PHOENIX (Saturday, July 25, 1998) -- Lauren DeLuca's goal with 15 minutes left gave the Weston (Conn.) Wild Thing a 3-2 decision over Tulsa SC ’82 for the Patricia L. Masotto Cup for under-16 girls at the United States Youth Soccer National Championships at the Rose Mofford Sports Complex today.

DeLuca blasted a shot from the top of the penalty area over Tulsa goalkeeper Jana Cunningham for the game-winner. Her goal came one minute after Tulsa had tied the score 2-2 on Ashley Van Meter's goal with an assist from Jenney Graham.

Tulsa took a 1-0 lead on Kimberly Graves' solo effort in the 17th minute. Caite Terranova tied the score 1-1 six minutes before halftime for Weston, the Region I champion, before halftime.

The Wild Thing went in front 2-1 in the 45th minute when Heather Kasparek beat two Tulsa defenders and converted a 10-yard shot from an extreme angle near the left post.

The championship is the second consecutive for Weston coach Rudy Meredith, who also serves as the women's head coach at Yale. Meredith guided the Ridgefield Yankee United Nova to the under-19 girls national title in 1997.

One of his Yale players, Megan MacLeod, played a key role for the West Coast Shamrocks in their under-19 title win tonight.

Gary Davidson is managing editor of SoccerTimes and can be e-mailed at info@soccertimes.com.