North Shore United Soccer Club teams have been busy this spring. Both male and female teams of all ages have seen action throughout the country against top-shelf competition.
On April 6-7, the NSU U16 boys team went undefeated in the PUMA Champions Cup College Showcase in Loves Park, IL. Playing in the U16 Boys Silver Flight, the U16s beat the Chicago Magic 5-0, the Elite S.C. Red-Burst 5-0, and the Crystal Lake Force 3-0. NSU earned 32 of a maximum of 33 possible points to take the championship.
The U14, U15 and U17 boys teams traveled to Schaumburg, IL in March to take part in the Sockers Nike Showcase. The weekend of soccer saw some stiff competition as team from across the Midwest entered the competition.
The U14s, playing in Group A, had a tough weekend. Paired in the same group as Campton United, Sockers F.C Chicago and S.C Waukesha Blue Devils, the team finished with a 1-all draw against Waukesha and a pair of defeats.
The U15s, also drawn in Group A, had a mixed bag of results going 1-0-2 in group play, finishing third and missing out on qualifying for the next round by one point. Things started brightly for North Shore as they played in an early game on Friday and ran out resounding 5-0 winners over Campton United. Saturday was a different day, however, and 2-1 and 3-2 losses to St. Louis Scott Gallagher and Ann Arbor United ended the boys hopes of lifting the cup.
North Shore United U17s also had a 1-0-2 mark at the end of the weekend’s play in Group G of the competition. Friday saw North Shore lose 2-1 to Evanston IL. Saturday resulted in a 2-1 defeat to Everton of Wisconsin in a state rivalry game. Sunday saw the boys bounce back with a handsome 4-0 thumping of Tri Cities Premier and consolidated third place in the group for North Shore United.
North Shore United U17 and U18 girls traveled to warmer climates and competed in Las Vegas. The U18s competed in National League games and the U17s in a college showcase.
The U18s finished with a winning record as they won and drew their two games. A 4-2 victory over Players SC (Nevada) and a 1-1 draw with Albion White (San Diego) gave the girls results in both games. Natasha Minor added to her goal tally over the weekend giving her four in the league. She is tied for fourth among the league’s top goal scorers. North Shore lies sixth in the Red side of the league, 13 points back from league leaders Team Chicago.
The college showcase gave the U17 girls the opportunity to display their talents to prospective coaches from colleges all across the nation. The NSU girls gave a good account of themselves in four games over three days. A goalless draw in the weekend opener against Arsenal Colorado followed by two games on Saturday left the girls unbeaten after two days of play. Saturday saw the girls come out 1-0 winners over Oswego South Side (San Diego) in the morning game, followed up with another goal less draw against Strikers FC (San Diego). Sunday however was a low note for what had the potential to be a great weekend as NSU opened the gate to the goal for West Coast FC (San Diego) in an 8-2 score line.
The weekend may have been dampened by the last score line for NSU U17s but the results saw the girls move up 56 places in the national rankings to 280
— By James Ashcroft