Players sweep awards in Slammers’ winning run

The Newport Beach based-Slammers girls under-16 soccer team defeated

PDA Fury from New Jersey, 4-1, Sunday to win the Patricia L. Masotto

Cup as the age group’s national champion at Disney’s Wide World of

Sports Complex in the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in

Orlando, Fla.

The Slammers, which had beaten the Fury earlier in the tournament,

2-0, erased an early deficit when Jessica Gordon scored the first of

her two goals in the fifth minute. Her goal in the 28th minute gave

the Slammers a 2-1 lead they would never relinquish. Ashlee Elliott

added to the lead with a goal in the 40th minute and Megan Jesolva

finalized the scoring in the 65th minute.

Gordon was awarded the division’s Golden Boot award and the

Slammers’ Alicia Lugo was awarded the Golden Glove, given annually to

the players in each age group who have the greatest competitive

impact at the national championships.

Players on the team include Gordon of Tujunga, Elliott of Corona,

Jesolva of La Mirada, Lugo of Lancaster, Taylor Fallon of Newport

Beach, Cindy Mendoza of Costa Mesa, Jackie Zinke of Corona del Mar,

Alyssa Davila of Upland, Tanya Emerson of Capistrano Beach, Leslie

Grandy of Diamond Bar, Lauren Gregston of Lake Forest, Haleigh

Guertin of Corona, Lauren Hernandez of Long Beach, Kellye Joswick of

Placentia, Christina Murillo of Rancho Santa Margarita, Christen

Press of Palos Verdes Estates, Kristin Thuve of Huntington Beach and

Leslie White of Corona. The Slammers are coached by Ziad Khoury of

Costa Mesa with assistance from Frank Jesolva of La Mirada and

Monique Garciaparra of Whittier.

The under-16 team finished the tournament, 3-0-1, outscoring their

opponents a combined, 13-2.

It was not the first time the Slammers swept the Golden Boot and

Glove awards at the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships. Press

and Gregston won the Golden Boot and Golden Glove, respectively in

2003 for the Slammers’ under-14 team. Alexa Orand and Christine Yount

swept the awards as members of the under-14 squad in 2002.