TUKWILA, Washington – The SoccerPlus Reds women’s soccer team captured a U23 national championship last week with a 2-0 win over the KC Dynamos.

Tiffany Weimer scored the game-winning goal in the first half and Erica Setton netted the insurance in the second half as the Reds captured the national championship in their first year of existence.

The Reds were hoping to add an Open Cup championship, too, but a loss to Ajax America in the national semi-finals prevented that.

Casey Frobey, a 2006 graduate of Newtown High School, and starter for the Fairfield University women’s soccer team, is a member of the U23 SoccerPlus and was second on the team in goals with three.

Caroline Walden scored two goals and assisted on one other to lead SoccerPlus past the ISCL All Stars, 7-0, in the U23 national semi-final. Weimer, Kristi Lefebvre and Brittany Tegeler each had a goal and an assist.

SoccerPlus blanked KC in the final despite being out-shot, 9-6.

SoccerPlus joined the Women’s Premiere Soccer League (WPSL) back in January and what followed was a hurried effort to put a roster and staff together while, at the same time, securing a home field. The regular season debuted in May.

“I am very excited about SoccerPlus Connecticut joining the WPSL,” head coach Tony DiCicco said back in January. “The WPSL has been synonymous with exceptional amateur women’s soccer and player development. I want to add to the professional atmosphere in the league by offering an outstanding team and club, helping players continue their evolution as they prepare for a professional league re-launch ... which hopefully is in our not too distant future.”

F/M Tiffany Weimer is the all-time leading goal scorer at Penn State University. Manya Makoski, a very talented defender is a main stay on U.S. Youth National Teams and recently graduated from Arizona State University. The roster features players from all over the world – including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

SoccerPlus took the field for the first time against the University of Connecticut women’s soccer team and, ironically, some of the Lady Huskies (Niki Cross, Liz Eng, Sarah MacIsaac and Brittany Tegeler) would become teammates of the early SoccerPlus crew.

The Reds had to call Central Connecticut State University and Wethersfield High School home for a few games before FSA Park in Farmington was ready in July.

“Coaching this team is so exciting for me,” DiCicco said before the team’s inaugural game in May. “Our players are educated, articulate and polite. These are elite players. We have future professionals, current and future national team players and they are fun to coach. “We wanted to create a team for top players with Connecticut ties, an environment where they could improve their games and get closer to their dreams.”

SoccerPlus battled the Bay State Select (1-1), New York AC (4-1), Adirondack Lynx (2-1), Massachusetts Stingers (1-3), Long Island Fury (1-1), Central Delaware Future (7-0), Atlantic City Diablos (3-1), Philadelphia Liberty (3-0), Boston Aztecs (4-3) and New England Mutiny (1-1) and finished the regular season in third place of the East-North Division at 6-1-3.

The women, though, fell to the Fury, 3-2, in overtime in the first round of the WPSL playoffs.

Frobey scored a goal to help lead the Reds past New York AC, 4-1, on May 19 at CCSU. Frobey finished with three goals and an assist for seven points, tied for second best on the squad.

As a freshman in 2006, Frobey led the Lady Stags of Fairfield University to a 9-7-4 record with a team-best 12 goals and 27 points. She will be the focal point of the side this year, which was tabbed as the No. 3 team in the Metro Atlantic Conference pre-season poll.

Open Cup

As part of a busy first season, the Reds participating in the 2007 Women’s Open Cup Tournament.

After receiving a first round bye, Connecticut took on the New York AC on May 6 and with a 3-1 win – keyed by two goals from Weimer – the Reds advanced to the regional semifinals. There, the Reds topped the Adirondack Lynx, 3-1, as Weimer scored another two goals and assisted on the other.

SoccerPlus advanced to the regional finals in Oakford, Pennsylvania, on June 24 and blanked the United German Hungarians, 4-0.

With that win, the Reds advanced to the national semifinals in Seattle, Washington, but dropped a 1-0 decision to Ajax America.

U23 National Cup

The Reds traveled back to Oakford, Pennsylvania in the middle of July to try to put a second team into the Final Four weekend in Seattle, Washington in early August as they participated in the Region I U23 National Cup.

On Saturday, July 14, the Reds topped the New Jersey Rangers, 7-0, in the regional quarterfinals as five different players scored. In the regional semifinals, the Reds slipped past Kirkwood, 1-0, to advance to the finals.

There, the Reds squandered a number of scoring chances and fell, 1-0, to a talented team from Bethesda, Maryland, temporarily ending their U23 run.

However, Bethesda withdrew from the Final Four in Seattle, advancing the Reds to the three-day tournament. And with the new opportunity, the Reds blasted the ICSL All-Stars out of California, 7-0, in the national semifinals to earn a visit with the KC Dynamos.

In that game, the Reds got on the board in the first half as Weimer scored, unassisted. Connecticut added another later in the match to give them a 2-0 win and the U23 National Cup title.

Coach DiCicco

Head coach Tony DiCicco is a former U.S. Women’s National Team coach and Women’s United Soccer Association commissioner.

DiCicco served as the head coach for the USWNT from 1994-99 and during his five-year stint, he compiled 103-8-8 overall record – giving him the most wins of any U.S. National team coach. Along the way his teams completed a unique double by winning the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics and the 1999 Women’s World Cup.

Coach DiCicco also led his team to five consecutive U.S. Cup titles, the 1998 Pan American Games gold medal and a third-place finish at the 1995 WWC. He was an assistant coach for the 1991 U.S. Women’s National Team – which won the first WWC – and spent two years as an assistant for the U.S. Men’s U20 National Team.

WPSL

The Women’s Premier Soccer League is an independent national league whose main focus is on the development of highly competitive amateur women’s soccer teams. It was formed in 1998 and now numbers 23 teams across the country.

The WPSL is sanctioned by the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) as an affiliate of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), the ruling body of soccer in the United States and FIFA the world’s ruling body for soccer.

The teams of the WPSL:

WEST – Ajax America; San Diego WFC Sea Lions; California Storm; Sonoma County FC Sol; Claremont Stars; San Francisco Nighthawks; Lamorinda East Bay Power; FC Sacramento Pride. SOUTHWEST – Denver Diamonds; Rush Salt Lake City; Utah Spiders; Alburquerque Lady Asylum; Colorado Springs United. MIDWEST – FC Indiana; River Cities Futbol Club; FC Twente3 IL; FC St. Louis; Chicago United Breeze. SOUTH – Tampa Bay Elite; Central Florida Strikers; Palm Beach United; Orlando Falcons; Miami Kickers FC. EAST/NORTH – New England Mutiny; Long Island Fury; SoccerPlus Connecticut; Adirondack Lynx; Massachusetts Stingers; Boston Aztecs; New York Athletic Club; Bay State Select. EAST/MID-ATLANTIC – Atlantic City Diablos; Northampton Laurels FC; Philadelphia Liberty; Real Shore FC; Central Delaware SA Future; Maryland Pride.

For further information about the WPSL, visit www.wpsl.info.