McLean U17 Team Clinches a Perfect Regular Season and Finishes Second Overall in the ECNL

McLean, VA (June 3, 2014) - McLean’s U17 ECNL team wrapped up a perfect regular season on June 1, going 16-0-0 in 2013-14 Mid-Atlantic Conference play against 11 different opponents. In those 16 games, McLean scored 59 goals and let in just four – posting a goals for average of 3.69 and a goals against average of 0.25, the best defensive record in regular season play for the ECNL's entire 76-team U17 age group. Twelve (75%) of McLean's conference victories were shutouts.

“I'm very proud of the girls for what they accomplished this year,” said Head Coach Nadir Moumen. “A perfect conference record can be attributed to the hard work and depth of this great group of girls. I don't think they realize how hard it is to go perfect in such a good league like the ECNL. I wouldn't be surprised if it never happens again.”

McLean Force ECNL ‘96 have now been champions of the League’s Mid-Atlantic Conference for two years in a row and finished the 2013-14 season in second place overall in the League. The team will travel to Seattle, WA, June 26-29 to compete in the ECNL National Playoffs for a chance to advance to the Finals and a potential shot at the national title in mid-July.

No other Mid-Atlantic Conference team in either the Chesapeake or Ohio Valley Divisions came close to McLean's 48 points and 3.0 points per game (PPG) average. The next best performers were Ohio Elite SA with 36 points and 2.25 PPG and Carmel United with 33 points and 2.06 PPG. On May 31 and June 1 in its final two conference games, the squad outscored opponents 17-0, with ten different players scoring at least one goal.
In a remarkable statistic that underscores the team’s emphasis on combination play, 86% of players on the roster (25 out of 29) racked up at least one goal or assist during the course of the 2013-14 season. The top three scorers were Jarena Harmon (15 goals, 4 assists in 23 games), Mia Hoen-Beck (10 goals, 4 assists in 18 games) and Rebecca Callison (9 goals, 6 assists in 17 games). Harmon ended the season as one of the top 20 scorers in the entire ECNL for the U17 age group and, as of June 5, the team was ranked fourth in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer.

Twenty players on the talented team’s roster have verbally committed to play collegiate soccer for the following Division I programs as of June 1, 2014 (with more players set to commit in the coming months): American University – Audrey Denkler (M) ‘15; Boston College– Madeline McCracken (M) ‘15, Amber Stearns (M) ‘15; Clemson – Lauren Harkes (M) ‘15; Duke – Mia-Irene Gyau (D) ‘16; Florida – Sara Wilson (D/F) ‘15; George Mason –Jenna Hamilton (M) ‘14; Harvard – Hannah Natanson (D) ‘15; Kentucky– Becca Callison (M/F) ‘15, Kaitlyn Forsht (M) ‘15, Katelyn Jensen (GK) ‘15; Lipscomb– Elise Andrich (D) ‘15; Stanford – Mia Hoen-Beck (F) ‘15; Tennessee– Gracie DeGooyer (D/F) ‘14; Virginia – Lorato Sargeant (M) ‘15; Virginia Commonwealth – Stephanie Stahl (M) ‘15, Sidney Tison (M/D) ‘15; Virginia Tech – Alia Abu Hawa (D) ‘15, Kristina Diana (M) ‘15, Caroline Kerns (F)‘15