After losing its first two games of the season, Team Chicago Academy-Brasilia finished its U16 MRL Premier I Division play in style by going 6-0-1 the rest of the way while defeating both the current Region II Champions and the IYSA State Cup Champions. The impressive run has secured Brasilia a 2nd place finish, and if Futura wins the Missouri State Cup next weekend, Brasilia will qualify for the USYSA Region II Championships for the first time.

The final two games of the MRL season were against Libertyville FC 1974 (IL) and FCX and Brasilia emerged with a 1-0 win in both games.

The Libertyville game started with a flurry of chances for Brasilia which unfortunately weren’t finished. The teams entered half-time tied at 0-0 with most of the play controlled by Brasilia. The second half didn’t generate that many opportunities for Brasilia as the play became a lot more physical. Things then started to change about midway through the second half when Jade Eriksen-Russo collected a ball deep in her own end. Jade beat two defenders and continued to make a 40 yard run before combining with Abbie Severson on a one-two combination play to free herself again. From there Jade served a cross that found the upper corner of the far post to secure the 1-0 victory.

The second game against FCX game had some similarities to Sunday night where Brasilia created some great opportunities but just could not find the back of the net. The goal came as a result of good build up play that resulted in Jade Eriksen-Russo getting the game-winner again.

Congratulations to the girls on a fantastic Fall season. We are keeping our fingers crossed for a Futura State Cup win in Missouri. Up next for Brasilia are college showcases in North Carolina and Florida.