It was a wild and crazy tournament, but the Stars persevered through it all and captured the U11 Championship.  The first game was against the NSA Comets.  The Stars had defeated the Comets 2-1 a few weeks earlier at the NSR Cup.  After a long Friday that included day-long outdoor school festivities, many of the Stars were lagging.  Kaylee Zimbelmann struck a beautiful corner kick early in the game that Mia Lakstigala one-touched past the keeper for the 1-0 lead.  Shortly thereafter, Riley Cassian blasted Kaylee's free kick rebound into the net for the 2 goal advantage.  Unfortunately, the Stars ran out of gas and let the Comets score three unanswered goals and lost the first game 2-3.

After a good night's sleep to recover, the Stars came out to play against Deportivo Chivas.  Needing max points to recover from the first game loss, the Stars were definitely on a mission.  Kaylee Zimbelmann started the scoring after taking a nice centering pass from Nicole Alvarez and one-touching it past the keeper.  Haley Brewer added a goal with Nicole Alvarez getting a second assist on a nice pass.  Haley Brewer then placed a nice pass to Mia Lakstigala who found the net for the 3-0 lead.  Rachel Savaglio scored the final goal on a beautiful run that she finished by beating the keeper for the 4-0 win.  Excellent defense was played by Maddie Woolf, Holly Gotchie, Angeline Lewis and Kaylee Zimbelmann.  Midfield play of Riley Cassian, Nicole Alvarez, and Rachel Savaglio contributed to the win.  Holly Sutkay, Maya Bonie and Morgan Loncala played excellent offense throughout the tournament.  

Game three featured the Stars against FVSC Power.  Again, the Stars knew they needed maximum points to regain first place. Rachel Savaglio started the scoring, blasting the ball into the net off a rebound.  Riley Cassian then sent a pass to Rachel who flipped the ball to Kaylee Zimbelmann.  Kaylee then easily knocked the ball past the keeper for the 2-0 lead.  Riley Cassian then dribbled past a couple defenders in the center of the field and scored the 3rd goal of the game.  Lauren Gotchie, after playing incredibly well in goal for the entire tournament, got her chance to play on the field.  She delivered the final goal of the game from the right forward position, sending a beautiful shot past the keeper for the 4-0 win and maximum points.

The Stars regained first place and a spot in the championship against their new rival, the NSA Comets.  On a beautiful Memorial Day morning, the Stars came ready to play.  The entire game was a defensive struggle, with neither team managing a score. Kaylee Zimbelmann broke the tie, and scored what turned out to be the game winner, on a perfectly struck free kick that the Comets' keeper just couldn't stop.  The Comets kept trying and had their own free kick that was stopped by keeper Lauren Gotchie with less than a minute to play.  

Congratulations to the Stars for bringing home the U11 Championship!