Botetourt Star U17 Girls. Pictured in top row from left are Rebekah Broughton, Breanna Anderson, Kyra Dollar, Sarah Dollar, Cassie Synder, Emily McCaul, Brandi Anderson, Ruthie Clay, Coach Ronnie Clay, and Anne Barkett. In the bottom row from left are Olivia Pendergrass, Rachel Noel, Lilly Smith, Sarah Synder, Jordan Epperly(Guest Player), Ameila (AJ) Clay and Sarah Sizer. Photo courtesy of Martin Smith

The Botetourt Star U17 Girls and U18 Boys won their brackets of the PYSL Showcase event Nov. 3-4, in Martinsville. The event hosted by Piedmont Youth Soccer League was attended by college coaches from Averett University, Bethany College, Emory & Henry, Ferrum College, Greensboro, Iowa Western, North Carolina Wesleyan and Patrick Henry, to name a few.

The Botetourt teams were out to impress and did their chances no harm as they both made the championship games in their respective brackets. The U17 girls drew twice on Saturday before two wins on Sunday were enough for them to win the event. On Saturday, they drew 1-1 versus Augusta in their first game, before repeating this scoreline against FSCI Phoenix Orange. On Sunday, a 1-0 win over Churchland Soccer Club booked their place in the final against Augusta, who they tied earlier on Saturday. This time the girls pulled off an excellent victory as they overcame their opponents 4-3 in a thriller.

The U18 Boys got off to a great start as they won 4-0 versus PYSL in the opening match before winning their second game of the day, 2-0 versus PSCI Phoenix Orange. On Sunday, the boys won their third game of the weekend, 2-0 against WBSC Bruins before taking on Danville in the final. This proved to be a tighter affair, and after the game finished in a tie, Botetourt held their nerve to win the penalty shootout.

– Submitted by Martin Smith, Roanoke Star Soccer Club