BOCA U17s place 1st

PLEASANTON — The CASA (Capital Athletic Soccer Academy) BOCA U17 girls’ soccer team, CASA BOCA Jrs ’95, comprised of players from El Dorado, Placer and Sacramento counties, placed first for the second consecutive year at the elite Pleasanton Rage College Showcase.

The tournament, hosted by the Rage Soccer Club, featured teams from Utah, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and California and was played under the watchful eyes of coaches from over 50 colleges from across the U.S. BOCA Jrs ’95 girls are entering their junior and senior years and are in the midst of the college recruitment process.

BOCA, known for its possession-style game, took every advantage of its solid passing skills and techniques. Defensively, the girls conceded only one goal the entire tournament behind the strong defense of goalkeeper Nina Grimes; center backs Emily Hansen and Brittany Gisin; and outside backs Melissa and Elena Hanson.

The team met tough competition against three teams from Southern California and one from Utah. A 2-0 shutout against SoCal Blues got the girls fired up with their first goal from Selena Brewer, assisted by Alyssa Andres, and the next a breakaway from Elizabeth Hutchison.

The second game saw the second shutout and another goal by Hutchinson for a 1-0 victory over South Valley Strikers. In game No. 3, the girls faced a tough Utah team, Black Diamond SC, which ultimately ended in a 1-1 tie with Hutchinson scoring another breakaway goal.

The fourth game saw a third shutout with BOCA winning 2-0 against Santa Barbara. This time it was Emily Hansen who took an assist by Julia Crawford to score the first goal and then Hutchison with her third breakaway of the tournament for the final score.

The girls are currently ranked 7th in Northern California by the GotSoccer Ranking system and will be competing next month in the SoCal Blues Cup in San Juan Capistrano over Labor Day weekend.