June 5, 2012
ADVANCING ECLIPSE
Two of four teams move on in State Cup

Three of the four participating Eclipse Select Soccer Club U-14 girls teams advanced to the semifinals of the 2012 Illinois State Cup last weekend at Sportscore 2 in Rockford, Ill.

The East U-14 Girls, North Black U-14 Girls and Tri-Cities U-14 Girls moved on to the tournament's semifinals, which kick off this Saturday, June 9, at Sportscore 2. The championship takes place on Sunday, June 10, at Sportscore 2.

The East U-14 Girls shut out Chicago Fire Red 11 by a 1-0 margin, then topped GLSA 1974 by a 2-1 clip in the quarterfinal stage. Eclipse Select's Gabi Hart (Western Springs, Ill.) scored two of the team's three goals over the weekend, netting the lone goal against Chicago Fire Red and scoring the first goal against GLSA. Amanda Kocimski (Countryside, Ill.) had the team's second goal against GLSA, which had advanced past Eclipse Select South, 2-0, in the round of 16. Among some of East U-14's other standout performers, Bri Robbins (Darien, Ill.) and Anna Eksten (Crown Point, Ind.) played well in the midfield during the round of 16 game against Chicago Fire Red, and Hannah Rossi (Woodridge, Ill.) was solid in the back during the quarterfinal game against GLSA.

The North Black U-14 Girls posted two shutouts last weekend, defeating the Bolingbrook Raiders, 2-0, on Saturday, then blanking Tri-Cities Premier Black, 3-0, on Sunday in the quarterfinals.

On the other side of the bracket, the Tri-Cities U-14 Girls' offense tallied seven goals in two days, first topping the NSA Lasers, 5-1, followed by a 2-0 victory against Oak Brook Blue to reach the semifinals.

With three of the final four teams in the bracket including an Eclipse Select team, it is assured that the club will have some sort of presence in this Sunday's championship. Eclipse Select North Black faces Eclipse Select East, while Eclipse Select Tri-Cities takes on FC United Select during Saturday's semifinals. Both games kick off at 10 a.m. at Sportscore 2 in Rockford. The winners play for the U-14 State Cup championship at 10 a.m. Sunday at Sportscore 2.