97G LA Fire Navy at Crossroads of America College Showcase

[LAFire97G]

This weekend, from Friday 4/24 to Sunday 4/26, the Louisiana Fire U18 Girls participate in the Crossroads of America College Showcase in Indianapolis, IN. This is one of the top-ranked college showcases in the nation, especially for top teams from the midwest. Teams play three games in showcase format (no championships/finals), one per day, at the famous Grand Park right outside of Indianapolis.  Here is the team's schedule:



Friday, April 24, at 10:00 a.m.
Louisiana Fire Navy (LA) vs. Sockers FC Chicago (IL)


Saturday, April 25, at 9:30 a.m.
Junior Irish Premier (IN) vs. Louisiana Fire Navy (LA)


Sunday, April 26, at 8:00 a.m.
Tennessee SC (TN) vs. Louisiana Fire Navy (LA)

[LAFire97G]

Following some recent college commitments, here is an updated team roster heading into this event!


Roster for 97G Louisiana Fire Navy


#15 Lauren Bacque (winger)
--Senior at Acadiana
--committed to play at Concord University


#2 Victoria Best (outside back, winger)
--Senior at Live Oak
--committed to play at the University of Mobile


#32 Samantha Bourgeois (goalkeeper)
--Junior at Mount Carmel


#25 Gabby Burmaster (outside back)
--Senior at Dominican
--committed to play at Spring Hill College


#18 Mia Dubroc (winger, forward)
--Junior at Mandeville HS


#7 Emily Ellison (midfielder, defender)
--Senior at Sacred Heart


#9 Cadie Higginson (defensive mid, defender)
--Junior at Ben Franklin
--committed to play at Navy


#6 Noelle Higginson (center mid)
--Junior at Ben Franklin
--committed to play at Yale


#20 Kielli Jordan (midfielder, winger)
--Senior at Northshore
--committed to play at Colorado Christian


#13 Samantha Jordan (striker, winger, outside back)
--Senior at Northshore
--committed to play at Loyola Marymount


#17 Tuesday Jordan (center back)
--Senior at Northshore
--committed to play at Niagara University


#11 Kassandra Ortega (winger, forward)
--Junior at Belle Chasse HS
--committed to play at LSU


#16 Eleanor Pratt (center mid)
--Senior at Ben Franklin
--committed to play at Navy


#4 Amalia Skalos (center back, outside back)
--Junior at Ben Franklin


#5 Amelia Thibodeaux (center back)
--Junior at St. Thomas More
--committed to play at Louisiana Tech


#1 Alex Thomas (striker)
--Senior at Ben Franklin
--committed to play at LSU


#10 Martha Jane Williams (center/attacking mid)
--Senior at Country Day



Head Coach: Steve Mcanespie
Assistant Coach: Louie Smothermon

[LAFire97G]

Fire's final results from the tournament

W 8-1 vs Sockers FC Chicago (IL)
W 3-0 vs Irish Juniors Premier (IN)
W 5-1 vs Tennessee SC (TN)

Three dominant performances in which Fire led every game 3-0 at halftime and rotated all 17 players very effectively. Fire had 8 players score and 7 players provide assists over the course of the weekend. It's a shame we were unable to play either of the other two National League teams in attendance, but the girls enjoyed the competition and the complex was absolutely wonderful. Credit to the tournament for doing everything they could to keep the games going despite heavy storms on Saturday, and also for handling it well when a couple other teams withdrew last-minute and our schedule had to be slightly shuffled. Worthwhile showcase to attend and the team had a good experience.

[LAFire97G]

Apr 29, 2015 11:56:21 GMT -6 WhatDoUNO said:

That sounds like some good results Mr. Pratt. Any reason why you did not get matched up with other National teams in the tournament? Seems like participating college coaches would have like to have seen those match ups.

Unfortunately, one of our scheduled opponents -- Iowa Rush Nike -- pulled out of the tournament last minute. They were the highest ranked team we were supposed to play, and everyone was really looking forward to that match. When they pulled out, the tournament had to shift things around, and that's when we were matched up with the team we ended up beating 8-1.

The ideal solution would've been Kings Hammer or Cleveland FC, both in the national league, but they were playing each other already for a game that counted in the Midwest Regional League, and each of them had other Midwest regional league games at the tournament as well. Those games couldn't be moved. So even though we asked, the tournament just couldn't give us either of those two teams.

The second and third teams we faced certainly weren't bad, even the first team was relatively organized, but our players were at a slightly higher talent level and came out really fired up to play. Tennessee SC was a defending state champ and well disciplined, tried to see if it would work to concede possession and defend with numbers very compact, but credit to the girls for jumping on top early and not letting up in attack.