'Absolutely phenomenal': Sault soccer team wins prestigious U.S. tourney

A group of teenaged Sault girls continues to have an extraordinarily successful year on the soccer field.

The U18 Soo City United Girls team won gold medals and a trophy in their division at the Target USA Cup held July 14 to 16 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Target USA Cup typically draws 1,200 youth soccer teams from around the world every year. Teams register, get ranked and are then placed in certain divisions.

The U18 Sault girls squad played five games in the tournament, advancing with two victories and a tie before winning the semifinal game in overtime and defeating a Minnesota team in the final in another overtime win by a score of 3-2.

“It feels absolutely fantastic,” head coach Steve Mazzuca told SooToday.

“I mentioned to a lot of the girls that it’s one of those bucket list tournaments. I’ve coached for many, many years but to win something as prestigious as this is by far the most wonderful experience for a coach.”

The U18 Soo City United Girls team has competed in five tournaments this season and were crowned champions in four of them.

The 24-member winning team’s roster includes a combination of 17 and 18-year old girls.

“The girls have been absolutely phenomenal this year. The competition at the USA Cup was exceptionally fierce. We typically don’t compete against teams this good. Our final game was against a team that’s won the national championships in the United States three years in a row,” Mazzuca said.

Mazzuca shared what he attributes the team’s success to.

“It’s a family concept.”

“These girls have been playing together since they were eight years old. Some played on different teams but they came together in the last year and a lot of them went to the same school, they all know each other exceptionally well, they all hang out after soccer. They’re friends. It’s that whole family concept. The support and the love they have for each other went into the tournament.”

Mazzuca said the objective this season was to get the girls into showcase tournaments with the hope that they get spotted by college and university teams.   

Some of the girls will be playing for Algoma University and Sault College, others will be trying out for Wilfred Laurier’s team.

“The phone calls have already been happening. I’ve already got a call from an NCAA recruiter in regards to one of our players,” Mazzuca said.

The team is led by Mazzuca, assistant coach Carlo Spadafora, coaches Joe Carbone and John Iachetta and manager Tricia Killoran.

The U18 Soo City United Girls team’s last tournament as a group will take place in the Champions Showcase Aug. 4 to 6 in Ottawa.