KENDALL SC TEAMS PREP FOR REGULAR SEASON AT THE WEST PINES KICKOFF CLASSIC
Club Places Two Finalists and Three Semifinalists in Pre-Season Tournament

Marcelo Valdivia’s U12G team scored three consecutive victories in convincing fashion over Miramar Strikers (4-0), Plantation Predator (5-0) and Tropical Lightning (3-1) before falling to West Pines United Gold 1-3 in a hard fought final match.

Meanwhile, Arthur Paterson’s U10G team barely missed making the final after finishing the first round undefeated with wins against Weston Fury (2-1) and Cooper City (1-0), and a 2-2 tie versus Pinecrest Soccer Chicks. They went on to win the battle for third place by a tight 1-0 margin over Pinecrest Blue Thunder. The girls showed great perseverance winning three games by the minimum margin and finishing without a loss in their first tournament ever.

On the boys side, the U15B Blue had a very good run in the Premier group until they ran into West Pines Black in the final, losing 0-6 in a game that just got away from them. But the loss did not dampen their spirits after having defeated Miramar Strikers 2-0 and Cutler Ridge 4-0 and tied 2-2 against South Florida Elite, the team that leads the U15 Early Season Division 1 group.

The U14B White also narrowly missed reaching the Premier final and completed the tournament without a loss after winning the third place game in penalty kicks against Orlando’s IUS. In the preliminary round, after tying West Pines Black 1-1 and defeating South Florida Elite 2-0, they couldn’t pull off a victory against Miami Springs and settled for a 0-0 tie and a pot in the semifinal round.

The other semifinalists were the U9B White who faced some ups and downs in their first competitive tournament, but emerged with good confidence as they start their first SFUYSA regular season. The boys got off to a slow start on the first day with a 1-2 loss against a team that promises to be their rivals in years to come, West Pines United Black, which just finished tied for first place in the Tri-County League early season. The following game they rebounded well with a resounding 6-1 victory over the Weston Fury Nike. On Sunday, the boys overcame a resilient Pinecrest Premier with a 4-3 win to finish second in the group stage. On the final game, a tough battle with the Miramar Strikers, the other first-place finisher in the Tri-County League, ended in a 4-1 defeat. Overall, the boys should be proud of their effort and the potential for a good season is in clear view.

For the U10B White team, who played in the Premier group, their 1-2-1 tournament record bellies some solid performances against tough competition. After two loses against South Florida Elite (0-3) and CTC Bandits (1-2) and a 1-1 tie versus West Pines Black they bounced back to finish on a high note with a 3-2 victory over Doral Milan in their last game.

Their comrades on the U10B Blue team had a solid showing in the Classic Division, posting two wins and a tie with only one loss. The victories came against Miami Beach (4-1) and Ft. Lauderdale Select (5-2) while they tied Tropical Lightning 2-2 and lost to Miramar Strikers Blue (0-6).

In the U13B age group the U13B White, who lost several key team members over the summer, faced a tough going early on in the Premier Division, but showed improved play over the weekend and hope to use the tournament as a building block for the upcoming season. After consecutive loses to South Florida Elite (0-5) and Plantation Copa (0-3), they notched their first victory against West Pines Black (3-0) and lost a close match to Miami Lakes 1-2.

The U13B Blue, which features a strong contingent of true U12 players, suffered only one loss playing in the Classic group, and that was against one the top U12 teams in the state, Weston Fury, that was also playing up.  In their three other matches Julio Perdomo’s squad netted wins against Parkland Predators (4-2) and Doral Milan (5-1) and a 2-2 tie versus Davie United.

The other teams in the tournament were the U12B White, who finished 0-2-2 in the Premier group with ties against Miramar Strikers Gold and Doral Milan and losses versus West Pines Black and South Florida Elite; and the U11B Blue, who tested the waters playing in the Premier group even though they will be playing in Division 2 in the regular season. Although they finished with three losses versus Plantation Copa, South Florida Elite, and Miami Lakes, and one tie against West Pines Black, the boys should feel good about their chances going into the season given that all the teams they faced were Division 1 teams and they did not lose a game by more than two goals.