tremely
well, coming away with 2 wins and 1 loss. The Courage also put
in a strong showing at the Columbia Invitational, making it all the
way to the semifinals/.The Courage started as a U-9 team in the fall
of 2001. In that first fall season, the Courage played in the Old
Dominion Soccer League (ODSL) going undefeated with only one tie.
In the winter of '02, the Courage played indoors and compiled a strong
winning record. In the spring of '02, the Courage won seven games
while losing only one. Also, in the spring of '02, the Courage played
in the Virginia Beach Memorial Day tournament against year-older competition.
The Courage went undefeated and won their division of the tournament.
In August 2002, the Courage played in the Premier bracket of two local
tournaments, compiling a record of five wins and only one loss.
In
the fall of 2002, the Courage played in the ODSL East Division where
they were undefeated and unscored upon. Subsequently, the Courage
participated in two spring 2003, preseason tournaments. The first,
the PWSI Icebreaker in Prince William County, VA where the team played
four games, the last of which went into double overtime and on into
a shoot-out. The Courage won all four games, emerging as the division
(red) champions. In their second preseason tournament, the LYS Icebreaker
in Loudoun county, VA, the Courage was off to a good start, winning
their first two games. However, due to snow, the rest of the tournament
was cancelled. Based on their two wins and points, the Courage finished
in second place. The Courage finished the Spring 2003 season in the
top three of ODSL's Division I.
In the fall 2003 preseason, the
Courage participated in the Richmond Kicker's Girls Invitational,
emerging as champions after winning two games against U11 teams and
two more games against U12 teams. In both the semi finals and championship
game the Courage prevailed after each game went into double over-time
and finally shoot-outs! In the Fall 2003 season, the
Courage finished third in the Washington Area Girls Soccer League
(WAGS) Fuschia Division and were placed in Division II for the Spring
2004 season.
In the spring 2004 preseason, the Courage were semi-finalists
in the St. Patrick's Day Tournament in Stafford and later in the season,
became semi-finalists again in the Virginian Labor Day Tournament.
The Courage finished the spring 2004 season in third place and were
rewarded with a placement in WAGS Division 1 for the Fall 2004 season.
For the fall of 2004, Ged Wood took over as coach of the U12 Courage. The Courage won the Premier Division of the Dulles National Tournament and performed well in the prestigious WAGS tournament. Despite one of the strongest defenses in Division 1, the Courage went 0-5-4. Just one more goal per game would have placed the Courage in the top half of Division 1
For the 2005 spring season, anyone who read the Courage statistical line would have come away perplexed. Playing in Division 2, the Courage surrendered only 2 goals. Yet the Courage record was 5-2-2. Still, when the WAGS divisional structures were released, the Courage were again promoted to Division 1. The Courage capped off the season by winning the Al Dougherty Memorial Tournament while playing up in the U13 Division.
The Fall 2005 was a make or break season for the Courage. It was time to prove the Courage was a true Division 1 team. Wow, did the girls ever come through! The Courage suffered only 3 losses in nine games. Highlights included tying the Region 1 Champions and the VA State Cup Champions. Again strong defensively, the Courage pitched five shutouts.