Vulcan Cup
What a beautiful weekend for soccer. 72 degrees and sunny on perfect fields. The first game found us matched up against the
Tennessee state champs, Brentwood Soccer Club Premier. It took awhile for the game to settle down as it was the first time outside in over 4 months. Eventually the game calmed down and we controlled much of the possession. Mitch hit a bullet from 30 yards out to take us to half 1-0. The 2nd half was much of the same and we were unable to make it 2-0 after a very nice save on a PK. The game ended 1-0 for a much deserved victory. The 2nd game found us matched up against AFC Lightning Premier. AFC is one of the top teams in Georgia and Region 3. This was just a tremendous game as both teams moved the ball well. The first half ended 0-0 as both teams struggled to get high quality scoring chances. The best chance came from a long strike by Sammy that looked to be heading upper 90, but the AFC keeper made a tremendous save. The 2nd half opened up a little more and again the AFC keeper controlled any shot or ball served in the box.
Trent was called upon to make a great save at the 15 minute mark after a scramble in the box. This seemed to energize the team and more pressure was applied to AFC’s goal. Finally, we got the goal we were looking for as
Austin scored from a tight angle after 2 great saves by the keeper….1-0 Juventus. The last 5 minutes found AFC throwing numbers forward and applying pressure, but the boys did well to close out the game and earn the 1-0 victory. Very impressive performance by both teams. The 3rd game found us matched up against the
Mississippi state champs, Gulf Coast United FC. We just needed a tie to make the finals due to the point system being used. The first 10 to 15 minutes was a clinic in possession and it looked to be just a matter of time before a goal was scored. GCUFC then increased their work rate and started playing a more direct and physical game and this caused some problems. GCUFC was able to send a ball deep into our end and just like that it was 1-0 GCUFC on a nice cross and goal on the counter. The game went to half 1-0. We moved numbers forward and dominated play for the first 20 minutes of the 2nd half. In this time, we found a way to miss a PK, have a goal called back, miss two point blank shots; several free kicks outside the 18….and just could not get the final touch into the back of the net. With 5 minutes left the wheels fell off as GCUFC countered for a nice 2nd goal as we got caught numbers down at the back. Minutes later, the same thing happened as we pressed forward and found ourselves down 3-0. That’s where the game ended in a disappointing loss where we just couldn’t get the one goal to get us going. Congrats to GCUFC who found a way to get it done and advance to the finals due to points after losing their first game of the tournament to AFC. The weather, beautiful fields, and impressive competition made this a great experience.
Champions - Nike Challenge Cup
The boys repeated as champions in the always competitive Nike Challenge Cup. We started out with FC Evansville and cruised to a 3-0 win. The 2nd game of group play was a match-up with Ann Arbor Arsenal Premier and the boys played very well in a 4-2 victory to win the division. The semifinal found us matched up with Pacesetter Premier. The boys dominated possession the entire 70 minutes. Unfortunately, we gave the ball away on a quick re-start and a Pacesetter player made a great individual run to score a very nice goal for a 1-0 Pacesetter lead. The boys did not panic and scored the equalizer right before halftime to make it 1-1. The 2nd half was much of the same and Mitch was able to finally break the tie on a long 35 yard strike with the keeper off his line. That’s the way the game ended for a much deserved 2-1 victory. The finals found us matched up with one of the top teams from the south, Concorde Fire Elite. It took the boys the first 10 minutes to adjust to the impressive speed of Concorde. Unfortunately, in those 10 minutes we gave up a PK on a counter attack to go down 1-0. After a couple of adjustments, the boys carried the game for the next 20 minutes and Andrew and Jordan scored 2 nice goals to take a 2-1 halftime lead. The last 20 minutes found us sitting back in a defensive formation to try and kill the game as both teams were very tired. The boys turned away Concorde several times and we were unlucky to not score on 2 breakaways in the final 10 minutes. The game finished 2-1 for the victory over a very talented Concorde team. Justin, Lucky,
Tyler, Jordan, Drew, and Daniel did a great job at the back containing a couple of very athletic forwards.
Ohio South State Cup
The tournament started off with a district play-in game against Hilliard FC. The boys cruised to a 3-0 victory. The round of 16 found us matched up with NWC Alliance where the game was played in a rain storm. The boys jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first 15 minutes and went to half up 5-0. That was the final score as we were able to rest a number of players in the 2nd half. The quarterfinals found us matched up with Metro Rapids out of
Dayton . The game appeared to have a positive start as Naoto earned a penalty in the first 5 minutes of the game. The PK hit the post and the game remained 0-0. Despite having the ball in the opponents attacking 3rd most of the half, the game was 0-0 after 35 minutes. The 2nd half was much of the same as we kept getting forward and attacking. We just could not get the ball in the back of the net. Disaster struck with 9 minutes left in the game. A Metro player received the ball wide on a counter and played a beautiful ball that beat a back side defender. The opposite forward ran onto the ball and hit a dribbler that found the corner to give Metro the 1-0 lead. The boys responded beautifully and tied the game within 3 minutes of giving up the goal. The boys were not done there and
Logan was able to slide a ball past the keeper to make the game 2-1 with 2 minutes remaining. From there, the boys were able to keep the ball and close out the game for an exciting come from behind victory. I would like to recognize Metro and how incredibly hard they played. We kept attacking and attacking and they never backed down and kept fighting the entire game. The semifinal found us matched up with Olentangy Classics FC. Olentangy came out very prepared and very determined. While Juventus had more scoring chances, Classics was clearly the team with more energy. The 2nd half almost ended with Juventus up 1-0 as Ryan broke in behind, but the Classics keeper made a tremendous save by covering the angle. The game went to half 0-0. The 2nd half found Classics the aggressor in the first 7 minutes.
Trent was called upon to make a reflex save as a Classics forward penetrated deep into the box. The save hit the post and we were able to clear the ball after a scramble in the box. The save seemed to energize the boys and the play picked up. After a number of opportunities, Mitch was finally able to break the tie by hitting an absolute rocket from 20 yards out. A short time later,
Austin was able to beat 2 defenders and slotted a ball inside the near post that hit off a Classics player to make it 2-0. The boys were able to possess the ball the remainder of the game and earned a hard fought 2-0 victory and chance at a 3rd state championship. The finals found us matched up with Worthington United who was making their first appearance in the finals.
Worthington came out very inspired and before the game could find any sort of rhythm, Juventus found themselves down 1-0. In what became the trend in the first 15 minutes, the ref gave
Worthington a free kick from 35 yards out. We were unable to clear and a player from
Worthington was able to get to a loose ball in the box to make it 1-0 just 3 minutes into the game.
Worthington kept up the pressure and nearly made it 2-0 after another loose ball in the box went just wide.
Worthington ’s size and aggressive play was causing problems. We switched tactics to try and speed the game up and wake up the boys and this seemed to work. The game started going end to end and we were able to create a number of opportunities off corners and set pieces. As was the case most of the day, our final touch was just off. The 2nd half found
Worthington keeping 8 guys behind the ball most of the half and smartly picking times to counter. Juventus was able to put a lot of pressure on Worthington’s goal, but
Worthington ’s big sweeper and GK were up for the challenge. The GK made 3 tremendous saves. The first came off a 20 yard strike by Mitch. The keeper got to the ball and deflected it wide where Andrew was waiting. Andrew went to slot the ball to tie the game, but the keeper made his 2nd great athletic play to keep his team up 1-0. A short time later, Naoto broke free to the inside and hit another great shot that looked to have the keeper beat on the near post. The keeper stretched out and made another finger tip save. Worthington was able to break in behind on a break away with 8 minutes left, but Drew and Justin made 2 incredible plays to keep the game 1-0 on what looked to be an open net goal. The final 10 minutes found
Worthington sitting in with 8 or 9 guys behind the ball and they did a great job killing the game. The final whistle blew and
Worthington was able to celebrate their first state cup championship. It was a well deserved victory as they were just too big and too aggressive. Good luck at Regionals.
Warrior Cup
We took the opportunity to split up the U13 age group for Warrior Cup. As a result, Juventus was made up of 10 players from Sparta, 7 players from Juventus, and 1 guest player from
Texas . Sparta was made up of 10 players from Juventus and 7 players from
Sparta . Juventus received bad news before the tournament even started as Tyler was out at GK due to illness, so it was goalie by committee for the weekend. Juventus started out with Brighton Express from
Michigan . The cohesion of new players was not there in this game and as a result the game ended 0-0.
Sparta started out with Warren Country United.
Sparta knocked the ball around very well and controlled most of the match, but WC was opportunistic on their goal scoring chances and sneaked away with a 3-2 win. The 2nd game found Juventus matched up with Sycamore Arsenal Premier. The cohesion was much better in this match and Juventus controlled most of the match, but could not score despite numerous opportunities. It was still a very positive showing for the group.
Sparta played SCSA Raiders and was dominant in a 6-0 victory. Sunday morning found Juventus matched up with Sycamore Hauter. Juventus needed a 3-0 victory to guarantee advancement. The boys went out and dominated the game and earned the 3-0 result.
Sparta was matched up with Metro FC Rapids in their 3rd game and needed a victory to advance. John Michael started off the scoring with a brilliant strike from 20 yards out. Metro scored a goal in the 2nd half to make it 1-1.
Logan put the game away deep in the 2nd half to secure the 2-1 victory. Both teams won their division and advanced to the semifinal.
Sparta was first up and played Sycamore Arsenal Premier. This was an odd game from a referee standpoint, but was still exciting to watch. Logan started off the scoring with a PK to give
Sparta the 1-0 victory. Sycamore quickly responded with a goal from a free kick just outside the 18 yard box to make it 1-1. In the 2nd half Sycamore scored a goal off a mishit to make it 2-1 with 10 minutes to play.
Sparta put a lot of pressure on Sycamore’s goal the last 10 minutes and was rewarded with another PK as a Syacmore player slapped the ball out of the goal in what looked to be the equalizer. The ref issued a red card and pointed to the spot for a PK.
Bryan stepped up and slipped the ball into the upper left corner to send the game into OT. In the first OT, Sycamore was given a PK to take the game to 3-2. Mitch hit a free kick just wide in the 2nd OT and
Sparta was unable to get another goal as the game ended 3-2. 4 of the 5 goals came off handball situations……in what was a very odd game. It was still a very exciting match and both teams played at a very high level. The 2nd semifinal found Juventus matched up with a VERY BIG and very direct Center Grove Inferno team. The first 15 to 20 minutes found Juventus controlling the match. Juventus was able to get on the board first with a nice free kick from Alec. Center Grove was able to tie the game before half after a very long kick by the GK was not handled by the defense and a loose ball in the box resulted in a goal. The 2nd half found Juventus slow down with limited subs as the heat took its toll. Center Grove was able to break down the defense and score to take a 2-1 lead. That’s how the game ended. We were able to mix up the age group, get 8 quality games in, advance both teams, witness great camaraderie within the age group, get face time on the local FOX TV station, and finally enjoy a Memorial Day at home with our families. The weekend was a great success!
