Moffett wins U-19 south regional
FAYETTEVILLE – With three players in the U-19 South Regional tournament and another in the U-18 tourney, the University of Arkansas Lady Razorback soccer team was well represented in what many consider the nation’s toughest region and Arkansas recruit Kat Moffett was not just the last player standing, she was a champion.
Playing for the North Texas Sting Dallas Royal ’87, Moffett and her teammates cruised through group play undefeated with two wins and a tie, then buried their semi-final opponent from Georgia with a 4-1 win. Playing forward throughout the weekend tourney, Moffett scored one goal and added an assist in her four matches leading up to Wednesday’s final that placed the Sting against North Carolina’s CASL Spartan Elite.
“I think that this experience is good for all of our incoming players,” Arkansas head coach Gordon Henderson said. “Kat’s team has been steamrolling everyone, but for each player, they are facing teams that have college bound freshmen or individuals that already have a year of college experience. It gives our players a taste of what’s to come in the next month.”
Wednesday morning’s final match witnessed Dallas pick up a hard fought 1-0 victory to propel them to the national championship tournament in three weeks in Des Moines, Iowa.
On their way to the final, Moffett’s Sting team surrendered just one goal, while scoring 11 of their own. In group play, the Sting defeated the team from South Texas, 2-0, and Tennessee, 5-0, before playing to a 0-0 draw with Oklahoma. Winning their group, the Sting played Georgia in the semifinal.
Also in the U-19 tournament, Fayetteville natives Jackie Booker and Sophie Wentz were not quite as fortunate as their future teammate. Playing for the Oklahoma WC HFC Lundy 88, the duo went 1-2-0 in group play and failed to advance to the semifinals. Dropping their first match 2-1 to Louisiana, Booker and Wentz picked up a bit of satisfaction as they defeated the Arkansas Little Rock Futbol Club, 3-1. Oklahoma lost its final match to Georgia 4-0 to finish third in the group.
Future Lady Razorback Rachel Smith was forced to endure the heat of weekend with just 11 other teammates for her North Carolina CSC Blue squad. Missing six players from their team due to illness and miscellaneous other circumstances, the team went 0-2-1 in its three matches, losing to Georgia and Mississippi and working a 0-0 tie with PL West.
The Lady Razorback soccer team reports to camp on Aug. 8 with their first practices immediately following. For more information about Lady Razorback soccer or about Arkansas women’s athletics, please go to www.ladybacks.com.
