8/19/12: Stampede Take Silver at Super Clásico

The Stampede opened the Davis Legacy Super Clásico tournament Saturday morning with a solid 4-1 win over Elk Grove, with goals coming two each from Jordan Davis and Grace Barger.  Things turned ugly for the locals in Game 2, as the El Dorado Stars shut them out 6-0.  Despite the stomping, the Stampede emerged supercharged Sunday morning to crush Orangevale 11-1. Goals came from Jordan Davis (4), Lily Byrne (3), Barger (2), Alex Hanna (1) and Skye Schaffer (1).  Key assists came from Anne Ayotte (3), Sophie Karperos, Yasmeen Dmeiri and Byrne.  The two convincing wins put the locals in the tournament final Sunday afternoon, once again to face the dominant Stars.  This time, however, the Stampede showed tremendous toughness and heart.  Late in the first half, they drew first blood on a free kick as Lily Byrne received and buried Yasmeen Dmeiri's superb cross from far beyond the 18 on the opposite side of the field.  The second half witnessed even tougher play as the locals held off an ever advancing El Dorado offensive.  Incredible team defense kept the Stampede close all the way to the end.  Goal keeper McKenna Lutzer made countless saves while Karperos, Byrne, Dmeiri, Schaffer, Ayotte, Barger, Sydney Moore and Grace Carlson stymied their frustrated opponents again and again until the Stars finally broke through, eventually scoring three goals to win the tournament.