Thanks for the tips, Marcelo!

The second annual Copa Libertadores de Fútbol Femenino concluded this past Sunday, October 17 with Santos of Brazil claiming the top prize, not only by successfully defending their title from 2009 but also doing so on home soil in São Paulo, Brazil. The tournament matched up the best women’s club teams representing each CONMEBOL nation. 10 teams were divided into 2 groups with the top 2 teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals. All 24 games were contested at Arena Barueri.

Group A kicked things off on October 2 and it was clear from the get-go who would dominate during the initial stage of the tournament and beyond. Santos, a.k.a. the Brazilian Youth/Women’s National Team; a.k.a. a club from one of two CONMEBOL countries to qualify for the Women’s World Cup and the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament; a.k.a. a club with one heck of an advantage. The Brazilian team steamrolled past the competition, winning all 4 Group A games, including 9-0 and 7-0 thrashings against River Plate (Uruguay) and Deportivo Quito (Ecuador) respectively. Despite completing group play with such a result, Deportivo Quito was still the undisputed second best team in the group with 7 points. The Venezuelan, Caracas, and Formas Íntimas of Columbia rounded out the bottom of the group, but still managed 1 win each.

In high scoring Group B action, Everton (Chile), Boca Juniors (Argentina), and Universidad Autónoma (Paraguay) all managed to score 18, 19, and 16 goals respectively. Flórida of Bolivia managed to eke out a win against Universidad Iquitos (Peru), with the latter being swept in all 4 games. It was a tight race for the group’s second place spot as Boca Juniors edged out Universidad Autónoma by 1 point. Group B was topped by the undefeated Everton (3w, 1d).

In the first semi-final game, Everton and Deportivo Quito were deadlocked at 0-0 following regulation time. The match would eventually be decided by the dreaded penalty kicks [Watch here]. It was a heartbreaker for Deportivo Quito. Everton’s third kick was initially saved, but the goalkeeper pushed the ball into the post and in the net. After the first 4 penalty kicks were converted by both sides, Deportivo Quito’s fifth kicker sent the ball into the signboards. The game was sealed by the Everton goalkeeper, Christiane Endler (who gained much popularity during the 2008 U-20 WWC in Chile), and the Chilean side moved onto the final game with a 5-4 win.

The other semi-final game resulted in a 2-0 victory by Santos over Boca Juniors. Both goals were beauts. Following a foul at the edge of the penalty area, Maurine’s free kick crept through a gap in the wall and completely eluded the ‘keeper in the 74′. Particularly of note, Maurine was the 8th overall pick in the 2009 WPS International Draft by the Atlanta Beat, but she elected to renew her contract with Santos. Just 4 minutes later, Suzana pounced on a lose ball off a rebound (ahem, an initial Cristiane miss from 3 yards out) and roofed the shot with power and precision.

As opposed to the 2009 title game where Santos annihilated Universidad Autónoma 9-0, this year’s final was a much closer contest. It appeared as if neither Santos nor Everton would be able to score in regulation time, but Santos’ semi-final heroes would strike again. Heading into the 90′, Suzana was fouled just outside of the box. Maurine lined up a free kick from a similar spot as in the previous game, and sent the ball over the wall as it then bounced past the sprawling Everton ‘keeper. Santos was crowned the two-time Copa Libertadores de Fútbol Femenino champions.

In terms of records for the 2010 tournament, Santos went on to score 25 goals and conceded 0 through 6 games. 18 year-old Noelia Cuevas of Universidad Autónoma was the tournament’s top scorer by netting 8 goals. Fortunately for Santos, Cristiane’s performance was nothing like her season with the Chicago Red Stars. She scored 7 goals as 1 of 3 of the tournament’s second leading scorers.

The top teams of the 2010 tournament were quite similar to those of last year’s. 3 out of 4 semi-final teams this year also advanced out of the group stages in 2009, including Boca Juniors, Everton, and Santos.

For more information on results and stats, visit: www.bolanaarea.com/ff_copa_libertadores_2010.htm.

View Original Post at allwhitekit.wordpress.com

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