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Carbondale Junior Sports (Illinois)

Carbondale Junior Sports (Illinois)

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20

Apr, 2015

State Cup - Round 2

Tampa Bay United Premier Boys 96 began pool play in their quest to become Florida State Champs on Sunday, April 12th in Ft. Myers, Florida. A Top 16 finish in last years State Cup earned them a bye for the 1st Round so extra training and time to get in peak physical condition were the main benefits. Three matches make up Round 2. Top two teams out of each bracket advance to Round of 16.

Sunday April 12th
Match 1 was against FC Florida out of Port St. Lucie, FL. Both teams battled extremely hard in the spring time heat of South Florida. FC got a goal in the final minute of the first half on a solid individual effort. TBU had their chances in the match but were unable to convert. They fell 1-0 in the first match.

Saturday April 18th
Match 2 again found the Team in Ft. Myers on a very warm April afternoon. This time they faced PDA Forida out of Palm Coast, FL. Starting the match with only 11 players was a difficult task. TBU got a goal on a solidly played lofted ball from the right flank off the foot of Martin Ozores in the 24th minute. At halftime the team was up 1-0 and fortunately one additional player arrived at the field. Midway through the 2nd half the team lost a man due to a second yellow card. Playing down one, the team continued to battle. In the 77th minute Thomas Whiting took a direct free kick from 28 yards out just left of center a struck an absolute beauty. Over the wall to the upper left 90 for a 2-0 lead. The team packed it back in and played solid defense. With only 2 minutes remaining they finally gave up a goal. They held on for the 2-1 victory.

Sunday April 19th
Match 3 was for all the marbles. The team squared off against Gainesville Soccer Alliance out of Gainesville, FL. TBU started slow. They went down midway through the first 1-0. It seemed to get their attention. As they fought to get back in the match the managed to get a couple corner opportunities as the first half wound down. Addison Iannacio made a strong run out of his center back position and won the team a corner off the left side. The payoff came on this opportunity when Trevor Brown played a solid corner far post to a fast charging Seth Rinkevich. Seth put both the ball and his body in the back of the net. Fortunately, for this match, the team had a couple extra players on the bench and used that to their advantage to play a solid second half and finish the match even at 1.

The 4 points earned were enough to advance the Team to the Round of 16 on May 2nd in Palm Coast, FL. A win on the May 2nd will gain them the opportunity to play in the Elite 8 on May 3rd, also in Palm Coast.

At the conclusion of the Group Play Coach Sims and Coach Suarez were asked for their comments on the Teams performance. Here's what they had to say:

Coach Sims: "The bottom line is the players got the job done and we advanced to the Round of 16. I thought we were unlucky to not come away with at least a tie against FC Florida but started this round in a tough position losing 1-0. The 11 players who started the game as well as the the 12th that showed up at half against PDA put on one of the best performances I have seen as a coach. To battle a good team, in extreme heat with no subs took a lot of mental and physical toughness and the players did whatever was needed to come away with the victory. 2 great goals by Martin Ozores and Thomas Whiting as well as a strong defensive effort from each and every player was key in the victory. I am very proud of the 12 players that played in that match. The team bounced back on Sunday after being down 1-0 and were able to come back and tie GSA 1-1 and advance to the Round Of 16."

Coach Suarez: "I was proud to see the boys put in the work to get to this point. We learned from our mistake against FC Florida and didn't lose our heads. In the match against GSA on Sunday, Fernando said out loud,  "We need a 45th minute flukey" when we won the corner, and sure enough the boys came through. It wasn't pretty but it was pure determination that pushed that ball in. Credit to Seth for staying with the play. I think Cooper deserves a huge shout out. He was solid in goal and stayed positive throughout the game. When you have your goalkeeper playing at that level you don't feel like you can lose."

Congratulations to the Tampa Bay United Premier 96 Boys for getting it done!

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Carbondale Junior Sports
PO Box 3352 
Carbondale, Illinois 62902

Phone: 618-967-9014
Email: [email protected]

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