There was far more than a lone star for the Riverhounds Development Academy on the club’s Presidents’ Day weekend trip to ECNL Houston, one of the year’s biggest girls showcase events.
From a team perspective, it was hard to do more in the spotlight than the 2007 Girls, who swept their matches in Texas against highly touted opposition. Robin Reilly was the team’s goal-scoring standout for the weekend with four strikes in three games, and she and Emma Schupansky got things started scoring in a 2-1 win over St. Louis powerhouse Scott Gallagher.
Next up was a meeting with a nationally regarded San Diego Surf, but the Hounds showed they were more than up to the challenge by posting an impressive 2-0 win behind goals from Reilly and Maddie Marcotte. The team only trailed once all weekend, which came after falling behind to a first-half Seattle United goal, but Reilly bagged a pair after the break — including the winning goal with three minutes to play — to preserve the perfect weekend.
Individual accolades also were in order for some of the Hounds, as Fiona Mahan was selected to participate in the event’s Continental Tire National Selection Game. While Mahan was on the field, RDA Director Scott Gibson was on the sidelines after being selected as one of the coaches for the all-star event.
Among the other notable Hounds moments — both team and individual — was the 2004/05 Girls 2-1 win over Sting Dallas. Lucia Wells opened the scoring before the Texas tied the match, but the Hounds got a game-winning goal from Ava Boyd that was extra special, as it was Boyd’s first goal for the Hounds since recovering from an injury last spring. The team also ended its weekend with a 1-1 draw with DKSC (Texas), holding on for the result after a penalty kick save in the final minute by Emma Van Meter.
A complete rundown of the scores from last weekend in Texas can be found by visiting the RDA Results page.
