Five days after the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team won the FIFA World Cup on July 5, a group of young female soccer players from the Charlottesville area had an international victory of their own. The Soccer Organization of Charlottesville-Albemarle Elite U14 Girls won the Italy International Cup, a competition that brings youth players from around the world to compete.
After playing six games over the course of five days, the SOCA team brought home the gold July 10, defeating Italian team ASD Real Meda 1-0 in northern Italian town of Riccione. Team manager and parent Genger Borton, who traveled to Italy with the team, said the girls learned how tough it was to win on foreign soil, but defied the odds with their victory in the finals.
“In the championship game we were playing an Italian team and the girls had birth years in 1998. Our girls were born in 2000-2001, which can play a big size difference,” Borton said. “It was a super physical game but they played the best they had the entire tournament.”—C-VILLE writers