Eagles Soar to Fourth National Soccer Title

Led by Brentwood School alumna Amanda Lisberger, the Eagles SC Under-23 soccer team of Camarillo defeated the Kansas City Dynamos 4-2 on penalty kicks Sunday at the Lovers Lane Soccer Complex in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to claim its second straight USASA national title and become the first team ever to earn four age-specific United States National Championships.

In a game every bit as dramatic as the Women's World Cup final in Germany later in the day, the Eagles and Dynamos battled to a 2-2 tie through regulation and overtime before the California club prevailed in the shootout.

Lisberger plays for the University of Texas in Austin but reunited with her Eagles teammates this summer for a shot at history.

"This means a lot to me," she told Patch after the game. "Being on the team for three of the four national championships is an incredible feeling. I couldn't ask for anything more. This is one of our biggest wins since we had to come from behind twice to win in PKs. It just shows how badly we wanted to prove that we are the best."

The 21-year-old from Pacific Palisades is the career scoring leader at Brentwood, where she tallied 88 goals and 31 assists and earned 11 varsity letters in three sports. Two years ago she played for her hometown Pali Blues, who repeated as W-League champions, but Lisberger has experienced many of her greatest triumphs--and scored some of her biggest goals--in an Eagles SC uniform.

"Kansas City is an incredibly talented team. [All-Americans] Libby Jandl of Duke and Molly Campbell from Notre Dame are two of the best in the country, and from the start this was a heck of a battle," Eagles Coach Vince Thomas said of Sunday's opponent. "I started my three Big-12 forwards and it paid off as Emily Cressy (Kansas) found Amanda Lisberger cutting hard to the goal. She flicked it to Kelsey Kraft (Oklahoma) who finished strong."

The score was tied 1-1 late in regulation when both teams came within inches of scoring. Campbell one-touched a serve that bounced off the post, and moments later Lisberger found a seam through two defenders and hit the left post.

"I thought it was going in but the goalie got a hand on it," said Lisberger, a key contributor in each of the Eagles' last three national championship runs.

With 30 seconds left in the second overtime and Kansas City ahead 2-1, Lauren Jackson (Kansas) found Haley Boysen on the wing and the USC sophomore blasted a shot from 25 yards out that hit the far post and bounced at a 45-degree angle into the net, sending the game to penalty kicks.

Kraft, Lindsay Bullock (Long Beach State) and Coco Goodson (UC Irvine) all converted shots with low, hard line drives, and when UCLA goalkeeper Chante Sandiford made her third diving save the Eagles thought they had won their fourth national title. However, the referee ruled that Sandiford had come off her line early and the Dynamos were given another opportunity.

When the second attempt sailed high the Eagles' celebration began.

"I feel so comfortable, absolutely at home in the goal, and I love the challenge of keeping the ball out of the net," said Sandiford, a rising senior who will start her third season for the Bruins in the fall. "All the girls on this team are just incredible soccer players, so I just have to do my part — keep the ball out of the net — and they'll take care of the rest."

When some of her UCLA teammates approached her to play club ball one last time this summer for the Camarillo-based club, Sandiford couldn't pass up the opportunity. 

"Their track record is unreal, everything is like clockwork with them," Sandiford said of joining the Eagles. "So it's been real easy for me to come in and be a part of something that's already so well run."

Lisberger played the entire 120 minutes. She had worked out in Austin for six weeks to prepare herself for the heat and humidity. She played all 90 minutes with the temperature 100 degrees in Friday's semifinal win over the Dallas D'Feeters.

"I was pretty tired but I felt like I still had some energy left in me," said Lisberger, who reports back to campus August 2 to begin training for her senior season with the Longhorns. "I'm just so proud of everyone. It took a lot of heart and determination to get to where we are now."

Under Thomas, the Eagles won two U.S. Youth Soccer national titles – the U14 crown in 2004 and the U17 crown in 2007. They are six-time Cal South state champions (2004, ‘07, ‘08, ‘09, ’10, ‘11) and two-time state finalists (2005, ‘06). A year ago they defeated Arizona Rush Nike in the U23 final to become only the second side in the 32-year history of women’s championships to win three U.S. national titles, matching the Rush of Littleton, Colorado, who won the U17, U18 and U19 crowns in 1999-01.

“It's amazing what these girls have accomplished, starting when they were just 13,” Thomas said. "Now, eight years later, they've won more national titles than any club soccer team in history. From the outset, they relished competing against the best players in the country and came to appreciate that to win at the highest level you must be very good individually and even better as a team."

Rounding out the Eagles' U23 roster are Charney Burk (UCLA), Judy Christopher (UC Irvine), Ally Courtnall (UCLA), Amelia Mathis (UCLA), Shannon McFadden (Washington State), Monique Pendleberry (UC Irvine) and Kelsea Smith (Pepperdine). Burk injured an ankle and couldn't play at Nationals while incoming freshman Courtnall was sick and also couldn't play.