March 25, 2008 – Nine out of eleven Kendall Soccer Coalition teams advanced past the first round of the FYSA State Cup this past weekend in competitions held throughout the state. Kendall SC teams tallied an impressive record of 19 wins 7 ties and only 4 losses. On the boys side 7 of 8 teams advanced with the U13B White, U15B White, U16B White, U16B Blue, and U17B Blue all advancing directly to the Round of 16, while the U14B White and U17B White qualified for the second round of play. The two girls teams that advanced, the U13G White and U16G White, did so directly into the Round of 16. Click below to read more about the U13 girls’ valiant effort playing shorthanded the entire weekend.
The U13B White won its two games versus Lakeland FC (2-0) and Greater Arlington SC (3-1) to finish in first place and move on to a Round of 16 match-up against a strong Clearwater Chargers team.
The U14B White faced the toughest first round draw of any of the Kendall SC teams and emerged out of its first two games with critical ties against last year’s final four team Weston Premier (1-1) and elite eight team New Tampa Comets (1-1). A 2-0 victory over Leg A-Z Caimans in the last game sealed a second place finish and a chance to qualify for the Round of 16 in the second round of play. They will be grouped with Brandon Flames and Sunrise SC, with two of the three teams moving on to the next round.
The U15B White kicked off the defense of their state championship without allowing a goal in two wins over Gainesville SC (3-0) and HC United Red (5-0).
Both U16 boys teams finished first in their respective groups and advanced to the Round of 16. The U16B White handled its opposition scoring three victories over Central Brevard (4-0), Clearwater Chargers (2-1), and First Hernando (4-0); while the U16B Blue tied First Coast Kyx 1-1, but won the goal differential tie-breaker with a 3-0 shutout of Largo United SC.
The U17B Blue advanced directly to the Round of 16 posting wins against Gainesville Gunners (4-1) and Valrico SC (2-1) after tying Everton FC 2-2. The U17B White looked to have first place assured, but a late goal by IMG Academy while Kendall SC was playing two men down forced a 2-2 tie in what would have been the deciding win. The U17 White tied group winner Pensacola FC 1-1 and defeated Rockledge SC 4-0 to total 5 points.
The U18B White got off to a rocky start, losing 0-2 to both Clay County SC and Strictly Soccer, but closed on a positive note with a 1-0 victory over Wellington SC.
The U16G White are hopeful of surpassing last year’s run that took them to the Elite Eight. They got off to a slow start in a 1-0 win over Manatee Magic, but then hit their stride in victories over HC United Black (3-1) and CFU Real (5-0).
The U14G put up a valiant stand winning their first game 3-0 against Stetson, followed by a thrilling 2-1 come-from-behind victory against Lakeland SC, but fell in their last match 1-3 against Brandon, a 2008 Elite Eight team.
U13 Girls
The U13G White were making their first appearance in the Florida State Cup, and doing so with only 10 players because of injuries to four team members. But one thing this team is familiar with is playing shorthanded, having played only 4 of 15 Florida State League games with eleven players on the field. They even played games against Pinecrest SC and Jupiter Sting with eight players and finished among the top ten in points in a league of 24 teams.
So when team manager, Maribel Diaz, went to check in for State Cup on Saturday morning, she was not surprised when there was some chuckles from the FYSA officials when 4 names were crossed off on the roster of 14 and they asked “you guys are only playing with 10”? Maribel smiled and said “yes”, then thought to herself, you guys don’t know these girls.
The night before, the team met and talked about the need to advance into the round of 16 and bypass the 2nd round in order to give their teammates more time to heal their injuries and make the team stronger. Several clichés were used, but the one that everyone kept in mind was “The measure of who we are, is what we do with what we have,” once spoken by Vince Lombardi.
It took a nail-biting finish in their last match, but the girls were able to do just enough to finish second in the group and advance directly to the Round of 16.
The competition started with a disheartening 1-2 loss to Parkland Predators. Midway into the 1st half, Natalie Diaz sent an early cross around the center circle behind the Parkland defense and Jade Hayes-Diaz beat the keeper to put Kendall SC ahead. But less than 5 minutes into the second half, a Parkland player struck a rebounded shot into the back of the net from the top of the penalty area. With less than 5 minutes left in the game, Parkland crossed a ball from left to right around 6 yards out, the ball skidded past the defense on the wet field and a Parkland player buried the game winner.
The second game on Saturday brought a breath of fresh air to the Kendall SC girls. A 3-1 come-from-behind win against Indian River Vipers left no doubt that they were back in the competition. The Vipers scored first on a defensive communications mix up in front of the goal box. Kendall midfielder Hansine Vexlund received a cross from right to left inside the penalty box and finished a nice volley to the second post to tie the score at 1-1 before the end of the 1st half. Less than 5 minutes into the 2nd half, in what would turn out to be the best play of the weekend, Defender Monique Pedroza tackled a ball and made an outlet pass to left back Carla Leon to start the counterattack. Carla completed a wall pass with McKenzie Van Heusen, who executed another wall pass with Christina Perez, who pushed a through ball to Natalie Diaz, who then beat two Viper defenders while crossing the ball into the box from right to left where Jade Hayes-Diaz was waiting to put Kendall up 2-1 with a well-placed header. Shortly after, Natalie Diaz found the Viper keeper off her line and put the shot over her head to give Kendall a two goal lead. Kendall keeper Yasbec Sosa and the defense anchored by Hadley Stringer, Monique Pedroza, Christina Perez and Carla Leon held on and did not allow another goal to seal the win.
Heading into the third match, Kendall SC needed at least a tie to advance to the round of 16, while its opponent, Naples SC needed a win to do so.
Less than 5 minutes into the game Jade Hayes-Diaz dribbled through three Naples defenders and found Devin Mitchell open for a shot inside the first post to put Kendall SC up 1-0. Naples came back to tie the score at 1-1. A combination play between Kendall McKenzie Vanheusen and forward Hayes-Diaz attracted Naples defenders to over shift and leave Mitchell one on one to beat the Naples keeper again to give Kendall a 2-1 lead. Naples added more numbers in the middle and up top and came back with two more goals before the half to take the lead 3-2 and scored once more early in the 2nd half, stretching their lead to 4-2. The score remained the same until coming out of the water break in the 2nd half. Kendall SC moved defender Hadley Stringer in the middle to add more attack and it paid off as she took a loose ball inside the penalty box and hit it over the outstretched hands of the Naples keeper and into the net to cut the lead to 4-3. With time running out, and Naples pinned back to preserve the victory, Kendall SC went with only two defenders and three forwards to produce another positive result when Stringer again made good on a 20-yd shot to tie the score at 4-4 with only three minutes remaining.
After the whistle blew, all the girls celebrated their direct pass into the round of 16. In a story that should inspire everyone, the U13 girls are a group with no quit in them. They show a tremendous work ethic, perseverance, and hearts of champions. Regardless what the next round holds, they are Kendall’s heroines.
