Team Chicago Academy-Gremio players Bailey Bloedorn, Colin Tolbolski, and Bobby Barnard joined with Coach Andrew Taylor in shaving their heads to raise money for St. Baldrick’s. It’s great to see our Team Chicago players and coaches supporting a great cause.

Team Chicago Academy-Cruzeiro emerged victorious from the U14 Division of the 2014 Cincinnati Elite Spring Thaw tournament this past weekend. With the win Cruzeiro moved up three spots to become the top-ranked team in Region II.

Cruzeiro opened with a 5-0 win over Blast F.C. from Ohio. This was followed by a 3-0 win over Zionsville from Indiana, and a 0-0 tie with Michigan Rush Northville to clinch the spot in the final.

The final was against FC 1974 Libertyville, and a rematch of an MRL game from last November which Cruzeiro won 4-0. Putting together the best overall attacking performance of the year Cruzeiro cruised to a 9-0 win. The opening goal was scored 8 seconds into the game after a 5-pass sequence directly off the kick-off, and the girls never looked back after this perfect start.

Team Chicago Academy-Bahia finished 1-2-0 in the U13 Division after losing two heart-breakers 1-0 to the hosts Kings Hammer S.C. and Rochester Lightning from Michigan, and beating Ohio Elite Pre-ECNL 1-0. Bahia played some great soccer, but unfortunately did not have the “bounce of the ball” in front of goal this weekend.

Team Chicago Academy-Brasil Girls also participated in the Cincinnati Elite Spring Thaw in the U12 Division. This was the first major event for the Brasil Girls, and the girls did really well for themselves in this environment.

They opened with a very tight 1-0 loss, after a game that was see-sawing until the last five minutes. The second game was a learning experience for the girls with a 5-0 loss to a very strong Michigan Jaguars team. However, the girls bounced back with a great performance in the last game on Sunday morning, and earned a well-deserved 1-0 win against the hosts Kings Hammer SC.

Team Chicago Academy-Nautico midfielder Maddie Perna has committed to playing for Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa as a part of Head Coach Kirsten Russel’s 2014 recruiting class. The Rams play in the NCAA Division III Midwest Conference, and they hope to continue their progress as they improved their record in 2013 to 9-8-1 from 4-13-1 in 2012.

Also known as Owen (thanks to auto-correct) Maddie just finished her third year at Team Chicago, and she is in her 4th year playing at Neuqua Valley H.S. Congratulations and good luck Maddie!

Team Chicago Academy-Nautico defender/midfielder Rachel Schneider has committed to Illinois Wesleyan University, where she will play for Head Coach David Barrett as a part of his 2014 freshman class.

The Titans compete in the NCAA Division III and CCIW Conference. Rachel will join fellow Nautico teammate Emily Curtis at IWU. Rachel just finished her 5th year at Team Chicago, and will graduate from Bolingbrook H.S. in June.

Team Chicago Academy-Palmeiras midfielder Max Graf and Team Chicago Academy-Internacional midfielder Erin Johnston are headed to Phoenix this weekend to represent Illinois in the National ODP Championships at the Reach 11 complex.

Max is a member of the Illinois Boys 1998 State Team which will face Cal-South in Friday’s Semi-Final, and then either Maryland or Florida in the Final or the 3rd place game on Sunday.

Erin is a member of the Illinois Girls 1998 State Team which will face Cal-South in Friday’s Semi-Final, and then either Georgia or Virginia in the Final or the 3rd place game on Sunday.

Follow the match results here: http://tournaments.usyouthsoccer.org/events/201…

We wish them all the best!

Below is the IYSA press release:

The Championships for the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program spotlight the future stars of United States soccer. State teams first compete in a regional event to determine which teams will vie for the top spot in the nation. The winners will compete in Phoenix for the right to be crowned US Youth Soccer ODP Champion. Three Illinois State Select Teams will compete for the National title this weekend at The Reach 11 Soccer Complex in Phoenix, AZ.

1997 Girls Illinois State Select Team
Coaches: Frank Mateus & Eddie Amaral
Madeleine Chalifoux (Champaign/Illinois Fusion)
Michele Chernesky (Wauconda/Sockers FC)
Kathryn Coseglia (Willowbrook/Oakbrook SC)
Grace Dunker (Rockton/Sockers FC)
Karla Hernandez (Chicago/Firebirds SC)
Emily Hess (Batavia/Eclipse Select)
Amanda Hoglund (Spring Grove/Sockers FC)
Carly Hoke (Lake Forest/ FC United)
Mariah Katzenberger (Freeport/Rockford Raptors)
Julia Kenney (Evanston/Team Evanston)
Kelsey Kraft (Oswego/Panthers SC)
Drew Moulton (Sycamore/Eclipse Select)
Claire Neibergall (Springfield/St Louis Scott Gallagher)
Elizabeth Parrilli (St. Charles/Rockford Raptors)
Emily Scott (Machesney Park/FCX)
Sophia Snyder (Ottawa/Chicago Inter)
Jenna Szczesny (Hoffman Estates/FCX)
Emily Valentine (Rockford/ FCX)

1998 Boys Illinois State Select Team
Coaches: Tony Kees & Jamie Martin
Tyler Anstrand (Naperville/Ajax FC)
Luis Arreola (Wheeling/FC Athletico)
Dalton Bruso (Bloomington/Illinois Fusion)
Jack Dilger (Homer Glen/Southwest SC)
Jake Farley (Plainfield/Chicago Fire YSC)
Hamada Freese (Edwardsville/Edwardsville SC)
Maxwell Graf (Aurora/Team Chicago)
Remy Hasinger (Morton/Morton Blaze)
Michael Juarez (Bloomington/Illinois Fusion)
Adam Masters (Evanston/Team Evanston)
Sam McLachlan(Berwyn/Berwyn Blazers)
Dorian Moreno (Romeoville/Roadrunners SC)
Matthew Napolitano (Bloomington/Illinois Fusion)
Mitchell Palmer (Belleville/Gateway FC)
Christopher Schwaiger (Naperville/Galaxy SC)

Emerson Wells(Downs/Chicago Fire YSC)
David Young (Grayslake/Libertyville FC 1974)
Arjun Zutshi (Aurora/Chicago Fire Academy)

1998 Girls Illinois State Select Team
Coaches: Ryan Snyder & Jo Hearn
Emily Bollman (Coal Valley/Moline United)
Paige Bourne (Lake Forest/FC United)
Alyssa Frazier (Towanda/St Louis Scott Gallagher)
Ryan Gareis (Naperville/Sockers FC)
Erin Johnston (Grayslake/Team Chicago)
Natalie Joyce (Lake Forest/FC United)
Amanda Kowalski (Arlington Heights/Eclipse Select)
Lauren Long (West Chicago/NSA)
Ashley Nensel (Wauconda/Ela Elite)
Katia Novi (Glenview/Sockers FC)
Olivia Peters (Glenview/FC United)
Shannon Powers (Gurnee/FC United)
Riley Riggs (Ingleside/Ela Elite)
Peyton Roehnelt (Germantown Hills/Illinois Fusion)
Samantha Salay (Glenview/Eclipse Select)
Senger Eda (Lake In The Hills/Sockers FC)
Adrian Walker (Lake Forest/FC United)
Madelyn West (Crystal Lake/FCX)