Sunset FC wins U18 girls FA Cup

The U18 young ladies of Sunset Football Club pulled off a trifecta of championships for the club, winning their FA Cup final on Tuesday, 13 June, and adding to the success of teams at the U13 and U15 levels.

In a common match-up among youth and senior female teams, it was Sunset FC and Elite SC playing in the cup final at the Cayman Islands Football Association’s Centre of Excellence in Prospect.

Elite controlled much of the possession through the first 15 minutes but got caught on their heels in the 16th minute when Derricka Neysmith found Jade Pitcairn on the break for an easy strike into the back to the net.

Sunset led 1-0 at the half and nearly doubled that about when Elite keeper Khiara Lemay left the goal wide open to clear a ball that was intercepted by Evie Nicholson, whose shot was just wide.

Elite captain Brianna Poy Fong was solid in midfield. 

After the close encounter with what would have given Sunset a decisive lead, Elite’s girls could breathe a sigh of relief but still had work to do to pull level. A chance came in the 65th minute, when a penalty was granted for a tackle in the box. Stoyana Steward stepped to the spot and made it count.

The scores were equal and though fatigue was setting in, it would come down to a late chance or extra time to determine the cup winners. Eager to finish as dusk started to come on, Sunset got the go-ahead goal when Molly Kehoe scored on a breakaway. Briana Moore added an insurance goal in the 87th minute.

Much credit has to be given to Lemay, who despite that one nearly costly blunder, was solid in goal and came up with key saves down the stretch to keep Elite in the game.

With a 3-1 score at the referee’s final whistle, it was Sunset who were celebrating as champions.

Use your head: Lauren Scott heads the ball away from goal.

“I think we came out and played our game well. We didn’t give up, even when we gave away the penalty and we didn’t let them intimidate us and played our game,” Sunset captain Lauren Scott told CaymanSportsBuzz.com.

For Neysmith, it was a perfect ending to her final season with the club before heading off to university. “We came out and did our best and we got the result that we wanted,” she said.

“We always try to encourage each other on and off the field, and we always say ‘never stop’. So, that’s what we did today,” she added.

Coach Anna Boughey was full of praise for her girls.  “They’ve been nothing but good fun, they’ve shown lots of spirit and they’ve come out of a situation where they’ve come out of a lot of pressure – it was 1-1 and they finished 3-1,” she said.

After the senior women’s team missing out on the league and FA cup titles to Elite this season, joy comes knowing that at the three age groups below, they’ve won the hardware.

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