RSL soccer club scores at finals

For one team, there was the joy of a championship.

For the other, there was the disappointment of coming so close to victory, only to see it evaporate.

But for the South Tampa-based RSL Florida soccer club, the performance of both its boys' under-15 and girls' under-17 teams at the United Soccer League's Super-Y North American Finals, held last week at the Ed Radice Sports Complex in Northwest Tampa, was cause for pride and celebration.

After RSL's boys finished regulation and overtime tied 1-1 with Mountain WFC from Vancouver, B.C., goalkeeper Kody Parker provided the crucial save in the deciding shootout, diving to his left to turn away Miguel Bustamente's penalty in the third round. That was all Parker's teammates needed, as all five shooters - Zach Higgins, Travis Jehs, Jacob Frahm, Kody Thomas and Raeshaun Washington - converted from the spot to give RSL a 5-3 shootout victory.

"It's huge for us," Parker said. "It means so much because last year we didn't do anything. This year, we've come and won it all. It means a lot for everybody."

The Super-Y title was the latest in a recent run of success for the under-15s, who also won the Sparta Cup in Utah and the Region III Premier League against the top teams in the U.S. Youth Soccer South Region. It wasn't always that way for the side, which lost in three consecutive State Cup finals including last spring. Now, according to Washington, things have turned around.

"We usually are used to the silver," Washington said. "Now we have gold, and it's a big thing for us. We had a monkey on our back, and it just finally got off."

RSL's girls wish they could say the same. After having gone undefeated through qualification, and having made a tremendous rally in the semifinals, scoring twice in the final five minutes to advance, the squad came up just short of a title they had come close to winning previously. But the Cleveland Internationals rallied from a goal down to earn a 2-1 victory, and leave the RSL players thinking about what might have been.

"It's tough to come this far; we hadn't lost a game in Super-Y all summer and throughout here, so to come so close is tough," captain Amy Werdine said.

It wasn't for a lack of trying. Connor Zwetsch scored a fabulous goal to give RSL the lead in the final, picking up the ball in midfield before beating three defenders with an angled run into the penalty area before flicking a shot past the advancing goalkeeper. After Cleveland quickly answered, Jessica Giblin had her free kick from 30 yards out crash against the underside of the crossbar, but bounce away to safety. As sometimes happens, though, RSL couldn't get the bounce to go its way, and a goal with 13 minutes to play gave Cleveland the title.

As disappointed as the side was with the final score, coach Jim Cote said he couldn't have been prouder of the way they performed during the five-day tournament.

"The passion for each other, and the passion to want to play for each other is what has made this team the best, the best team that I've ever been around," Cote said. "I've won more games with other teams, but this team has a special little bond around it. They like each other a lot; they're all friends, and they really want to win together."