DATE: January 1, 2010
Synergy U17's Finish 2009 at Major Showcases in Raleigh and Disney

The Synergy FC U17 Team played in numerous showcase events November and December ending with a Bronze Medal (third place) in Orlando, Florida at the Disney Showcase.

On November 7, with the cheers of high school soccer fans still ringing in their ears, the Synergy U17 boys began preparations for a major showcase tour.

Connecticut club Academica FC hosted the first event, November 20-22. The tournament drew about 40 small college coaches and proved to be a success for Synergy as they won all four games scoring 12 goals while only allowing 1 during the weekend.

After a couple more weeks of training the U17's traveled to New York to compete in the Albany Black Watch Showcase on December 5. The boys dropped a match against a talented team out of Manhattan, but still managed to pull off a couple of victories while catching the attention of numerous college coaches.

"We enjoyed the Connecticut event and the Black Watch event, but our main concern was getting our rhythm back after the time away due to high school soccer", commented Head Coach Hugh Brown.

On December 10 the team flew down to Raleigh, North Carolina to compete in the CASL Raleigh Showcase, which was held in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Men's College Cup (Final Four). Over 400 College Coaches were in attendance for the event and the Synergy U17 team earned a placement in the Top Elite Group for the event.

The Synergy group included the Florida State Champions (Florida Nike Rush), Virginia State Champions (Arlington), and the Ohio State Champions (Cosa).

Two of the three Synergy games were held on the main stadium field at the CASL complex. Synergy came to play and finished with victories over Florida and Ohio and a well-earned draw against Virginia. This gave Synergy 7 points and a group championship at the event.

Following two weeks of intense training and a couple days off on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day the team boarded a plane on December 26 headed for Orlando, Florida and the Disney Showcase.
2009 marks the third year in a row the team has competed at Disney. The team earned a bronze medal in 2007 and a runner-up silver in 2008.

Synergy began group play with a re-match against the Virginia State Champions they drew against in Raleigh. This game went a bit differently than the match in Raleigh as the Synergy boys came away with a 2-0 victory and command of the group.

"The Arlington team is very well coached and very talented. Mike and Elvis came up with great goals to secure the win."
On day two the boys played a tough team out of Texas (Solar). Even though Synergy enjoyed a lot of possession during the match Solar capitalized on a few mistakes and ended up with a 3-0 victory over SFC.

On match day three Synergy went down 1-0 to the Tennessee State Champions before 40 college coaches and numerous spectators at Disney. The team did come to life and ended up playing some of the best football of the tournament, while coming back with two goals to secure a 2-1 win. Unfortunately Solar also won so the Synergy boys would have to settle for a place in the Bronze medal match.

The bronze medal match went scoreless for 87 minutes, but SFC finally put one away to earn a 1-0 victory over the Wisconsin 59'rs.

"We were disappointed with the result against Solar, but were pleased with what we were able to accomplish", Brown commented, "hundreds of college coaches watched us play and have been contacting our players. Some guys have already heard from a dozen different schools so the exposure of playing in major events has been a good thing."
The Synergy 17's will spend January working on individual fitness and then begin preparations for the Dallas Cup (March 28-April 4, 2010) in February.