WASHINGTON — A soccer team from Virginia has returned from the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in Texas having finished number two in the nation in the girls’ U14 group.
“We can’t believe that we were there. None of use expected to really get that far and win all those games,” said center back Jaden Steele.
The Braddock Road Youth Club 01 Elite of Fairfax, Virginia, spent a week at the tournament in Texas defeating teams from Ohio, Florida and California before losing the national championship game to the defending champions from Michigan.
It was a close, hard-fought game, said Steele, who also notes that a fellow player was roughed up during the only goal that was scored.
“They collided with our goalie and she got hit in the face and went down and [then] they got the goal,” Steele said with a sigh.
All the players are from northern Virginia and live in Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun counties. Everyone on the team is a rising freshman or sophomore, so they’ll have another shot at the championship next year.
“I just want to thank everyone who supported us along the way,” Steele said. “It was really fun, and really intense and crazy.”
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