Kentucky State Cup success for locals

There was plenty of success for local players at the Kentucky State Open Cup finals in Bowling Green this weekend.

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.

Strikers ready for the Challenge

Southern Indiana United’s U13 Striker coach Paul Duckworth believes his team can go all the way at the Indiana Soccer Challenge Cup finals at Lawrence Soccer Complex in Indianapolis this weekend.

Strikers will play Elkhart County United in the semi-final on Saturday (7 p.m.), and the winner play the victor of the Indiana Invaders/Pike Indy Burn game on Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.).

“We are hopeful for victory, but glad to be part of the experience,” said Duckworth.

Southern Indiana United has a good recent record in the Challenge Cup as a club. In 2007, its U14 Rampage (now U17s) won the tournament, and the following year, its U14 Mavericks (now U16s) made the final.



Strikers hope to follow in both teams’ footsteps by making it to the championship decider. To get to the last four stage, the team beat Westfield Select (2-0) and tied with Tippecanoe (0-0) before clinching its finals spot on goal difference with a 4-0 win over NWI United FC.

“Last year we missed out on advancing by a one goal difference,” said Duckworth. “This year, we advanced by that. The lads are working hard fine tuning their skills, as well as practicing their penalty kicks, just in case it's a tie.”

Duckworth said it’s been a tough season for the boys following expansion from a roster of 14 playing 8 versus 8 to a roster of 18, playing 11 versus 11, with five of last season's players leaving.

“Several of the new players had not played select and had to work hard to get up to the speed of it,” he said. “Fortunately, we had seven players participate in the ODP, with four being selected to the state teams that helped out with the new lads.”

He said occasional lapses in the Kentucky Select Soccer League resulted in losses and a fourth place in both the fall and the spring seasons, but both times we were only two points behind the winner.

“The disappointment in the league, however, has been more than made up for by winning the Winchester Classic tournament in the fall, and now advancing in the Challenge Cup.”

Overall, Strikers have played 19 games this year and have lost just three times (9-3-7).

Saturday will be an eventful one for coach Duckworth , whose team will be playing the same day that his homeland, England, takes on USA in the World Cup in South Africa.

“We will travel up early to watch England hopefully beat the U.S., as Indiana Youth Soccer is having a big party at the fields Saturday,” he said. “I will be wearing my old England Rooney shirt.”

More than 295 teams ranging in age from U11 to U17 have participated in this year’s Challenge Cup tournament, which is open to travel and recreational plus teams from Indiana.


Above: U13 Strikers pictured preparing for the Indiana State Challenge Cup this weekend.

Net-Surfer girls are Queens!

Cincinnati was a happy hunting ground for the U15 Net-Surfers team, which won the Queen City Tournament last week.

The girls, coached by Russ Corby and Lindsey Wilkerson, played five games and went the entire weekend undefeated in the U15/U16 category.

It beat Fairfield Optimist SC (4-0), Tri-State FA Holt (5-0) and Kings Soccer Academy (4-1) in the group stages. It then won against Tri-State FA Riot (5-0) in the semi-final, before beating Cincinnati West Demons in the final (3-2).

The girls also participated in the Coca Cola Classic tournament at Centergrove this past weekend. Although not adding to its hardware, it did go undefeated once again, tying all its games against Lady Red Devils (1-1), SCSA Lady Fury (3-3) and Indianapolis Premier (1-1).

Net-Surfers U15s (front row, from left) – Selena Iglesias, Tanner Marcum, Phoebe Bauer, Katelin Salomon, Katie Barron, Haley Corby, Lauren Wyatt. Back row: Stephanie Iglesias, Coach Russ Corby, Taylor Davis, Kaelin Blessinger, Christine Clark, Rachel Wimsatt, Mary Clay, Erin Duncan, Anna Boone, coach Lindsey Wilkerson. Not pictured (Maryashly Betz)

State Cup titles claimed

The Kentucky State Open Cup concluded yesterday, and 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.

For further info, check out http://www.kysoccer.net. More on that, with photos, tomorrow.