F.C. Eclipse tabs two titles in Spring League

May 15—With three teams competing in three separate cups, the Huntsville F.C. Eclipse program brought home two titles to round out its spring league play.

The 14U girls team won the South Texas Cup and the U17 boys won the Directors Cup to round out the season after several weather delays continued to postpone the events.

The U17 boys squad was coming off winning the Fall Championships and capitalized on the opportunity to go back-to-back. With three games in Round Rock, the squad went a perfect 3-0 to claim the title.

Alec Ripkowski and Aidan Ortiz led the way with two goals each as the U17 squad put six goals into the next in three games. Defensively, Jose Quintanilla allowed one goal throughout the entire weekend tournament.

The team finished the year with a 23-0-3 record after never losing.

"Before the tournament started, the first thing I told the team was to enjoy this moment, play as a team and you would win as a team," U17 coach Alex Ortiz said. "The boys played a great tournament. This was a difficult season. We lost some players due to injuries. We played short-handed this whole tournament. But a lot of guys stepped up. And help contribute to the team."

With two girls' teams playing, the Eclipse saw its U14 team take home gold in the South Texas Cup.

In three games, the U14 squad went 2-0-2 and scored 11 goals in three games.

With an opening game to Alamo Heights Fort Sam Houston, the U14 team took home a 5-0 win with a hat-trick by Arielle Barahona.

Barahona scored seven goals in three games to lead the U14 squad. She was paired with Xoe Ortiz and Catalina Ortiz on the offensive end to keep the pressure up.

In goal, Clarissa Solis shut out New Braunfels Stealth and helped the team to a shootout victory to round out the season.

"We have been together 2 years and this year we were able to win the Fall League to move to the Players League this coming Fall, along with being crowned the South Texas Cup Champions. It has been a great year for Coach Chicas and Coach Solis, players and parents. We are proud of our girls and look forward to seeing them continue to succeed this coming year," David Ortiz said.

F.C. Eclipse's 17U girls team competed in the President's Cup, the highest level, and struggled in their four games but still competed in the final weekend.

While dropping three of the four games, the U17 girls have maneuvered their way to the top in four years of play. With one more year of play with the U18 squad, they will have an opportunity to bounce back in the fall.

"I am extremely proud of the U-17 Eclipse girls. This year, they became the first Huntsville Eclipse girls' team to qualify for the Players League after winning their Division 2 League Championship last year," U17 girls coach Scott Atnip said. "They finished in the top half of the league to become the first Eclipse girls team to ever qualify for the national President's Cup tournament. Although we didn't make it out of the group stage, I am proud of how they competed against some of the best teams in the state. Now that we got a taste of that level of competition, I am excited for them to put in the work and try to earn another chance next year, hopefully with a better result."