By Gary Curreri
Sun Sentinel Correspondent
Jan 21, 2022 1:04 PM
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The Team Boca SABR 2013-14 (birth year) girls’ soccer won the 15th annual Wellington Wave Soccer Shootout with a 4-1 win over the Boynton Beach Knights in the Under-9 title game. They are, from left, Fallon Weston, Arabell Benson, Whitney Brawner, Tessa Rosenthal, Mia Taylor, Haley Ragno, Harli Brown, Julie Garrett and Adriana Diaz with coach Cristina Taylor. (Cristina Taylor/Courtesy)
Team Boca SABR girls’ soccer coach Cristina Taylor said she always believed in her 2013 team, so winning the 15th annual Wellington Wave Soccer Shootout was something she felt they were trending to.
The team, composed of girls born in 2013 and 2014, cruised to the Under-9 title by winning its three bracket games by a combined 12-0 and then topping the Boynton Beach Knights 4-1 in the title game.
Fallon Weston and Mia Taylor each scored in the first half to give Team Boca a 2-0 halftime cushion. After Boynton Beach was able to cut the lead in half with a free-kick with just five minutes remaining, Weston scored twice more goals to ice the game at 4-1 and give the squad its first tournament win. Goalkeepers were Whitney Brawner, Arabell Benson and Julie Garrett.
“I am so proud of the girls for their first tournament win,” said Taylor, whose team has reached three consecutive finals, finishing runner-up in the Coral Springs Holiday Cup and the Plantation Thanksgiving Classic. “They work extremely hard at practice each and every week so for them to come out on top is well deserved.
“This win was a true team effort,” Taylor said. “Throughout the tournament, the goals came from multiple different players. Seven out of the nine girls scored at least one goal and eight of the nine girls played goalkeeper. Leading up to the tournament, the girls were focused and excited. I knew that if they played smart soccer we had a great chance at winning.”
