RVC Red Storm competes in national soccer tourney

The Rockville Centre Red Storm Girls’ Under 16 soccer club traveled to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, last week to compete against three of the top 16 teams in the country for a shot at the United States Youth Soccer National Championship crown.

To qualify, this talented group of gifted young athletes traveled to Tampa, Florida in February, to compete in the USYS National League P.R.O. tournament, where they racked up three consecutive victories to secure the top spot in the 16U silver pool.

This year, there were nearly 185,000 boys and girls from 10,000 soccer club teams across 54 state associations who made the trip in the hopes of taking home the national title in their respective age groups.

The RVC Red Storm had trained ferociously to get to this moment, and on July 23, the team hit the field for the start of the competition. During the first of three matches, the Red Storm endured a difficult 0-5 loss to the powerhouse team, FW United, out of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Players put their skills and determination to task during the second match of the competition. Despite a clutch goal scored by Viviana Haley off a penalty kick, the team fell just short to lose 2-1 to Ambassadors SC of Ohio.

The Red Storm were able to rally back to win the final round of the tournament against Cook Inlet SC of Alaska for the third place seed, thanks to a breakout performance by Haley, who scored off a corner kick from Molly Barry, and Julie Faranda, who scored on an assist from Katori Martin.

The RVC Red Storm gave it their all, but it wasn’t enough for the team to advance from the group stage to the semifinal round on July 27, as only the top two seeded teams from each group would advance.

Coach Ciaran Barry said that while the team didn’t advance to the next round, they were right there competing with the best in the country, and that they plan to learn from the experience and come back even stronger next year.

While the tournament did not go the way the team would have wanted, it provided the girls with an immense feeling of pride to have made it so far at a national level.

“This was an incredible experience for our players and parents as a local team competing on the national stage,” Coach Janet Gruner said. “The girls played hard and really demonstrated their talent, grit and determination against tough competition and challenging circumstances. They have put in years of hard work to get to this point and there is no question that they are able to compete at the national level. We are so proud of what they have accomplished and we are thankful for the continued support and sacrifice on the part of the parents and families that have helped make this possible, as well as the support we have gotten from the club and community. We look forward to watching them continue to improve and hopefully give it another shot next year.”

The RVC Red Storm 16U roster is comprised of 17 talented young soccer players — Molly Barry, Makaela Brennan, Gabriella Caminiti, Ella Faranda, Julie Faranda, Carsyn Goetz, Abby Gruner, Viv Haley, Kate Koluch, Maeve Ledwith, Katori Martin, Emily Quezada, Julia Quinn, Molly Reardon, Annie Schiller, Maddie Woo and Ryann Zydor — and supported by a dedicated coaching staff that includes Trainer Nic Vacarro, Coach Ciaran Barry, Coach Sean Curtis and Coach Janet Gruner.

For more information about the RVC Red Storm club team visit the RVC Soccer Club online or via Facebook.