It’s been a great season for Daniel Wilburn (Providence), Matt Kelecy (Floyd Central), Nick Blackwell (New Albany) and Jordan Vejar (Jeffersonville), who are part of Javanon’s U16 Black team.
They have already qualified for the US Youth Soccer Region II tournament (Dayton, Ohio, June 26-30), courtesy of winning the Midwest Regional League Premier Division (Red).
And at the weekend, the boys added to the team’s hardware collection by winning the Kentucky state crown by beating United 1996 -- a team featuring two more locals in the shape of Providence’s Brett Bass and Henryville’s Gabe Stewart (St Xavier) -- by a 2-0 scoreline in the final.
It wasn’t all bad for United, however, as its performance in getting to the final means it will also travel to the regional tournament as a wildcard.
Javanon ’92, with Trevor Bruner from Jeffersonville on the team, won its fourth consecutive title – and sixth overall -- with a 1-0 final victory against Mockingbird. It will now be aiming for its third consecutive regional crown.
Over on the girls’ side, Kady O’Farrell (Floyd Central) and Leah Mattingly (Providence) were winners with their Javanon ‘95 Black team. The girls beat Owensboro United 7-1 in the semi-final on Saturday, before overcoming Commonwealth SC of Lexington 3-0 in the decider.
Kady O’Farrell and Leah Mattingly
“Our team has really improved from last year, with new players and a new coach coming to the team,” said O’Farrell. “Hopefully, we will do well at regionals because that's what we've been working so hard for all season.”
Elsewhere, Javanon’s ’92 girls’ team, featuring New Albany’s Kelsey Graeter, lost to Owensboro in the U18 final. Graeter beat her high school teammate Kaitlin Robinett, part of four-time state champion Mockingbird, in the semi-final 1-0 on Saturday.
Javanon ’97, featuring Grant Holkamp (Silver Creek), Tyler McGeorge (Highland Hills) and Andrew Kennedy (Lanesville), beat Thoroughbreds 3-1 in the semi-final before narrowly losing 4-3 in overtime to Lexington FC in the final.
Javanon ’95 Black, featuring Providence’s Pierce Crawley, lost 1-0 to Lexington in the semi-final.
Of the 13 boys’ and girls’ state titles up for grabs from U13 to U19, four were won by Javanon; three by United 1996; two by Mockingbird and Lexington; and one each by Owensboro and Central Kentucky SC.
Left: New Albany’s Kelsey Graeter (center) in action for Javanon ’92 against Mockingbird during the Kentucky State Open Cup semi-final at the weekend. Meeting the ball in the air is teammate Kate Brown.
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