’s something I’ve had to continue to try and reinforce.”

U15G VYSA State Cup
Beach FC U15G Red     2
Loudoun 96G Red     0
Location: Hampton Roads Soccer Complex

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