Mavericks oh so close

(Published Evening News & Tribune, June 8, 2008)
It was oh so close for Southern Indiana United’s U14 Mavericks, who earned themselves a runner-up spot at the Indiana State Challenge Cup at Fort Wayne Sunday.

They swept through the preliminary round two weeks ago, with wins
over Indiana Invaders (2-0), Lawrence Soccer Club (5-0), and Pumas (3-1).

As bracket winners, they moved on to finals weekend where they faced Tippco Blue Heat (Lafayette) in the quarter final Saturday.

Jordan Vejar opened the scoring with a left footed blast for a 1-0 lead and the flood gates opened from there. Vincent Straight followed with two more blasts from long range, with Keegan Leuthart finishing off the scoring by slipping through the Tippco defense.

On Sunday morning, Mavericks faced Columbus Orange Crush, Indiana Soccer League champion and reigning 2007 Challenge Cup holders, in the semi-final. They gained revenge for a 1-0 defeat earlier in the season by squashing the Crush 2-1.

Vincent Straight opened the scoring from a throw in by Danny Laird as he slipped through the defense for a long blast that caught the goalkeeper off guard. After an equalizing score by Columbus, the Mavericks composed themselves and won the game with three minutes left on a
cannon by Kameron Jenkins who hit it so hard it knocked the Columbus' goalie into the net.

So to the final against familiar foe Indy Burn, a team they've beat, lost to and tied with over the past year in ISL and tournament play.

Indy Burn started energetically and took an early two goal advantage, but the Mavericks fought back to go in at half time down 2-1 after Cauldon Feldhaus finished off a Cray Trimble through ball to the far post.

Indy Burn came out strong in the second half again and scored twice more to almost put
the game out of reach, but the Mavericks never quit and scored two goals in the final six minutes courtesy of Jordy Rigsby and Kameron Jenkins to make it 4-3.

However, Mavericks could not tie the game despite intense pressure on Indy Burn’s defense.

Coach Mike Vejar said he was “overwhelmed with pride” because of the way team performed in the tournament, which had 28 participating teams this year.