The OSA News Bulletin  

The U17 Girls arrive at Ottawa International Airport at 9:10 pm

Tampa, FL -  The Ottawa Fury U17 Girls captured the 2010 Super Y-League North American Championship on Tuesday following a 3-0 victory over the London Gryphons.

This is the first- ever North American Championship for the club culminating an unbeaten season for the U17 Girls (12-0-2). "This championship is the culmination of 8 seasons of dedicated work by all our coaches, players, parents and staff," said Ottawa Fury Owner and CEO John Pugh adding that "they all share in this success which we believe will be the first of many more."

A pair of goals from Lauren Hughes gave the Fury a 2-0 lead through 45 minutes of play and Marissa Duguay put it out of reach late in the second half to secure a 3-0 victory, an unbeaten season and the North American Title.

Canadian U-17 keeper Rachelle Beanlands and Elizabeth McDougall combined for the shutout helping the New England Division Champion and #1 seed in the tournament runaway with the title. Lauren Hughes was named SYL Finals MVP for her six goals in five games.

"The U17 Girls had a 12-0-2 season with 55 goals for and 5 against. That is dominance in every sense of the word," said Fury U17 Girls head coach Jimmy Zito. "This was a storybook season with a fairy tale ending," Zito proudly said.Coach Zito gives credit to the support from the rest of the club during the semi-final and championship final believing that it too was a huge factor to their success. "Thanks to John Pugh for this opportunity and my girls who went to war for each other," Zito added.

The Fury were well supported on Tuesday morning as the five other Fury teams competing at the SYL Finals helped cheer and chant the Fury from the opening kick-off.  Lauren Hughes opened the scoring for the Fury in the 19th minute putting home a perfectly placed ball from Laura Calender to settle the Fury into the game.

Ottawa maintained most of the possession, but London looked to pull even in the 41st minute, but the crossbar came to Beanlands’ rescue to keep the Fury ahead. Then in added time Lauren Hughes notched her sixth of the finals to give the Fury a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.

The second half opened with Ottawa finding themselves on their heels with London looking to immediately get themselves back in the game.

Rachelle Beanlands dominance and the strength of the Fury back four proved invaluable during these tense moments. Ottawa would collect themselves and begin to win back the midfield and as the half wore on they would finally be rewarded when defender Marissa Duguay put home her second of the SYL Finals in the 83rd minute to give the Fury a 3-0 lead and all but ensure the championship.

When the final whistle blew, the girls stormed the goal-mouth in celebration of the club’s first-ever title and were joined on the field by the always boisterous Fury players who serenaded them in song.

The six Fury teams will now board planes home returning to Canada with a collective record of 10-9-9 and most importantly gold medals around the necks of the U17 Girls.

For more information please contact Graeme Ivory, Director of Communication & Marketing Office: 613.235.3879 | Email: graeme.ivory@gmail.com

About Ottawa Fury Soccer Club
The Ottawa Fury Soccer Club is a member of the United Soccer Leagues (USL); the largest system of national soccer leagues in North America. The Fury are members of the W-League and the Premier Development League (PDL). The Fury also operates youth teams in the USL Super-Y League (SYL) and development teams (Academy) and programs for younger players. For additional information see the Fury web site at www.ottawafury.com

Reported by Graeme Ivory / Ottawa Fury

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Filed under: Academies, Club and Team News, Competitions & Special Events, District News, Out-Of-Province Tournaments, Pro Soccer, The OSA News, University Soccer   Related Posts:  Fury Youth Program Ranked #2 In North America | Ottawa Fury Host W-League Championship This Weekend | Two Ontario Teams in Championship Finals of North America’s Top Leagues | Ottawa Fury GK Caroline Robert Wins U.S. Scholarship | Fury Youth Graduate Christina Julien Leading The Way For Canada |