The first full weekend of the spring season made it seem like things were back to normal for the Riverhounds Development Academy, as teams brought home trophies and picked up some impressive victories on the final weekend of February. Some of the RDA’s younger girls went to the Ultimate Cup in Richmond, Va., where both the 2010 and 2011 sides won their division. The club’s older boys teams headed to the Cincinnati area for the Ohio Elite College Showcase, while many other teams jumped into league matches in the Great Lakes Alliance.
In Richmond, the 10 Girls were unstoppable as they posted a 20-0 goal difference on the way to four straight victories. The final was a 4-0 triumph over the Richmond Kickers sparked by a Leesia Phetsomphou hat trick, while Hannah Tannert recorded all four clean sheets for the Hounds. Charlotte Kline led the side with five goals on the weekend, including one in their toughest match, a 2-0 group stage win over Beach FC (Va.).
The 11 Girls also won all four games in their round-robin format division, riding two strong second halves on Sunday. The side defeated Potomac Blue (Md.), 3-0, and the Richmond Kickers, 5-2, after hitting halftime with those games at 0-0 and 1-0, respectively. The 10 RDA II Girls nearly reached the final at the Ultimate Cup, as well, but they were topped in their final group game by a strong VA Rush side, 3-2. Milan Pennetti had five goals, and Adelina Simco had four to help the team to a 2-1-0 record.
Further west, it was the 02/03 Boys setting the standard at the Ohio Elite Showcase, as they posted a 17-0 goal difference across three wins to top their group and be one of only two sides in their division to win three matches. Center backs Matty Lucas, and Drew Kemper helped lead the defense, and each scored in the opening match, an 8-0 romp over FC Pride (Ind.). The toughest battle came against Total Futbol Academy (Ohio), which held a firm defensive posture until Sam Farner scored from long range, and Gabe Norris added a penalty kick for a 2-0 win. Norris then closed the weekend with two set-piece goals in a 6-0 win over FC United (Ill.).
Like their older counterparts, the 04 Boys won all three matches, and they did it to the tune of an 18-1 goal difference, with none of the matches being particularly close at 7-0, 6-1, and 5-0. Bubby Towns scored twice in each of the first two matches, but the team was excellent at spreading things out and finished with nine different goal scorers throughout the weekend.
In total, every team that traveled to the showcase won at least one match, and the combined record of the seven RDA teams to make the trip was 15-5-1. That includes the third unbeaten side on the trip, the 06 Boys, who finished 2-0-1 and placed second in their group on goal difference by a single goal.
Not to be outdone, the sides who stayed closer to home posted some good results. The 08 East Girls won a pair of GLA matches over Ohio foes, 4-0 over Kolping SC and 5-0 over Columbus United, with Jiana Patterson scoring four goals in two games. Likewise, the 07 East Girls topped Ohio Premier, 1-0, and Ohio Strikers, 2-0, with Carmella Simco netting all three goals.
Lastly, the 08 East Boys got one win, 4-0 over Worthington United (Ohio), but their weekend’s more memorable match came against Ohio’s Elite FC, as the Hounds rallied to get a wild 5-5 draw after trailing 3-0 and 4-2.
With more than 40 matches in the books last weekend, the complete rundown of results can be found by clicking HERE to visit the Live Results page, which will continue to be updated throughout the 2021 RDA season.
