There have been some pretty cringeworthy World Cup songs down the years, so there have.
How about this, for example: “Let the rhythm of the ball, take us to the final goal … USA!” Yuck. That, by the way, was a USA 2006 World Cup song for Germany. Probably explains why the tournament was such a disappointment for Bruce Arena’s boys.
The tradition of an official song dates back to the 1966 World Cup in England with a song for ‘World Cup Willie,’ the friendly lion mascot who we featured a couple of weeks back.
Those of note through the years include New Order and ‘World in Motion,’ in 1990, and The Lightning Seeds’ ‘Three Lions’ with Baddeil and Skinner in 1998, both considered high up the list of best World Cup songs of all time.
When Ireland qualified for its first ever World Cup 20 years ago, the music chart of said country was literally infested with theme songs for Italia ’90. The hysteria that hit the nation was responsible for some downright dreadful ditties.
Among them was the humorous ‘Give it a Lash Jack,’ which practically became the soundtrack of the summer. Liam Harrison and The Goal Celebrities suggested that if coach Jack Charlton and the Irish squad returned victorious from Italy, they should all be stuffed and mounted by a taxidermist for show. Luckily for the players, they departed the tournament in the quarter-finals.
However, that wasn’t half as embarrassing as the ‘Far Away in America,’ featuring kings of camp, the Village People, and the German national team in 1994. ‘YMCA’ it wasn’t.
If you’re the type who can’t get enough of World Cup songs to get you in the mood, there is now a website called WorldCupSong.com, where anyone who has a song about the 2010 tournament can enter their tune for free.
At the time of writing, there were 219 songs, and the most listened to by the time of the final will win a $1,480 prize.
In the lead at the moment is Gerry Asmus’s ‘It’s Our Game’ for England, while the highest American song is the 58th ranked ‘The Surface’ by Cooper.
While not the worst (it is fairly catchy), I just can’t picture U.S. fans singing, in the stadiums of South Africa, the lines, “We have barely reached the surface/We have so much to learn ...Someday this page will turn.”
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Two class soccer -- step in the right direction?
Two class soccer -- step in the right direction?
The IHSAA’s announcement that high school boys’ and girls soccer is to be divided into two classes in the fall of 2011 appears to be a step in the right direction.
However, many in the game will reserve judgment until further plans for the revamped tournaments – to be based on school enrollment -- are announced next spring, following the next classification realignment. The cutoff point will be of paramount importance.
At present, there are 282 boys’ and 251 girls’ programs playing in Indiana, with more expected to join the fold over the next few years.
As stated before in this column – when advocating a flexible divisional set-up based on team strength as opposed to a two-class system – Kick It for one doesn’t get too much of a thrill seeing certain schools getting trounced in sectional championship games.
Nor, it seems, does the Indiana Soccer Coaches’ Association, which proposed the switch after conducting surveys of its members in recent years.
While maybe not all the trouncings will disappear, we should at least see more newly crowned state champions. Of the IHSAA 16 state soccer tournaments to date, there have been nine different boys’ victors and six different girls’ winners. Only 11 schools in the whole of Indiana have actually won these titles.
With the exception of Evansville Memorial (enrollment 791) and Castle (enrollment 1,853), you won’t find too many of them from down south.
Of these, six are public and five are private, with enrollments ranging from 780 students to over 4,000. They’ve either been large public schools or relatively small private establishments.
Where the cutoff for two class soccer will be exactly is unclear, but there has been talk in the past week that it will around the 750 mark.
If this is indeed the case, then you’re looking at a new second-tier championship featuring teams that have never won state. If it’s slightly higher, then you could have a situation where the likes of Evansville Memorial could dominate the lower class level to the point that it could border on the farcical.
The general consensus seems to be that Providence, enrollment of 451, will benefit most locally. Regular further runs past regional into semi-state and state look a possibility for both boys and girls.
Dave Smith, head coach of the Lady Pioneers – four-time sectional winners under the current one class system -- said it will certainly help smaller sized schools which would never achieve state success under the current format.
“Consider the case of the Austin girls' basketball team this winter, winning the state championship,” he said. “Is it realistic to think that they would have had a legitimate chance of defeating the 4A schools from this area, and from Indianapolis?
“I doubt the people of Austin would recommend going back to an open-class system for the postseason, as this was an experience made possible solely through the multi-class system.”
He added it will be interesting to see where the split occurs among teams, and believes there will be more changes down the line.
“As more schools add soccer, I believe we will see more than two classes adopted for the tournament,” said Smith. “If it works for football, baseball, volleyball and basketball, why wouldn't IHSAA do the same thing for soccer?”
Smith added the Pioneers still have every intention of continuing their local rivalry games, regardless of the enrollment numbers of their opponents.
“These are the highlights of the season for the fans and players alike, and make for friendly, high level competition,” he said.
The question is, however, will the bigger schools want to continue these rival games? It’s hard to see the likes of Floyd Central, New Albany and Jeffersonville omitting such a game with Providence from their schedules, but it could affect the progress of, say, Christian Academy of Indiana’s boys’ team, for example.
CAI has only recently been added to the schedules of Providence and Jeffersonville because of its improving team and the fact it plays in the same sectional. Coach Will Lorigan said he believes it might now be harder to "entice" teams like Jeff, New Albany and Floyd Central to play them since there is no benefit for them to want to.
“At the moment, Jeff plays us because we are in the same sectional, so it helps them -- and us -- to see a team's potential during the season,” said Lorigan. “When bigger schools don't need to play us, why would they? They have the history and connections to play other big -- but not necessarily better -- schools, so we end up playing smaller schools which don't force us to develop and play good soccer.”
Lorigan added that the part that really hurts CAI is that Providence will be in its sectional but has the connections and history to play bigger schools, get better and develop.
“It's not that we can't or won't develop a good program, it will just be harder and may take longer.”
Whatever about regular season, some of the area’s competitive local rivalry games will disappear post-season. I will let you decide amongst yourselves whether, for example, you feel the disappearance of Jeffersonville-Providence boys’ sectional finals are to be mourned following last year’s controversial encounter.
The move will, on the other hand, result in some interesting sectional matchups at both class levels, with teams from further afield being added to what will become a fresh – and hopefully competitive -- mix.
Enrollment numbers of local schools with soccer programs involved in area sectionals (source IHSAA)
New Albany 2,119
Jeffersonville 2,108
Floyd Central 1,657
Corydon Central 778
North Harrison 697
Charlestown 692
Silver Creek 680
Providence 451
Christian Academy of Indiana 174
The IHSAA’s announcement that high school boys’ and girls soccer is to be divided into two classes in the fall of 2011 appears to be a step in the right direction.
However, many in the game will reserve judgment until further plans for the revamped tournaments – to be based on school enrollment -- are announced next spring, following the next classification realignment. The cutoff point will be of paramount importance.
At present, there are 282 boys’ and 251 girls’ programs playing in Indiana, with more expected to join the fold over the next few years.
As stated before in this column – when advocating a flexible divisional set-up based on team strength as opposed to a two-class system – Kick It for one doesn’t get too much of a thrill seeing certain schools getting trounced in sectional championship games.
Nor, it seems, does the Indiana Soccer Coaches’ Association, which proposed the switch after conducting surveys of its members in recent years.
While maybe not all the trouncings will disappear, we should at least see more newly crowned state champions. Of the IHSAA 16 state soccer tournaments to date, there have been nine different boys’ victors and six different girls’ winners. Only 11 schools in the whole of Indiana have actually won these titles.
With the exception of Evansville Memorial (enrollment 791) and Castle (enrollment 1,853), you won’t find too many of them from down south.
Of these, six are public and five are private, with enrollments ranging from 780 students to over 4,000. They’ve either been large public schools or relatively small private establishments.
Where the cutoff for two class soccer will be exactly is unclear, but there has been talk in the past week that it will around the 750 mark.
If this is indeed the case, then you’re looking at a new second-tier championship featuring teams that have never won state. If it’s slightly higher, then you could have a situation where the likes of Evansville Memorial could dominate the lower class level to the point that it could border on the farcical.
The general consensus seems to be that Providence, enrollment of 451, will benefit most locally. Regular further runs past regional into semi-state and state look a possibility for both boys and girls.
Dave Smith, head coach of the Lady Pioneers – four-time sectional winners under the current one class system -- said it will certainly help smaller sized schools which would never achieve state success under the current format.
“Consider the case of the Austin girls' basketball team this winter, winning the state championship,” he said. “Is it realistic to think that they would have had a legitimate chance of defeating the 4A schools from this area, and from Indianapolis?
“I doubt the people of Austin would recommend going back to an open-class system for the postseason, as this was an experience made possible solely through the multi-class system.”
He added it will be interesting to see where the split occurs among teams, and believes there will be more changes down the line.
“As more schools add soccer, I believe we will see more than two classes adopted for the tournament,” said Smith. “If it works for football, baseball, volleyball and basketball, why wouldn't IHSAA do the same thing for soccer?”
Smith added the Pioneers still have every intention of continuing their local rivalry games, regardless of the enrollment numbers of their opponents.
“These are the highlights of the season for the fans and players alike, and make for friendly, high level competition,” he said.
The question is, however, will the bigger schools want to continue these rival games? It’s hard to see the likes of Floyd Central, New Albany and Jeffersonville omitting such a game with Providence from their schedules, but it could affect the progress of, say, Christian Academy of Indiana’s boys’ team, for example.
CAI has only recently been added to the schedules of Providence and Jeffersonville because of its improving team and the fact it plays in the same sectional. Coach Will Lorigan said he believes it might now be harder to "entice" teams like Jeff, New Albany and Floyd Central to play them since there is no benefit for them to want to.
“At the moment, Jeff plays us because we are in the same sectional, so it helps them -- and us -- to see a team's potential during the season,” said Lorigan. “When bigger schools don't need to play us, why would they? They have the history and connections to play other big -- but not necessarily better -- schools, so we end up playing smaller schools which don't force us to develop and play good soccer.”
Lorigan added that the part that really hurts CAI is that Providence will be in its sectional but has the connections and history to play bigger schools, get better and develop.
“It's not that we can't or won't develop a good program, it will just be harder and may take longer.”
Whatever about regular season, some of the area’s competitive local rivalry games will disappear post-season. I will let you decide amongst yourselves whether, for example, you feel the disappearance of Jeffersonville-Providence boys’ sectional finals are to be mourned following last year’s controversial encounter.
The move will, on the other hand, result in some interesting sectional matchups at both class levels, with teams from further afield being added to what will become a fresh – and hopefully competitive -- mix.
Enrollment numbers of local schools with soccer programs involved in area sectionals (source IHSAA)
New Albany 2,119
Jeffersonville 2,108
Floyd Central 1,657
Corydon Central 778
North Harrison 697
Charlestown 692
Silver Creek 680
Providence 451
Christian Academy of Indiana 174
Sunday, May 9, 2010
World Cup countdown – prolific Buddle worthy of selection?
With huge questions marks hanging over the final composition of USA’s strikeforce in South Africa, one player has been simply on fire in the MLS.
Edson Buddle, who will be 29 on May 21, has catapulted himself into contention for selection with his scintillating performances for LA Galaxy.
Buddle scored twice in a 3-1 victory over Philadelphia Union at the weekend. He has now bagged nine of Galaxy’s 10 goals this season, as the franchise claimed its fifth win in six MLS matches.
Buddle’s career can best be described as somewhat checkered. It has included a number of off-field issues, injuries and patchy form. To date, he has just one full international cap to his name -- earned in a friendly against Venezuela in 2003 -- so inexperience is definitely against him.
However, his game intelligence and work ethic have improved since then, along with his nose for goal.
Most teams will bring four strikers to the World Cup. As it stands, only Jozy Altidore -- and maybe Brian Ching -- can consider themselves likely to be named forwards in the USA squad by Bob Bradley.
It is highly unlikely that regular Charlie Davies will now make it, following his injury in a car crash that killed a passenger last October.
His progress from a broken leg, a dislocated elbow, a broken nose, multiple facial fractures and a ruptured bladder has been remarkable, but it was recently announced that he will not line out for his French club Sochaux before the end of the season, as had been anticipated.
So who else is in contention? You’ve got Herculez Gomez, in form with Puebla in Mexico, and also deserving of consideration; the home based Robbie Findlay (Real Salt Lake) and Conor Casey (Colorado); Kenny Cooper (Plymouth, England); and Eddie Johnson (Aris, Greece).
There is also the possibility that Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey could slot in up front if required, so Bradley could go with just three strikers and add another creative midfielder to the squad such as Alejandro Bedoya.
Buddle would probably best fit as a replacement for Altidore, rather than a partner, due to his style, but is definitely a tempting proposition as it stands.
The US training camp opens on May 15 and Bradley is expected to include around 26 to 28 players. It will convene at a destination expected to be on the east coast.
US. Soccer is expected to announce its list of camp invitees in the next couple of days, while FIFA will release each of the 32 participating teams’ preliminary selections of 30 players on May 11.
USA will then play two friendlies against the Czech Republic in Connecticut on May 25 and against Turkey in Philadelphia on May 29. The team will leave for South Africa the following day.
Whether Buddle’s on the plane remains to be seen, but he should at least be given an opportunity – along with Gomez -- to prove his worth during the two friendlies.
It may not be a European league that he’s lighting up, but having a red hot and in-form goal poacher in your squad who is scoring with more regularity right now than Calvin Borel wins Kentucky Derbies may not be such a bad idea.
Edson Buddle, who will be 29 on May 21, has catapulted himself into contention for selection with his scintillating performances for LA Galaxy.
Buddle scored twice in a 3-1 victory over Philadelphia Union at the weekend. He has now bagged nine of Galaxy’s 10 goals this season, as the franchise claimed its fifth win in six MLS matches.
Buddle’s career can best be described as somewhat checkered. It has included a number of off-field issues, injuries and patchy form. To date, he has just one full international cap to his name -- earned in a friendly against Venezuela in 2003 -- so inexperience is definitely against him.
However, his game intelligence and work ethic have improved since then, along with his nose for goal.
Most teams will bring four strikers to the World Cup. As it stands, only Jozy Altidore -- and maybe Brian Ching -- can consider themselves likely to be named forwards in the USA squad by Bob Bradley.
It is highly unlikely that regular Charlie Davies will now make it, following his injury in a car crash that killed a passenger last October.
His progress from a broken leg, a dislocated elbow, a broken nose, multiple facial fractures and a ruptured bladder has been remarkable, but it was recently announced that he will not line out for his French club Sochaux before the end of the season, as had been anticipated.
So who else is in contention? You’ve got Herculez Gomez, in form with Puebla in Mexico, and also deserving of consideration; the home based Robbie Findlay (Real Salt Lake) and Conor Casey (Colorado); Kenny Cooper (Plymouth, England); and Eddie Johnson (Aris, Greece).
There is also the possibility that Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey could slot in up front if required, so Bradley could go with just three strikers and add another creative midfielder to the squad such as Alejandro Bedoya.
Buddle would probably best fit as a replacement for Altidore, rather than a partner, due to his style, but is definitely a tempting proposition as it stands.
The US training camp opens on May 15 and Bradley is expected to include around 26 to 28 players. It will convene at a destination expected to be on the east coast.
US. Soccer is expected to announce its list of camp invitees in the next couple of days, while FIFA will release each of the 32 participating teams’ preliminary selections of 30 players on May 11.
USA will then play two friendlies against the Czech Republic in Connecticut on May 25 and against Turkey in Philadelphia on May 29. The team will leave for South Africa the following day.
Whether Buddle’s on the plane remains to be seen, but he should at least be given an opportunity – along with Gomez -- to prove his worth during the two friendlies.
It may not be a European league that he’s lighting up, but having a red hot and in-form goal poacher in your squad who is scoring with more regularity right now than Calvin Borel wins Kentucky Derbies may not be such a bad idea.
Fab foursome aiming for Midwest glory
.JPG)
Four southern Indiana players can help punch their team’s ticket to the US Youth Soccer Midwest Region tournament in Ohio without having to win State.
Nick Blackwell, Matt Kelecy, Daniel Wilburn and Jordan Vejar have been in great form with Javanon ’94 in the prestigious Midwest Regional League.
All four see plenty of playing time with three of them typically starting on defense (Blackwell, Kelecy, and Vejar), while Wilburn is usually deployed as an outside midfielder/forward.
Blackwell, who won a regional championship with New Albany High School in the fall, has taken over as the team’s central defender.
Vejar, who plays at Jeffersonville HS, and Kelecy, at Floyd Central, are two of the area’s top high school scorers are finding their niche on this team on defense as outside fullbacks.
Wilburn, of Providence, is somewhat of a utility player, able to fill many roles depending on what the game conditions necessitate. Usually, he’s used at either midfield or forward, where the team can utilize his speed and aggressiveness to generate offense.
With all four going to different schools, you’d expect some rivalry between the players, but we are told they are good buddies on and off the field, trusting each other in practices and games.
The MRL provides the highest standard of competitive play for youth teams in the Midwest region in five age groups from U14 to U18.
Javanon ’94 has played six of its scheduled seven games – winning four against Michigan Jaguars (3-2), Michigan Vardar (3-0), Galaxy 93/94 Blue of Illinois (3-0) and Minnesota Thunder (2-1).
Its losses have come against Chicago Fire Juniors Development Academy (1-0) and Lou Fusz Gold of Missouri in Evansville on Sunday (2-1).
However, victory against Blast FC of Ohio in Cincinnati on May 22 would see them clinch the U16 Premier Division Red title.
That would give Javanon an automatic berth to the Midwest (Region II) Championships from June 26-30, where they would join champions from 14 state associations, including Indiana and Kentucky.
If the boys miss out on the Midwest title, coach Derek Willis’s charges still fancy their chances of winning the Kentucky State Open Cup.
Preliminary rounds of the competition, which features a number of other local players, begins in Lexington on May 28, with the finals being held in Bowling Green on June 5 and 6.
Above: Jordan Vejar, Nick Blackwell, Daniel Wilburn and Matt Kelecy are blazing a trail with their Javanon ’94 team mates in the Midwest Regional League.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Two class soccer for Indiana
The Indiana High School Athletic Association today gave the green light to reformat the boys’ and girls’ soccer state tournaments into two classes — based on school enrollment – beginning in the fall of 2011.
Both sports have been of a single class structure since the IHSAA began sponsoring the sport in 1994.
Plans for the new tournaments will be announced in the spring of next year following the next classification realignment.
http://www.ihsaa.org/dnn/Media/MediaReleases/IHSAANewsRelease5310/tabid/826/Default.aspx
Both sports have been of a single class structure since the IHSAA began sponsoring the sport in 1994.
Plans for the new tournaments will be announced in the spring of next year following the next classification realignment.
http://www.ihsaa.org/dnn/Media/MediaReleases/IHSAANewsRelease5310/tabid/826/Default.aspx
Sunday, May 2, 2010
World Cup Countdown – a spot of bother over leopard Zakumi
They almost become as famous as the players who light up the World Cup, and sometimes they can be as controversial as decisions made during the tournament.
We’re talking about the mascots, and there have been some pretty interesting – and odd -- ones through the years.
The first was the quintessentially English lion (with the quintessentially Scottish moniker), World Cup Willie, in 1966.
Willie was considered a commercial masterstroke, who sent a feelgood factor through the team. If he could have talked, he might have even claimed it was he who helped England win the Jules Rimet trophy, as it was then.
Others include Mexican sombrero wearing boy, Juanito (1970); Naranjito, the Spanish orange (1982); German lion Goleo and his sidekick talking ball, Pille (2006); and, of course, Striker, the American pup of 1994.
Goleo was criticized because most people couldn’t see what a lion had to do with Germany, while Japan and South Korea fought over, amongst other issues, what to name its trio of representatives. The Koreans thought the names – Ato, Kaz and Nik -- were too Japanese.
And now we have South Africa’s Zakumi.
Zakumi is a leopard, a common animal found in South Africa, with green hair and wearing the green and gold colors representing those of the host nation.
His name comes from "ZA", (which stands for South Africa), and "kumi", a word that means "10" in various African languages. We are told by FIFA he is a “mascot with attitude,” and is jolly, self-confident, adventurous, spontaneous and very shrewd. Others have called him “creepy.”
I didn’t know this previously, but Zakumi is 15-years-old and his birthday falls on June 16. It coincides with Youth Day in South Africa and also with the game between the host nation and Uruguay.
Here’s the controversy: Zakumi figurines were being made in China by Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products as part of a contract in excess of $112 million.
South Africans were not best pleased on hearing this, as they believe the merchandise should be sourced locally so as to give a boost to the flailing manufacturing sector. There was also a bit of politicking going on too, as the contract was awarded to a company owned by an ANC representative member in the South African parliament.
Allegation of sweatshop conditions at the Chinese factory led to an audit, which revealed a number of non-compliance issues.
As a result, FIFA suspended the contract last month due to the abuses.
So all’s good again, except for the fact that there’s still those who think the jolly chap looks a bit creepy. You can decide for yourself come June 11.
Net-Surfers gallop to Derby Cup success!
Let’s hope the weather at Churchill Downs is better this Saturday than it was for those who played at the sixth annual Derby Cup tournament at the weekend.
The rains and tornado alerts may have slowed down the competition’s gallop, but they didn’t stop the Thoroughbreds SC/Oldham County YSA hosted event reaching the finishing line.
All Saturday afternoon games were halted during play and forced to be concluded early, while the later evening matchups were decided from the mark in shootout format.
Over 180 teams from the Midwest region competed in the select soccer tournament, and among them was a large representation from southern Indiana’s Net-Surfers, which had six teams participating over the three days.
And the weather certainly didn’t stop Net-Surfers U12s, who won the White Division by beating the aptly named Cincinnati Thunder 1-0 in the final.
To make it there, the southern Indiana girls beat ESC United 5-2, tied 0-0 with Thoroughbreds, thumped AC United 7-0, and then took care of KASC United 4-2 in the final.
Net Surfers' U11s also made it to the final, losing out to Thoroughbreds in the decider (5-0). Before that, it had lost narrowly to the same opposition in group play (4-3), but trounced SKY SC of Bowling Green 10-0 on Saturday, and beat AC United 5-1 on Sunday. It then beat SWISA Inferno 3-1 for a place in the final.
Net-Surfers had a large representation at the Derby Cup, with other participating teams including U9 Purple and White, U10s, and U14s.
Net Surfers U14 girls beat Louisville Soccer Club Arsenal 1-0 on Friday, lost to SKY SC 2-1 on Saturday, and finished off with a 0-0 tie against the Footie Chick from Taylorsville.
U9 Purple had a nice 5-2 win against LFC on Sunday, while White beat SWISA 5-4, and the U10s tied Nelson County Elite.
Meanwhile, the second week of the Mockingbird Valley organized Louisville Cup saw U10-U18 boys in action, including four teams from Southern Indiana United.
Like the Derby Cup, this competition held at Bullitt and Oxmoor fields was also hit with stoppages thanks to the elements.
And speaking of the weather, one of those taking part was SIU U12 Storm.
Storm has had a good start to its season, as it is 2-0-2 in Kentucky Select Soccer League play and the only unbeaten team in its division.
Tim Rice’s charges got off to a thunderous start at the Louisville Cup, beating CUSC Premier Inferno 4-1, and then tied a shortened game with FSC White 1-1. It narrowly missed the chance to play in the championship game when going down by a lone goal to LSA Central.
U15 Renegade didn’t get off to a great start against Frankfort Fury (4-0), but it bounced back in style to thump Warriors ’94 Black by a 5-0 scoreline. It finished out Sunday with a 1-0 loss to LSA ’95, the eventual winners.
Others SIU teams in action included U10 Revolution, who found Nelson Titans, Carmel United Bradley and Mockingbird Green too good, and U11 Blast, who battled well against LSA East, Mockingbird Gold and Dynamo ’99 Red.
The rains and tornado alerts may have slowed down the competition’s gallop, but they didn’t stop the Thoroughbreds SC/Oldham County YSA hosted event reaching the finishing line.
All Saturday afternoon games were halted during play and forced to be concluded early, while the later evening matchups were decided from the mark in shootout format.
Over 180 teams from the Midwest region competed in the select soccer tournament, and among them was a large representation from southern Indiana’s Net-Surfers, which had six teams participating over the three days.
And the weather certainly didn’t stop Net-Surfers U12s, who won the White Division by beating the aptly named Cincinnati Thunder 1-0 in the final.
To make it there, the southern Indiana girls beat ESC United 5-2, tied 0-0 with Thoroughbreds, thumped AC United 7-0, and then took care of KASC United 4-2 in the final.
Net Surfers' U11s also made it to the final, losing out to Thoroughbreds in the decider (5-0). Before that, it had lost narrowly to the same opposition in group play (4-3), but trounced SKY SC of Bowling Green 10-0 on Saturday, and beat AC United 5-1 on Sunday. It then beat SWISA Inferno 3-1 for a place in the final.
Net-Surfers had a large representation at the Derby Cup, with other participating teams including U9 Purple and White, U10s, and U14s.
Net Surfers U14 girls beat Louisville Soccer Club Arsenal 1-0 on Friday, lost to SKY SC 2-1 on Saturday, and finished off with a 0-0 tie against the Footie Chick from Taylorsville.
U9 Purple had a nice 5-2 win against LFC on Sunday, while White beat SWISA 5-4, and the U10s tied Nelson County Elite.
Meanwhile, the second week of the Mockingbird Valley organized Louisville Cup saw U10-U18 boys in action, including four teams from Southern Indiana United.
Like the Derby Cup, this competition held at Bullitt and Oxmoor fields was also hit with stoppages thanks to the elements.
And speaking of the weather, one of those taking part was SIU U12 Storm.
Storm has had a good start to its season, as it is 2-0-2 in Kentucky Select Soccer League play and the only unbeaten team in its division.
Tim Rice’s charges got off to a thunderous start at the Louisville Cup, beating CUSC Premier Inferno 4-1, and then tied a shortened game with FSC White 1-1. It narrowly missed the chance to play in the championship game when going down by a lone goal to LSA Central.
U15 Renegade didn’t get off to a great start against Frankfort Fury (4-0), but it bounced back in style to thump Warriors ’94 Black by a 5-0 scoreline. It finished out Sunday with a 1-0 loss to LSA ’95, the eventual winners.
Others SIU teams in action included U10 Revolution, who found Nelson Titans, Carmel United Bradley and Mockingbird Green too good, and U11 Blast, who battled well against LSA East, Mockingbird Gold and Dynamo ’99 Red.
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