The Bloomington United Thunder U17 Premier team kicked off their 2010 season by winning the Championship at to the Las Vegas Mayor’s Cup Tournament, over President’s Day weekend. The Thunder started off the weekend facing a team from Albuquerque, the #8 ranked team in New Mexico, and came away with a 1-0 win. Sheridan Reiners scored the winning goal and Casey Dallavalle preserved the shutout.

Next up was the Salt Lake City Firebirds, the #10 ranked team in Utah and once again the Thunder prevailed 1-0. The defensive trio of Kayla Sprouse, Nicole Halstead and Lauren Zenk kept the Firebirds away from the net for the entire game, however goalkeeper Cydney Haaland was forced to make several solid saves to preserve the shutout.

Sunday brought the team’s final game in pool play, this time against River Forest Rapids, a team from suburban Chicago. The Thunder dominated play for the entire game and came away with a solid 4-0 win to finish pool play undefeated with three shutout wins. Dallavalle once again was in the nets for the shutout, with Brenna Murray, Jennifer Smith, Jenny Geil and Karissa Plissken putting in the goals.

The Thunder faced another team from the Chicago suburbs in the semi-finals and came away with a 3-1 win to advance to the final on President’s Day against Colorado Rush Pikes Peak Nike. The team scored early on a rebound goal by Jennifer Smith and Haaland kept Colorado off the board all game. Smith scored again late to make the final 2-0.

The Thunder was welcomed home by parents and fans at the airport. The Championship Cup which will be making the rounds to homes of team members. In addition to the great results, the Thunder enjoyed the 70-degree sunshine, swimming in the pool, perfect turf fields, nightly trips to the Las Vegas Strip and memories that will last forever.

Coach Jim Foerster says the team’s focus will now turn toward their April trip to the Just For Girls tournament in Des Moines and the Minnesota State Cup tournament in May