Euclid soccer team wins West G tourney

The Euclid Youth Soccer Organization’s co-ed mini-travel team won the U-14 division at the West Geauga Soccer Tournament Oct. 2. The West Geauga Recreational Council hosted the tournament at the West Geauga Commons in Novelty, Ohio. The Euclid team, which had to play without some of its older players, swept all three of their games to reach the championship match. In their first match Euclid beat the Twinsburg 2 team with a score of 4 to 0. In their second game they outscored Middlefield 6 to 1, and in their third game they beat the Twinsburg 4 team by a score of 6 to 1.

The team faced last year’s champions from Chagrin Falls in this year’s championship match. In a tough game, Euclid scored the only goal of the game early in the second half and hung on to win. Jack Michals, Brandon Ray, Mark Okocha, Chris DiFrancesco, Daniel Taylor, Matt Brodsky, Stephen Tella and Connor Bowman led a high scoring offense that tallied 16 goals in the first three matches. Lincoln Johnston, Kris Kaiser, Isabella Tortorici, Sarah Howe, Krystal Koster, Sierra Thompson and Ana Thompson played solid defense in holding four opponents to a combined total of just two goals. In the championship match, Brodsky and DiFrancesco each logged a shut-out half in goal, and Jack Michals free kick early in the second half found the back of the net for the 1-0 win. Rounding out the team are coaches Dave DiFrancesco and Emmett Ray.