OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - University of Nevada sophomore goalkeeper Dana Moreno helped lead her club team to a 2010 US Youth Soccer National Championship Sunday in Kansas.
Moreno's U18 club team, Laguna Hills Eclipse White, defeated defending champion Eclipse Select 91/91 (Il.) 1-0 in the championship game on July 25.
"It was the best feeling in the world," Moreno said. "It was bittersweet and I was glad I dedicated my summer to my Laguna girls and played with them. Those girls are amazing and each and every one of them was a reason for winning Nationals. Winning a National Championship to me, especially this one because it was after coming back from school, meant a lot to me. After we won Regionals I knew we would take it all of the way."
Laguna Hills Eclipse White scored the game-winning goal in the 26th minute. Moreno and teammate and fellow goalkeeper Gabrielle Kaufman, who will play at Texas Tech in the fall, combined for a shutout.
"The night before our first game I asked my coach if I could talk to the girls after the team meeting. I got up there and explained to them how grateful and happy I was to be there and how glad I was that I made the decision to come back and play with them after my first year of college soccer," Moreno said. "Then I said 'every year a club team wins a state, a regional, and a national championship.' I then said 'look around at your teammates.' After they looked around I then asked, 'why not us?'"
We all had what it took - dedication, motivation, heart and most of all chemistry. After Regionals we all just clicked and I felt like I fit right in and I also felt like they respected me as a leader," Moreno said. "I was proud of myself after Regionals because I felt so accomplished as a teammate. I motivated them and they motivated me even more to do my best every game and I felt like we had something no other team there had. Definitely was worth not having an 'easy' summer. It was a feeling that I have always been waiting for and I will never forget this amazing journey I came up on this summer!"
Moreno also earned the U18 Golden Glove Award. Her team finished the 2010 US Youth Soccer National Championships with a 3-0 record and recorded seven goals while allowing just one in three games.
"I remember always hearing about it (the Golden Glove Award) and dreaming about it. And when they called my name to that stage to get it, I burst out in tears and told to lady who handed it to me that this is my dream," she said. "They interviewed me after the whole awards ceremony and they asked 'so I see you have been awarded the Golden Glove, how does it feel to be recognized as one of the best goalies in the nation?' My heart literally sank when he asked me that question, because that is a question that I have dreamed to be asked over and over again. I was seriously speechless. All I could say is that I couldn't have received this award without my team."
Moreno, a 5-6 goalkeeper from Chatsworth, Calif., will enter her second year with Nevada this fall. Last year as freshman, she played in nine games and made five starts. She recorded two solo shutouts and made a career-high 10 saves against St. Mary's.
Moreno joins Nevada teammates Erin Smith and Annabelle Allen as current Nevada players who have won a US Youth Soccer National Championship. Smith and Allen won back-to-back National Championships with the Colorado Rush in 2008 and 2009.
July 21: Laguna Hills Eclipse White 1, vs. McLean MPS Dragons (Va.), 0
July 22: Laguna Hills Eclipse White, 5 vs. AFC Lightning 92 White (Ga.) 1
Final:
July 25: Laguna Hills Eclipse White, 1 vs. Eclipse Select 91/91 (Il.) 0
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