CASL Elite Black takes U15 title

RALEIGH -- A second-place finish a year ago was just the beginning for the Capital Area Soccer League's Under-15 Girls Select Elite Black team.

Playing in the CASL-sponsored Girls Soccer Showcase at the WRAL Soccer Complex, Elite Black went one better to top the Michigan Futbol Club 1-0 on penalty kicks for the championship Sunday.

The weekend tournament is designed for college coaches to look at players ranging from the under-15 to under-19 divisions. Only the under-15s determine a champion.

CASL coach Damon Nahas said the exposure, and Elite Black's 2-0 loss in the final last year, were on his girls' minds.

"This was their last opportunity to get the gold," Nahas said. "This was one of their goals."

After reaching the final after preliminary-round matches played in Wilson, the CASL team played with that sense of urgency throughout.

Both goalkeepers were impenetrable in the net in regulation and two 5-minute overtime periods.

In the penalty-kick rounds, CASL's Taylor Francis allowed goals on the first and third kicks. But her diving, two-handed stop on the second penalty kick opened the door for her team.

Alexis Degler, Alexis Shaffer and Christina Gibbons each found the net on CASL's first three penalty kicks.

With her team up 3-2, Francis made another impressive two-handed stuff on Michigan's fourth try.

That set up Caroline Brown, who beat the Michigan keeper to the upper left-hand corner of the net to deliver the first-place trophy to CASL.

"We knew there were going to be limited amount of opportunities on goal," Nahas said. "We had enough confidence to take it to PKs."