SASL Fury dominates at Appalachian Classic
Aug. 23—Two Sanford Area Soccer League (SASL) teams made the trip to Boone last weekend and brought hardware back to Sanford after a strong weekend on the pitch at Appalachian State University's Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex.
The 2009 SASL Fury, who won a North Carolina state championship in the spring, shut out four opponents to easily take the Appalachian Classic title with a combined score of 18-0. Meanwhile, three age levels up, SASL's 2006 Courage, who won the Appalachian Classic title last year, repeated this season.
The Classic is a two-day tournament which has been hosted by ASU for many years, and which includes players from Georgia, both Carolinas, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. It sells out every year and is noted for being the highest-elevation tournament of its kind east of the Mississippi, at 3100 feet above sea level.
The Courage defended their title in the 18U division against three other entrants, who played a round-robin in pool play. They defeated each of the other teams and there was no question they would be the top seed for the playoff, which consisted of the first- and second-place teams in the pool. Somewhat surprisingly, a 16U unit placed second in the pool with a 1-1-1 mark, earning four points to the Courage's nine. 2007 NCFC WF United put up a fight in the championship game Sunday afternoon, but the Courage won 2-1.
A year ago, the Courage had won this tournament allowing just a single goal. The 2023 field was stronger and put the team to the test, but they still passed it. In pool play, the Courage had beaten NCFC WF United by the same 2-1 score in their first match Saturday morning, then edged HCSA United G 4-3 that evening, and then nailed down first place with a 2-0 shutout of DCYSL DC United on Sunday morning. The final was played about four hours after the completion of this match.
Members of the Courage included Ava Stewart, Ava Baldwin, Ava Perez, Lily Currin, Emily Patterson, Gracie Currin, Madelyn Hair, Camryn Conway, McKenna Moore, Palmer Foster, Alexa Schliep, Emi Dillion, Grace Jackson, Melanie San Juan, Emma Stanley, and Layton Griiffin.
The Fury made history back in May. At the time, only one other team in the 40-year history of SASL had ever won the Kepner Presidents Cup, which is emblematic of the North Carolina state championship in the NC Youth Soccer Association. But the Fury became the first local team in 20 years to accomplish this, stunning Raleigh-based powerhouse NCFC Gold South in the finals to become state champions.
In Boone, the Fury lived up to its name. No one had a chance. They started off Friday night with an 8-0 rout of the 15U version of DCYSL DC United. On Saturday afternoon, they blanked HCSA 15U United 2-0, and then had to finish pool play with just a couple hours' rest. It didn't matter, as they whitewashed Athletes Lab Soccer 15U 4-0 and then awaited their championship opponent based on whoever won the final match of the night, which HCSA United had to win to place second in the pool, and did.
They played again the next afternoon and the Fury won twice as big, 4-0. The Fury finished the event undefeated and unscored-upon, with keeper Maggie Sessoms notching four shutouts. One parent reported that the team is currently reading the book "The Undefeated Athlete: How to be a Champion in any Sport," and they certainly seem to be doing just that.
Members of the Fury for this tournament included Jordan Marines, Meghan Buckley, Carlie Felicio, Mckenna Rose, Lluvia Rubio, Leslie Gomez, Claire Stanfield, Yaraly Benitez, Grace Clark, Abigail Gaddy-Harrison, Anna Jackson, Elizabeth Harrington, Gwynn Young, Paizlee Davis, Reece Baldwin, Maggie Sessoms, and Aubrey Patterson. The team was coached by Rob Sessoms and Anna Fish, assisted by Ava Perez.
