GREER — The Greenville-based Carolina Elite Soccer Academy (CESA) will be sending three teams to the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships for the first time in the organization’s history.
Three CESA teams – Premier 95 U16 boys, Premier 95 U16 girls and Premier 94 U17 girls – played for Region III titles at the MeSA Complex Thursday morning, and all three were victorious.
The most dramatic win came courtesy of the U16 girls team, which remained locked in a scoreless tie through regulation and an extra period against the Oklahoma FC of Edmond, Okla., before keeper Casey Jeanfreau stopped a shot during penalty kicks to give her team a 1-0 win.
“We feel like this is our time, this is our year,” said Jeanfreau, a rising senior at Greenville Tech Charter.
The U16 girls team, coached by Andrew Fleming, went 6-0 in the Region tournament, outscoring its six opponents 14-1.
In the U16 boys final, Jackson Karolczyk scored off an assist from Eastside High’s Connor Donohue less than 10 minutes into the match and CESA’s Premier 95 boys team held on for a 1-0 win over GSA 96 Phoenix Red of Atlanta.
The team, coached by Pearse Tormey, was just 1-0-2 in preliminary play, but finished 4-0-2 by outscoring its final three opponents by a 7-1 margin.
There also was plenty of drama in the U17 girls final as CESA’s Premier 94 squad prevailed 2-1 over the Brandon FC Flames of Florida when Meaghan Carrigan scored the game-winning goal on a header with less than a minute remaining.
Carrigan, a rising senior at Christ Church Episcopal School, helped her team post a 5-0-1 record in tournament play. The team is coached by Andrew Hyslop.
All three CESA winners will advance to play for national titles at the U.S. Youth Soccer Championships, which are set for Rock Hill’s Manchester Meadows Complex, July 24-29.
