Benicia Arsenal FC 2000 U11 Girls Win 2011 Central Valley SC Magic Cup Championship

The U11 Benicia Arsenal FC 2000 girls team brought home the Championship Trophy from the Magic Cup hosted by Central Valley SC in Morgan Hill July 30 and 31.

"Throughout the tournament our team was anchored by the excellent pressure-cover-balance defense of Antonia Diaz, Athena Jameson, Karissa Ruble, and Makahla Bolko," said head coach Michael Jacobs.

Playing excellent team defense, the team gave up only two goals the entire tournament, and posted three shutouts in four games. On Saturday, Arsenal posted 1-0 and 6-0 wins over Central Valley SC and FC Elk Grove, respectively, then secured first place and a spot in the Championship game with a 2-2 tie vs. San Jose United.

"On Saturday afternoon Emma Haupt had a breakout offensive performance, scoring two goals in our comfortable win vs. FC Elk Grove," said Jacobs.

Sunday afternoon, the Championship game was a rematch vs. San Jose United. Both teams battled to a 0-0 draw through regulation time. Two five minute extra periods were played, and still both teams remained deadlocked.

Penalty kicks were then taken to decide the champion, and Benicia prevailed 4-2 on penalty kicks. All four Arsenal FC 2000 girls made their penalty kicks, guaranteeing Arsenal the Championship.

"This is just a special group of girls, I believe. This year, the team is a mix of first-year, second-year, and third-year players, but they play with such a special blend of team-first supporting effort that they look like they've been together much longer," said the coach."I couldn't be more happy for our girls to have this bit of success. They deserve it."