FRISCO, Texas - The FC Dallas Girls 2006 ECNL RL defeated Slammers FC 4-3 to claim their second consecutive 2006 ECNL Regional League National Championship title.
Led by head coach Chris Ring, in his fourth and final year with the team, the team won three postseason games in Virginia to secure their second Regional League National Championship in two years.
During the regular season the team plays in the Texas ECNL Regional League, which includes teams that are both geographically close and in surrounding states such as South Texas and Oklahoma.
After competing in the Dallas Cup and making the semi-final, the girls were able to complete their regular season in the Regional League with a 1st place finish and a record of 24-1-1. This league requires the teams to play each other both home and away, which speaks to the high level of consistency and discipline shown by the team.
After their first-place regular season finish, the team went on to the Texas- ECNL Regional League Championship hosted in Plano, where they entered the single elimination tournament. The team was able to win three consecutive games including the final, a 2-1 win over Dallas Texans Girls 2006 ECNL RL.
With that win, the team qualified for the ECNL Regional League Post-Season in Virginia which included teams from every region. Similarly to the regional, the girls had to win three more games in order to become Regional League National Champions.
“After winning the national title last year, we found that this year's road to the championship was way tougher.” said head coach Chris Ring.
The team came through their first game scoring three goals, then were able to win a closer semifinal match to reach the final.
In a thrilling victory against California powerhouse Slammers FC, the team was able to come back from a 2-3 deficit to win the ECNL Regional League national Championship by a margin of 4-3.
“Slammers were another really good team. And you know, I thought we had control of the game but we actually ended up going behind. But we scored two goals in the second half to come back and win it, then you know from there it was just a matter of hanging on to the lead.” said Ring.
With the victory, FC Dallas Girls 2006 ECNL RL has won two consecutive ECNL Regional National titles under head coach Ring.
“A lot of the kids have been here since the beginning, and some were new as well, so, you know, it's just kind of a process. FC Dallas is always looking to add quality to our teams, and I've been lucky to be able to do that over the last few years with this group.”
As Ring went out on top in his final season with the team, they will now be led by Coach Gareth Evans hoping to bring them to similar heights.
