ECNL Homestand Finished with Great Games Against St. Louis SG-MO

The early season 2-game ECNL home-stand for FC Wisconsin Eclipse finished on September 21 with great games against St. Louis Scott Gallager - MO.  FC WI Eclipse teams will now have two weekends away from ECNL competition before getting into the heart of the season in October.

The early season 2-game ECNL home-stand for FC Wisconsin Eclipse finished on September 21 with great games against St. Louis Scott Gallager - MO.  FC WI Eclipse teams will now have two weekends away from ECNL competition before getting into the heart of the season in October.

The U14 ECNL team continued its bright start to the ECNL season with a 2-1 come-from-behind win in the first game of the day, in a game marked by periods of rain and sun.  The game-winning goal was scored in the 70th minute by Catherine Patterson on a great left-footed drive from 20 yards, after she beat a defender with a nice stop-start move to create the space to finish.  "There are signs that the U14 team could have a very nice year in their first season in the ECNL," said staff coach Vito Parente.  "That said, we have to be significantly better in challenging for airballs and in individual defending in order to consistently be successful.  There has been a lot of progress in the skill level of this team, which must continue, but we need more progress in the physical area of the game."   

The U15 ECNL team dropped a 0-2 decision, but showed that they are making big progress every day in closing the gap in the ECNL.  "In the ECNL last year, we spent the majority of games defending deep," said staff coach Andy Lee.  "There is so much improvement in skill and determination with this team already, and we are creating chances and putting together decent sequences of possession far more consistently.  All of the staff is looking forward to watching this team continue this progress over the next 12 months."

The U16 team lost a close match 1-2 against one of last year's ECNL North American Cup Finals participants.  Katie Wegmann scored the goal and had a great opportunity to score her second on a serve from Bianca Stubler late in the game.  Jen Wandt made several nice saves in the second half, and Christina Barczak marshalled the defense nicely.  "The tragectory of the season for the U16s will be determined entirely by their mentality and determination to work," said Director of Coaching Christian Lavers.  "We need to embrace the physical and mental demands required in the ECNL, and when that happens, the team will be successful.  The jump from regular club soccer to the ECNL is high, and it is one that we need to be prepared for every day - not once every while."

The U17 team took 3 points in a solid 90 minute 2-0 win against another 2014 ECNL North American Cup Finals participant.  Sam Fonk opened the scoring in the second half before Mary DeWalt iced the game in the final seconds on a counter-attack break-away.  "The game was well contested by both sides," said Parente.  "It was nice to see us score twice in the run of play - which speaks to the improvement of the group even since last year.  They have always been dangerous on set pieces, but the ability to consistently create opportunities in the run of play is a new sign of their improvement in possession and ideas."

The U18 team dropped a tight 0-2 game that could have gone either way, with both goals again scored in the first half, and agan playing a 2014 ECNL North American Cup Finals team.  The FC WI Eclipse U18 team has played well in their start to the season, but has struggled to convert chances into goals.  The 3 week break until the next ECNL games will be well-recieved to allow players to heal and make progress in these areas.  "We have conceded 4 goals in 3 games, which is pretty good - but every goal conceded has been in the first half," said Lee.  "With improvement in the mentality at the start of the game, some additional quality in execution in the final third, and some players returning to full health we should see these results change in the coming weeks."

The next ECNL games for FC WI Eclipse will be played in St. Louis, where they will finish their season series against SLSG-MO and play their first game of the season against Sporting Blue Valley of Kansas City.

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