MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK: MSN NEWS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/msnnews
(Editor’s Note: The Michigan Soccer Network will continue its series about an assortment of Michigan-based youth club teams that competed in various age groups at various regional and national tournaments and playoffs during the months of June, July and August for all levels of the youth soccer pyramid. Send all pertinent information including results, stats, photos, and coach’s contact information to MSN Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com and dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com or call the news department at 248-525-2349.)
BY DAN STICKRADT
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST | WEB AND CONTENT EDITOR | DIRECTOR OF NEWS
BUSINESS LINE: (248) 525-2349
CELL PHONE: (248) 884-1051
TW/X: @msn_stickradt @LocalSportsFans @MiSoccerNetwork
RICHMOND, Va. – Something perfect.
When the Nationals SC 10G Girls Academy-Blue walked off the pitch for the final time at the end of the 2023-24 season, they had not yet tasted defeat during their long journey.
The end result allowed the talented team, which participated in the U14 bracket, to claim a Girls Academy Finals U14 national championship in the Nationals’ final year in the Girls Academy circles. The club will shift over to ECNL in August.
Still, to go some 10-plus months without a defeat – the Nationals SC 10G Girls Academy-Blue finished an incredible 28-0-2 in that time period which included the regular season and a wide variety of tournaments throughout the past year.
The Nationals 2010s, made up mostly of players who will be entering the ninth grade in the fall along with six players entering either the eighth or seventh grades, posted an eye-popping .934-win percentage during the 2023-24 campaign and were one of four Nationals Girls Academy teams in different age groups that reached the at least the national semifinals.
Simply put, this team left the opposition feeling, well, blue.
“This team had an incredible tournament and really just an incredible run all season,” admitted veteran coach Jeremy Harkins, who himself was a standout player at Detroit Country Day High School near Birmingham, Mich., and later at NCAA Division I Butler University. “We had a very talented roster, pulled up a couple of new kids (from lower age brackets) and just played some great soccer all the way through.”
At the Girls Academy National Qualifier Showcase event, held June 19-25 at Silver Lakes Sports Complex in Norco, California, Nationals 10G Girls Academy-Blue finished a perfect 3-0-0 to finish on top of its group with nine points with some more dominating efforts. The squad held a 12-2 scoring edge with one clean sheet at the event to advance to the final eight Girls Academy Finals.
Courtesy Photo | Nationals SC
The Nationals upended St. Louis Developmental Academy 10G Girls Academy (3-1), Spokane Sounders Shadow 10G Girls Academy (5-1) and Cedar Stars Academy-Monmouth 10G Girls Academy (4-0) to wrap up the unbeaten week and punch a ticket to the final stage of the Girls Academy postseason.
At the Girls Academy Finals, held July 11-14 at river City Sportsplex near Richmond, Virginia, the team put the finishing touches on an amazing campaign. Nationals 10G Girls Academy-Blue again finished 3-0-0, recording shutouts in their final two contest all while holding a 5-1 scoring edge at the eight-team tournament.
The Nationals opened with a narrow 2-1 win over Galaxy SC 10G Girls Academy in the quarterfinals – a game that went to a shootout where Nationals prevailed 5-4 on penalties -- and followed that up with a 1-0 shutout of City SC 10G girls Academy in the national semifinals. In the national title game, the Nationals picked up another clean sheet in the form of a 2-0 victory over TopHat 10G Girls Academy-Gold to be able to hoist the trophy high above the rest.
In the opener, Nationals were down a goal before Xenia Ndana, called up from the 2011s squad, tied it up in the second half. The game eventually went to penalties where Nationals prevailed in the tiebreaker 5-4. The second game saw Gabrielle Camaj convert the a penalty kick goal for the game’s only tally, which set up on spot in the national championship game on July 14.
Like it has done so many times before, the team capped off the long 2023-24 campaign with another clean sheet while picking up goals from Hannah Yu and Alisa Gaglio. Audrey Melchoir recorded the shutout between the pipes.
Courtesy Photo | Nationals SC
Center back Kennedy Whitmer was voted as the Team MVP and Tournament MVP of the tournament run, with Averi Thiede, Camaj, Grace Griffin, Yu and a host of others starring for this talented side.
“We definitely did have a successful season over the past year. It was incredible,” said Grace Griffin, a Macomb Township resident who will attend Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest High School in the fall. “When we walked off the field for the last time … I can’t even describe what it felt like to be national champs.
“And it was tough. When we won our first game at the (national tournament) we had to come back to tie it and force the (shootout). It went to PKs tied 1-1. That was against (Galaxy). We ended up winning on penalties 5-4, but it was then we really started to believe we could do it,” continued Griffin, who plays mostly in the midfield and some outside back as well. “That was so difficult because that was a really good team, and they were all good teams. We lose that won on penalties, then we can’t win it. It's that close. But we ended up making all five of our shots.
Team chemistry was a huge factor in the team not just qualifying and winning the national championship, but to go some 10-plus months without tasting defeat is truly a rare commodity.
“We are all so close on and off the field and I think it shows in the way we play. We play for each other and we had one goal in mind,” offered Griffin.
Over the six postseason games at two sites, Nationals-Blue outscored the opposition 17-3 with three shutouts and no team scored more than one goal on the team during the course of the national title run.
“This was such a well-rounded group,” said Harkins. “They had to overcome a deficit in the (Girls Academy Finals Tournament) and come back to take it to penalties. Then they shut out two more teams to win it. We had a great defense giving up only a few goals this season, I believe it was less than 20, and we had players who came through with some (timely) goals.”
During Girls Academy Mid-America 10G Division league play last fall and spring, Nationals 10G Girls Academy-Blue finished an impressive 13-0-1 with the lone tie being a 0-0 draw against Cincinnati United 10G Girls Academy. Nationals outscored the opposition in league play by a commanding 64-8 margin, recording seven shutouts along the way, and averaging 4.57 goals a game while conceding a paltry 0.57 goals against over 14 league games.
That set the tone for the Nationals SC 10G Girls Academy-Blue to have the season of champions.
Members of the 18-player team include Lucy Britton, May Cronin, Grace Griffin, Isabella Jarvis, Maci Manriquez, Alle Plosky, Tatum Sheckell, Savanah Tropser, Hannah Yu, Gabriella Camaj, Alisa Gaglio, Naomi Hardy, Ava Raj Makharia, Audrey Melchior, Brooklyn Ricci, Averi Thiede, Kennedy Witmer and Xenia Ndana.
“Our goal was to win the national championship and we were able to do that,” added Griffin. “Not too many players can say they were national champions.”
Not just national champions – unbeaten national champions.
MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK: MSN NEWS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/msnnews
(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com or dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com, or call 248-884-1051 or 248-525-2349. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com and jonathan@thepremiermediagrp.com.)
INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
Interested in internships in broadcasting, communications, journalism, public relations or sales and marketing in the sports world? The Premier Media Group is seeking applications for current college students or students entering their senior or junior years of high school that have a career interest in working in different capacity of a constantly-evolving media world.
Contact both Broadcast Director Jonathan Turner at 248-525-2083 or jonathan@thepremeiermediagrp.com and Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at (248) 525-2349 and dstickradt@thepremeiermediagrp.com.
MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK: MSN NEWS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/msnnews
MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK: MSN NEWS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/msnnews
(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer of teams or players with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com, or call 248-884-1051. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com.)
ALL-STATE SOCCER LINKS 2024 -- GIRLS SOCCER
2024 MIHSSCA DIVISION 4 ALL-STATE GIRLS SOCCER TEAMS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/post/2024-mihssca-division-4-all-state-teams
2024 MIHSSCA DIVISION 3 ALL-STATE GIRLS SOCCER TEAMS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/post/2024-mihssca-division-3-all-state-teams
2024 MIHSSCA DIVISION 2 ALL-STATE GIRLS SOCCER TEAMS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/post/2024-mihssca-division-2-all-state-teams
2024 MIHSSCA DIVISION 1 ALL-STATE GIRLS SOCCER TEAMS:
MIHSSCA DREAM TEAM REVEAL SHOW 2024: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/post/girls-soccer-all-state-dream-team-offensive-defensive-players-of-the-year-are-a-talented-bunch
GIRLS SOCCER: All-State Dream Team, Offensive, Defensive Players of the Year are a talented bunch: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/post/girls-soccer-all-state-dream-team-offensive-defensive-players-of-the-year-are-a-talented-bunch
GAME RESULTS FOR ALL LEVELS
SHELBY TWP., Mich. – The Michigan Soccer Network, Premier Media Group and all affiliates, will continue to compile a random sampling of game results from around the state each day. To send in game and tournament results (game wraps, box scores, statistics, coach’s quotes, photos, video clips) from high school varsity, collegiate, youth club, amateur, pre-pro, semi-pro or professional soccer for teams within Michigan’s borders or with ties to Michigan players, email all pertinent details to Communications Specialist / Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com or dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com, or submit information right on the correct link on the MSN website at www.michigansoccernetwork.com.
MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK: MSN NEWS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/msnnews
(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the Michigan Soccer Network regarding club soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with Michigan ties, contact Communications Specialist/Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com or dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com, or call 248-884-1051 or 248-525-2349. Dan Stickradt is a 31-year veteran of the Michigan Media circles and recently joined the staff full time in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/MSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@michigansoccernetwork.com.)
MICHIGAN SOCCER NETWORK: MSN NEWS: www.michigansoccernetwork.com/msnnews
GAME RESULTS FOR ALL LEVELS
SHELBY TWP., Mich. – The Michigan Soccer Network, Premier Media Group and all affiliates, will continue to compile a random sampling of game results from around the state each day. To send in game and tournament results (game wraps, box scores, statistics, coach’s quotes, photos, video clips) from high school varsity, collegiate, youth club, amateur, pre-pro, semi-pro or professional soccer for teams within Michigan’s borders or with ties to Michigan players, email all pertinent details to Communications Specialist / Web and Content Editor / Director of News Dan Stickradt at stickradt@michigansoccernetwork.com or dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com, or submit information right on the correct link on the MSN website at www.michigansoccernetwork.com.
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