United started off by defeating the Va Rush Riptides 3-1. They continued their domination by shutting out the Va Classic blue 4-0. Third game was a tough loss against the premier level team, the ODSC Crunch 0-3. Finally, United fought to a tie vs FASA Unity Red 2-2. Thunder United finished as finalists. GO UNITED!!!! Thunder United is coached by Sam Haddad and Mauricio Vera.

The Thunder Strikers U-12 girls took lst place in the Premier Division of the Thunder Fall Bash tournament this past weekend. The girls started out the weekend with a 5-1 win over the U-12 Frederick Academy. Ellen Jefferson had a hat trick (3 goals) and Blair Bonner and Taylor Sullivan each contributed a goal to the game. On Saturday afternoon the Strikers battled to a 1-1 tie against the Greene Sea Turtles with a goal from Jefferson and notable defensive efforts from Heather Glasser, Emily Howell and goalkeeper Emily Wolf. On Sunday morning the girls beat the Olney Cyclones 2-0 with goals from Keri Rager and Sullivan. The Strikers met up again with the Frederick Academy for the final game and finished with a 1-0 victory from a Jefferson goal off a Rachel Cynor assist. Colleen Axenfeld, Eliza Harris and Kaelin Shaw exhibited strong efforts at midfield working hard to keep the ball at the Strikers end of the field throughout the tournament.

Thunder Extreme U/14 girls went all the way to the finals of the 2007 Bethesda Tournament on November 10-11th. The girls rallied to a tie after double - overtime in the finals, and were declared runners - up because of a unique corner-kick rule that Bethesda uses in their tournament. Overall the girls scored 7 goals and only gave up 2 over the course of the weekend. Mike Raffael, head coach, was very please with their level of play. "They really played the best I've ever seen them play and are playing very consistently. This year is the transition to high school for many of my players and they are very fatigued, but they brought it all to the field this weekend and played their hearts out, " he said.

Thunder Siafu U9 girls were finalists in the FC Frederick short sided shootout Columbus Day weekend. The girls played up into the U10 division and came in second overall. They won their first 2 games on Saturday 4-0 and 4-1. This put them into the championship game on Sunday. They ended up playing the same team 2 times the next day losing 3-2 in the final. Thunder Siafu is coached by Tony Fiaschetti and Greg Hall.

Team members are:
(Front row) Gwynn Marsh-Armstrong, Autumn Fiaschetti, Brianna Star, Emily McQuarrie,Clarice Taylor, Kinlee Brun (back row) Francesca Vanegas, Sofia Harrison, Victoria Hall, Yuliza Argueta, Kate Lastova

CONGRATULATIONS GIRLS ON A TOURNAMENT WELL PLAYED !
 

The Thunder Shockwave were U12 Girls Champions at the Whitewater Cup Classic in Wilkes-Barre, PA. The Shockwave outscored their opponents from PA and NY 10-0 in three matches on Sunday. Goals were scored by Keri Rager (3), Maia Williams (2), Blair Bonner, Rachel Fishman, Ellen Jefferson, Emily Howell, and Emily Wolf. Natalie Chin, Selena Chin and Christina Kochanski dominated the midfield. Megan Blodgett, Heather Glasser, Victoria LaFemina, and Kelly Shea were impenetrable on defense maintaining the teams shut-out status throughout the tournament. Parents thank you for your support and for a great day of white water rafting with the girls!!

Congratulations to TSC Fury U-13 boys for taking second place in the Calverton Columbus Day Tournament. After getting off to a great start with a 3-0 win, and a 2-1 win, they struggled a bit in the last two games with a 0-0 tie and a 3-1 loss in the finals. Fury showed true grit facing opponents with up to four guest players from premier teams. Fury came in with their original roster. We wish to thank those who assisted with the tournament and the support of the parents, as it was well run and enjoyed by all. Go Fury!

U11Boys Thunder United team came in 1st place in their bracket at the Frederick Columbus Day Small Sided Shootout. We were undefeated in 4 games and had only 2 goals scored on us the entire tournament.

Coaches are Peter Glaudemans and Thorsten Kappey. Team members are Jonathon Binkley, Grey Croyle, Brian Demek, Ian Kappey, Benjamin Glaudemans, Kyle Kroll, Matthew Nevin, Francisco Joseph, Hector Serra, Caleb Seyala, and William Sheets. The team plays in the BBSL
 

Thunder United U13 girls coached by Sam Haddad were finalists in the FPYC Patriot Cup Tournament Labor day weekend in Fairfax ,Virginia. United won their first match against the Laurel Crush 2-0. A tough 2nd match against FPYC Roadrunners ended 1-1. United then defeated VYS Phoenix Fury 6-0 in a third match to win first place in their bracket. In a tough championship game United lost to Vista BC United 4-2. United finished the tournament 2nd place out of eight teams and recieved finalist trophies!
 Great job United!
 

The Thunder Storm (U12 Girls), coached by Jeff Bradbury and Jim Pontius were finalists in the FPYC Patriot Cup Labor Day Tournament in Fairfax, VA. The team advanced to the finals by defeating the Backlick Road Apex,  the FPYC Strikers and the ATSC Spirit all by a 3 to 0 score. The team met and lost to the NVSC Majestic,  currently ranked as 5th in the State of Virginia and 19th in the country. The team’s MVP for the tournament was Katie Kunkle. Spectacular performances by all team members!

Members of the tournament team were: Morgan Altieri, Chloe Berman, Emily Bradford, Emma Bruzdzinski, Ally Huffman, Bailey Jones, Hannah Kohr, Katie Kunkle, Becca Pontius, Karli Smiraglia, Allie Tominovich and Andrea Wolf
 

The U-11 Girls Pride team were finalists in the August Cup tournament as the MD Soccer Plex. They clinched their bracket with 2 wins on Saturday (in the extreme heat) to advance to the championship match Sunday afternoon. They played a tough game against Braddock Road (BRYC). It was a very even game ending in a 0-0 tie at the end of regulation and the 1st overtime. BRYC managed to score on them in the 2nd overtime. The players were very excited to advance to the championship game (as you can see by their big smiles). It was a great way to start our Fall 2007 season.

Thunder Red U-14 boys, coached by Sokito Chan and Jeff Jacoby won the Challenge Division of this year's OBGC Capital Cup Premier Tournament.

Thunder boys came out strong in the first game to beat OBGC Galaxy 5-1. Though they lost their 2nd game to BSC United, they still advanced to the semi-finals to play SAC United, who they beat in penalty kicks. Thunder made a great showing in the final game to take the Championship, beating the DC Stoddard Rockets 5-0.

Leading the team in goals was Jeff Jacoby with six for the weekend, with contributions by Matthew Rados who scored two, and David Kaiser, Maxime Peters and Ryan Banta each scoring one.
Thunder Red is playing in the NCSL U14 division 4 this fall.

Members of the team include:
Ethan Adams, Ryan Bailey, Mark Banta, Cameron Britton, Matthew Curtis, Paul DelRiego, Patrick Eger, Austin Fitzsimmons, Joe Hiltz, Jeffrey Jacoby, David Kaiser, Colin McCleaf, Maxime Peters, Matthew Rados, Jared Vareen, Brennan Werner and Brandon Zurit

The Thunder Strikers Ul2 girls team competed in the August Cup Tournament in Boyds, Maryland August 25 & 26. The girls played in the Championship game on Sunday afternoon to finish in 2nd place out of 8 teams in the premier division. On Saturday, 8/25, the girls lst game was a 3-0 win against the Potomac Arsenal with goals from Colleen Axenfeld (off a Keri Rager corner kick), Selena Chin and Taylor Sullivan. The 2nd game on a very steamy Saturday afternoon ended in a 1-1 tie against Bethesda Freedom95 with a Ellen Jefferson goal (off of a Rachel Cynor assist). Kaelin Shaw had notable play in the game at sweeper and Emily Wolf shined at goalkeeper.
 

On Sunday morning the girls played MSC Xcel and won 2-1 with a goal from Natalie Chin and a great finish off of a penalty kick from Blair Bonner. The final championship game pitted the Strikers up against the Severna Park Kickers. The game ended in a 3-0 loss for the Strikers to put them in 2nd place finish for the tournament. Emily Wolf had an amazing save off of a Kickers corner kick. Heather Glasser had some great kicks on goal and Emily Howell showed some great defensive maneuvers. The Strikers finished the day with the award ceremony and finalist medals for the tournament.
 

Thunder United U13 girls coached by Sam Haddad and Jennifer Herdman won the Freedom First Tournament held August 18-19th in Sykesville, MD.

In the first match United tied the Westminster Lazers 1-1. The second match United defeated Freedom Glory 2-0. In the third match United triumphed over a very strong Bel Air Blaze Premier team 1-0. The championship game was a very hard fight as United defeated Bel Air Blaze Premier again 1-0 after two scoreless overtime periods, with the match settled in sudden death penalty kicks.

Members of the tournament team were: Caitlin Asher, Morgan Bouie,Sammy Creese,Shelby Gerlack,Jessica Hough,Maddy McCormick,Colleen McKenna,Kristen Olive,Jordan Nowaskey,Alex Raulin,Suzette Rutledge,Sydney Rutledge,Anna Schoonover,Kristen Volz,Katelyn Walter and Ashley Wilkinson.

CONGRATULATIONS THUNDER UNITED!!
 

The U8 TSC Red Devils, coached by Steve Keppler and Rich Northrup, won the U8 Championship in the Freedom First Soccer Tournament this weekend, August 17-19. The boys defeated the Crystal Palace team in the championship game by a score of 3-2. In what was truly a team effort, the Red Devils went 3-0-1 during the tournament and outscored their opponents 15-5, including 2 shutouts. Every member of the team either scored a goal or assisted on a goal during the tournament.

Members of the tournament team included: (back row) Ben Punsalan, Tucker Finkelston, Michael Moore, Luke Champion, and Maurice Bellan; (front row) Chase Webbert, Timmy Cortese, Nick Foster, Elliott Keppler, Cory Northrup, Alex Keppler, and Colin Chikhale.

The Thunder 93-94(TSC) U-13 Boys soccer team,coached by Sokito Chan and Ned Harris , traveled to Stirling, Scotland from August 1-7 2007 to participate in the 7th annual Loch Lomond Soccer Festival.TSC won the championship of the tournament by defeating their European opponents by scoring 21 goals and allowing only 2 goals.In the first match, TSC beat Alloa Albion of Scotland 3-0.TSC won the second match by the identical score and defeated  Denton Phoenix of England. The third match resulted in TSC defeating The Celtic Boys of Scotland by a score of 5-2. In the championship game, TSC overwhelmed BFC Linlithgow Athletic of Scotland by a score of 10-0.

The Thunder Strikers, coached by Shaun Fleming and Jeff Taylor, won the U9 Boys Classic division championship in the Freedom First Soccer Tournament that was held on August 18-19, in Sykesville, MD. The Thunder Strikers went undefeated through out the tournament, outscoring their opponents 13-1.

Members of the tournament team (top row) Noel Getachew, Phillip Sanchez,Andrew Geiger, Gregory Torcaso, Gabriel Green, Noah Taylor, Jack Toohey,Ryan Simmons, (bottom row) Charlie Menton, Jack Parr, Patrick Fleming, and Griffin O'Neill.

The U10 Girls Red Storm Team coached by Miguel Garcia and Luz Aye won the Freedom First Invitational Tournament this weekend, August 18th & 19th . They defeated the FPYC Cannonieri from Fairfax VA in the Championship Match. The winning goal was scored by Genna Brown and assisted by Karen Aye.

The unstoppable defense lead by Catelyn Gamble who stopped one penalty kick and numerous shots only allowed one goal the entire tournament. Offensively they scored 16 goals in this tournament. Goals were scored by Fern Peters, Genna Brown, Zakiya Muhammad, Lexie Hayward, Catelyn Gamble, Kate Maguire, and Karen Aye.

Members of the Red Storm team are: Karen Aye, Charlotte Bickhart, Genna Brown, Catelyn Gamble, Arianna Green, Lexie Hayward, Kate Maguire, Zakiya Muhammad, Zoe Pekins, Fern Peters and Samantha Price. Kudos to the players for such an outstanding performance.
 

The U14 Boys TSC Juventus Team coached by Stefan Draganov won the Hagerstown Mason Dixon Cup this weekend, June 9th & 10th.

They defeated the Calverton Spartans in the Championship Match. Goals were scored by Cristian Vallarroel and Jay Richardson.
Throughout the Tournament 15 goals were scored by players Pablo Fuentes, Evan Heim, Jay Richardson, Matt Rozier, Cristian Villarroel, and Sean Wassel.

Members of the Tournament Team include: Josh Gugel, Evan Heim, Sean Wassel, Jay Richardson, Nick Springmann, Alex Wolf, Pablo Fuentes, Ethan Tompkins, Ben Haman, Cristian Villarroel, Matt, Rozier, Harry Jessell, Connor Pickett, Chris Heckle and Garrett Smith.

The Thunder Strikers U-11 Girls, coached by Kevin Axenfeld, finished in first place in the spring 2007 season of the Baltimore Beltway Soccer League. The Strikers completed the spring season with a 6-0-1 record. They scored thirty goals over the course of the year while only surrendering one goal in their seven matches. The Strikers were also the Chesapeake Cup Soccer Tournament champions in April 2007.

Mike Raffael
Named New Head Coach

Thunder Soccer Club is proud to announce affiliation with the Maryland Pride, a semi-professional women’s team that plays in the highly-competitive Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL).  Our new coach for the 2007 season, Mike Raffael, comes to the Pride, bringing multiple national coaching licenses, including a United States Soccer Federation (USSF) “B” Coaching License, a USSF National Youth Coaching License and National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National and Advanced National Goalkeeping Certifications. Mike has international experience as a player and an extensive background in coaching, including his current coaching positions --- the Thunder Girls’ U-13 Extreme and the Thunder Girls’ U-12 Magic, both upper-division teams that play in the Washington Area Girls Soccer (WAGS) League.
 

College-level players come to the Pride, representing colleges such as the University of Maryland, Clemson University, George Mason University, Monmouth University, and many more. The combined experience of the players and coaches is sure to be a winning combination.