Clovis Crossfire U19 girls win National Championship

The Clovis Crossfire U19 is the 2019 National Cup XVIII U19 Girls Super Group winner. PHOTO COURTESY OF CLOVIS CROSSFIRE

Clovis Crossfire U19 girls have done something no other Clovis Crossfire team has ever done; win a National Cup XVIII U19 Girls Super Group Championship.

The Clovis Crossfire defeated TSC Hurricanes out of Tulsa Oklahoma 2-0, dismantled Manhattan Pride out of New York 7-0, and eliminated the Westside Alliance FC from Sand Springs, Oklahoma in the semi-finals by a score of 1-0 to move onto the championship game, where they defeated the FC Stars out of Massachusetts 2-0 in Colorado.

After drawing 2-2 in the opening match against the same FC Stars that they had beaten in the final, the Clovis U19 girls scored 14 unanswered across the rest of their games during their time in Colorado.

Clovis Crossfire’s Melania “Nia” Scanlan was one of the many heroes on the day for Clovis Crossfire, but her ability to jump into the goalkeeper position without playing the position all season proved to be the deciding factor for the Crossfire.

Scanlan put in almost a complete game between the sticks after Melanie Jimenez was ruled out of the game due to injury. Jimenez collided with the opponent forwards and was taken out of the game just a minute into the championship match.

The team’s goal scorer’s Madilyn Hernandez who scored in the 14th minute and Luna Pelayo, who scored in the 70th minute off a pass from Sierra Levy, helped push their advantage throughout the match, but also keep the pressure on the girls from Massachusetts.

In a Facebook post on the official Clovis Crossfire page, head coach Erik Farfan relayed a message for his girls.

“We are so proud of, and happy for this special group of young ladies. Coming here, our goal was to represent our Club, Community, NorCal, and NPL well and think we achieved that,” Farfan said. “As we’ve discussed within our team numerous times before, the letters at the end of your team name don’t matter….DA, ECNL, NPL…whatever they may be. The game is the same and it’s all about the product and heart you put out there on the field.”

For the past three years, Nugesse has been a vital part of the Madera Tribune covering sports, news, entertainment and feature writing. Nugesse’s ability to interact with the community allows him to promote students, athletes and community members with fairness and objectivity. We are happy to have Nugesse join our team here at the Clovis Roundup.