In the past, Delaware has not been known particularly as a soccer hotbed, but with a local team getting ready to step onto a semi-national stage, things could change.
The Central Delaware Soccer Association Power U17 girls soccer team recently won the U.S. Youth Soccer Delaware State Championship and have advanced to play in the U.S. Youth Soccer Region I Championships.
The 17-player roster — which features eight local girls — is currently preparing for the tournament, which will be held July 2 to 7, in Barboursville, W.Va.
In the tournament, the Power will face teams from Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia.
Juan Salas, assistant coach for the Power, said with the busy part of the year that includes school and high school soccer finished, the team is more than ready to go to regionals.
“We’re peaking right now three weeks before regionals,” Salas said. “The girls are focused and school is over. We’re doubling up on our practice schedule and we’re all psyched to get down there and play.”
He said the practice schedule would consist of four, two-hour sessions Monday to Thursday, plus an additional session on the weekend.
The reason for this, Salas added, is that he and head coach Mike MacIver want the team ready to face top competition, and a soft practice schedule would not have them prepared.
“We’re going to intensify the practice sessions and increase our demands on them,” he said. “We don’t want to go down there and get smoked. We have to prepare for playing one of those monster teams we’ll see.”
If the Power manages to come out on top in West Virginia, it will advance to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Tournament July 21 to 26, in Lancaster, Mass.
For now, however, the focus is the regional title and despite not having a dominant superstar, Salas said the Power is very well rounded and, with a strong back end, should be able to hold its own in the tournament.
The team is without its starting goalie for the tournament, though, which makes defense that much more important, said Katie Baker, one of the team’s defenders.
“Our main coaching point right now is to defend as a unit,” Baker said.
Even though defense is the team’s strong point Salas said opponents should not expect the Power to sit back in hopes that something good will happen.
“We’re going down there with the attitude of winning soccer games and playing well as a group,” he said. “We have 17 players that play very well together.
“We have a very good back line, too. But by no means am I saying we’re going to pack it in and play defense. We’re always looking for that counter attack.”
Email Brian Citino at brian.citino@doverpost.com
