Several FC Wisconsin teams experienced their first ECNL National Event of the season during the final weekend of September in St. Louis, MO. 

The U12 Pre-ECNL program got a taste of an ECNL National Event to help prepare them for their upcoming years in the ECNL. They were dealt an incredibly difficult schedule featuring some of the league’s most successful clubs in Colorado Rapids, Bethesda SC, and Racing Louisville.  A dramatic late equalizer for Racing Louisville was much less than FCW deserved for a great performance, while they were only minutes away from a pair of incredible results against Rapids and Bethesda, who both scored late goals to take wins against our hardworking team. 

The U13 ECNL team were also at their first  ECNL event and saw first hand the quality and athleticism of the league. After a tough game against East Meadow SC (New York) to start, the team ended the weekend with a victory and a good performance against Pride SC (CO). 

The U14 ECNL grew in confidence and performance quality over the weekend. A tough loss to ECNL powerhouse Crossfire (WA), was followed by a tie against Pipeline SC (MD), and good win in a physical contest against Missouri Rush. 

The U15 ECNL performed well throughout the event, and were disappointed to only come away with a tie against Dallas Texans to show for their efforts. The league is a tough place to be where mistakes are usually punished, as was the case in two games where they played well but paid a price in key moments.

As always, there is much to learn from these events and FCW teams continue to grow and develop. Overall these events are a great experience and it was good to seeing our players bonding with teammates and celebrating each others success.