January 4, 2009 - It is not often that Kendall Soccer Coalition is mentioned in the same sentence as the Dallas Texans, the country’s #1 ranked youth soccer club, but this week Soccer America magazine noted that both clubs were the only programs to place five teams each in the boy’s championship games at Disney’s Soccer Showcase, the top college showcase tournament in the United States. Every Kendall SC team in the boys tournament reached a Finals match and three produced championship trophies – a number the Texans could only match. In all, Kendall SC boys teams had a combined record of 14 wins, 3 losses and 3 ties.
Meanwhile, the U16G White team was the only squad from the club that competed in the top Showcase level. Although they did not advance out of their group, they showed great mettle in battling some of the top girls teams in the country. They lost a hard-fought 0-1 match to California North finalists, Santa Rosa United, and spent their all in a 1-1 tie versus Region 1 finalist Spirit United SC, before dropping their final match 0-3 to Georgia finalists, Concorde Fire Elite.
| Of special note on the boys side was the U16B White winning a third consecutive title at the prestigious tournament and doing so with four straight victories in the Predator White group – the fourth most competitive in the U16 category. Coach Alex Cifuentes’ team allowed only two goals in securing wins over the Tennessee state champions and 43rd ranked nationally Knoxville FC Crush (5-1), Ohio South semifinalists Cincinnati United Premier (2-1) and Virginia semifinalists Arlington Venom (1-0), and then controlled play in the Final against Vermont state champion Synergy FC to achieve a 1-0 victory. With the win the U16B White are now ranked first in the state of Florida by GotSoccer.com, 6th in region 3 and 24th in the country. |
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Kendall SC U16B White - Predator White Champions
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Miami FC Kendall 90 Academy - U19 Copa White Champions
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The Miami FC Kendall 90 Academy team, which is the only U18 team from Miami playing in the US Soccer Development Academy program, earned the title in the U19 Copa White category with a 2-1 overtime victory in the Final over Texas Futbol Club. In the preliminary round the team coached by former Honduran national team captain Luis Calix, had a 2-0-1 record, including 2-0 wins over North Carolina state finalists, CASL Elite, and Canada’s Team CTSA, and a tie versus New York’s state Champion, Albertson Academy 90.
The third championship was won by a combined squad of the U18B White and the U17B White guided by Luis Hernandez in the U19 Copa Blue category. They defeated Canada’s Ottawa South United 3-2 in the Final, boosting the U18B White team’s ranking to #41 in the
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country. Their preliminary round victories included a 2-0 win over Ohio South champions, Worthington Crew Juniors Gold, a 1-0 decision against New Jersey semifinalists, TSF Academy and a 1-1 tie versus New York’s Blackwatch Dundee. The U18 White team also included several developmental roster players from the Miami FC Kendall 90 team.The Miami FC Kendall 92 Academy team competing in the U17 Copa Blue group and Kendall SC’s U15B White in the U15 Predator Blue group completed the finals sweep for the club, although they fell short of their goal of winning championships.
Miami FC Kendall’s 92 Academy team, which also plays in the US Soccer Development Academy, reached the Final in the U17 Copa Blue category after defeating Mississippi’s state champion, Jackson FC, by a score of 5-2 and Ohio North’s #4 team, Cleveland United, by a 1-0 margin and tying Rhode Island’s state champion, Bayside United, but lost 0-2 in the deciding game against Tennessee’s state champion, FC Alliance.
The U15B White team, who are defending Florida state champions, lost the Predator Blue Final 0-2 to Texas Fire 94. In the preliminary round they scored a 1-0 win against Virginia’s #2-ranked team, Annandale United and a 5-1 victory over North Carolina’s #4 team, CASL Elite.
