This past week the 99 Girls Black coached by Jonathan Cortez travelled to Snohomish, Washington to compete in The 2015 Region 4 President’s Cup. The t
This past week the 99 Girls Black coached by Jonathan Cortez travelled to Snohomish, Washington to compete in The 2015 Region 4 President’s Cup. The team earned the right to represent the State of Arizona after winning The Presidents State Cup back in April after beating CDO from Tucson in the championship game.
Success in April made the 99 Girls the second team in Phoenix Premier FC’s short two year history to win a Presidents State Cup and attend Presidents Cup Regionals after the 99 Boys Black did so back in the clubs inaugural year in 2014. The 99 Boys fell just short of repeating that success this year after dropping the Presidents Cup State Championship game to SC Del Sol 99’s.
After opening up group play against the defending National Champion in Blue Crush (Utah) the 99 Girls were able to represent Phoenix Premier FC strongly, going 1-1-1 on the week. The team faced a strong South LA United (California) in their second game and earned a good tie in a 1-1 game. This placed the team in a position to earn a 3rd place wildcard should they win their final group game.
In the team’s third game in three days they needed a victory against Twin Falls Raids (Idaho). The group dug deep and showed their grit battling out a 2-1 win. Unfortunately the victory proved to not be enough for the 99 Girls with the 3rd place wildcard spot in the ¼ finals being decided on goal differential, meaning the team would miss out on advancing.
Premier Pro Coach Jonathan Cortez was encouraged by the mentality of the team in Washington, commenting “The girls rebounded great from a rough opening game. I am proud of how they responded. They did an excellent job of representing the state of Arizona and Phoenix Premier FC. “
Director of Coaching, Ramiz Sabljic who is currently in England representing the US Men’s National Paralympic Team at the Cerebral Palsy Football World Championships as an assistant coach had this to say, “All in all this was an excellent year for the 99 Girls Black who continually improved under Coach Jonathan Cortez as the season progressed, winning multiple tournaments culminating in this fantastic post-season run. The team represented the club very well and we are proud of their achievements this year.”
Great job ladies – Phoenix Premier FC is proud of you!
