Jeff siblings have Seoul!

A Jeffersonville soccer mad brother and sister revisited the place of their birth and got to meet their heroes thanks to a winning YouTube video.

Brian (14) and Sarah (10) Fischer were adopted as infants from South Korea and realized they had a fantastic opportunity, not only to return there, but also to meet the players of their favorite team, Manchester United, who were on an Asian tour.

They made a short video on their own explaining how they were adopted, wanted to return to Korea and how they have been playing soccer since they were little.

Brian is a freshman at Jeffersonville High School, and plays for Southern Indiana United U16s, while Sarah is a 10th grader at St Anthony's and plays with Net-Surfers U11s.

Their entry was a hit with the judges, and was chosen as one of five winning entries out of about 200 submitted. The contest was sponsored by the City of Seoul as part of an on-going effort to increase tourism there.

The prize was an all-expenses paid trip to Korea to see Manchester United play FC Seoul, and other winners came from England, China, Nepal and Germany.

The day before the game, Brian and Sarah got to participate in a skills clinic with United's junior team coach, and a celebrity exhibition game where they played with and against some United players, including Ji Sung Park, who is also Korean, and Dimitar Berbatov, John O'Shea, Johnny Evans, and Gary Neville.

Others taking part included the Mayor of Seoul, "Rain" (Korea's version of Justin Timberlake, we are told!), and a select Korean team of talented 10-11 year-olds.

"As far as the experience goes, it was amazing, and being able to play with part of Man Utd was amazing too," said Brian. "I myself took several different interviews for the newspapers and tv stations there. It kind of felt like being a celebrity for a day.

"The fact South Korea is mainly mountainous, made for many stairs. Anywhere we went there were tons of stairs or hills we would follow our tour guide on. However whenever we reached the top the view was spectacular and the city was so lighted up at night."

If you want to check out the winning video, log onto: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7XzXcF6Ba4&feature=PlayList&p=1B9B61D63AD029FA&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=69

Above: Jeffersonville's Brian and Sarah Fischer are pictured with Manchester United coach Mickey Phelan during their trip to South Korea, which they won after submitting a YouTube video.

First week in the books

The first week of the new high school fall soccer season in southern Indiana is in the books and it turned out to be a good one for two of our squads at the Columbus North District 5 round robin tournament.

Both New Albany and Providence's girls' varsity teams chalked up a pair of victories with 15 goals between them. The Bulldogs beat South Dearborn 5-0 and Lawrenceburg 1-0, while the Pioneers comfortably held off Cascade (3-0) and Oldenburg Academy (6-1).

The third of our participants at the tournament, Jeffersonville, lost narrowly in a goalfest to Cascade 5-4, and went down 3-0 to Oldenburg.

We recently featured the new Charlestown girls' program, and it played its first game against Switzerland County Saturday. The Lady Pirates found the opposition tough, losing 6-0, but it's early days at Charlestown and lots of improvement should come with experience.

Over to the boys and another team we featured, Christian Academy of Indiana, got off to 100 per cent start in its two weekend games, with a 3-1 victory over South Ripley, and a 6-1 win against Scottsburg. We told you to look out for striker Andrew Rosenberg, and he followed up his pair in the South Ripley triumph with five against Scottsburg. For the record, Paul DeVore (South Ripley) and Chris Smith (Scottsburg) were the other scores for the Warriors.

CAI will play at unbeaten Jeffersonville (2-0) on Saturday (11 a.m.) in a game not to be missed. The last time the pair met was at the 2008 sectional, when the Red Devils ran out 2-1 winners.

New Albany, with Ben Vigar as new head coach, lost its first game of the season at home to Forest Park 2-0. The Bulldogs' next matchup is against Corydon on Thursday (5.30 p.m.), before heading to the Shelbyville tourney on Saturday.

Pioneers extinguish Jeff at Firefighters' Cup

Providence pipped hosts Jeffersonville to the boys' junior varsity Firefighters' Cup at the weekend.

In the first game of the three team tournament played last Wednesday, the Pioneers beat Butler 3-0 thanks to an Andrew Wimp hat-trick.

The deciding matchup between Providence and Jeffersonville on Saturday was a tight affair, with the game scoreless at the half. However, the deadlock was broken with five minutes remaining when sophomore Grant Vance netted what turned out to be the clincher.

In the final game of the tournament, Butler took a 2-0 lead against Jeffersonville but the Red Devils staged a comeback to run out 4-2 winners, thanks in no small part to a hat -trick by junior Gavin Leavell.



Providence's boys' junior varsity squad celebrates after clinching the Firefighters' Cup at Jeffersonville on Saturday. Photo by Dana Crawley.

Warriors sound a battle cry!

Providence and Jeffersonville be warned: Christian Academy of Indiana boys' varsity soccer team intend to do more than make up the numbers at sectional this year.

As a new high school soccer season kicks into gear this week, the Warriors have sounded a battle cry to the two powerhouses ahead of what should be an interesting fall.

Coach Will Lorigan said he is intending to build upon last year's foundation of 9-3-3. One of those wins included a 4-3 triumph over Providence.

That victory raised expectations going into the sectional championship, coming as it did days before its post-season game against Jeffersonville.

However, CAI was downed by the Red Devils 2-1 after a below par performance. It was a valuable experience they can learn from, said coach Lorigan, who has five returning senior starters.

"We felt we had a decent shot of competing last year for a sectional title but the Jeff game was one of our worst of the year," he said. "Maybe it was stage fright, or maybe it was being overwhelmed playing on a big field in front of a big crowd. Anyway, I think the team has learnt from that experience."

Key to their challenge will be goalkeeper Drew Mattingly and striker Andrew Rosenberg.

Mattingly, who Lorigan believes is the best keeper in southern Indiana, has been a starter since freshman year, a captain for two years, and the team MVP three times.

He has recorded 16 career shut outs - seven of them registered last year. His 2008 performances earned him a place on the Indiana Soccer Coaches' Association's All-District 5 first team.

Andrew Rosenberg, meanwhile, racked up 24 goals last season, including a hat-trick in that win against Providence. He was ranked ninth in goals scored in Indiana last year, while also providing 10 assists.

"Andrew has great footwork, explosive speed and can put away shoots on goal with both feet," said CAI varsity coach Will Lorigan. "He has emerged over the last two years as a genuine goal scoring threat regardless of the opposition."

The team also a solid core of lower and upper classmen to add strength, experience and ability to the line up. This is highlighted by junior sweeper Ross Heinz and sophomore midfielder Chris Smith.

"Building on last season, they should provide valuable skill and leadership from their respective positions," said Lorigan.

CAI plays its first game of the new season away to South Ripley on Friday (5.30 p.m.), while its first home game is against Scottsburg on Saturday (10 a.m.). It is also scheduled to take part in the very competitve Hoosier Cup in Bloomington on September 4 & 5.

And if ever a confirmation of growing respect from its opposition was needed, CAI has now been added to Jeffersonville's regular season schedule for the first time (August 29), while Providence has moved them to earlier in the fall (September 14), from a slot traditionally a few days before the big show.

CAI, it seems, is no longer considered just a warm up act.


Photo above: Christian Academy of Indiana's Andrew Rosenberg is hoping to add to the 24 goals he scored last season

Jamborees kick off season in the sun

The soccer gods shone done favorably on the start of the high school fall season Saturday, when glorious weather was the order of the day at the Floyd Central and Providence jamborees.

Kick It was at Floyd Central, where the field has been shifted a few hundred yards during a revamp to make way for the football stadium.

The host's boys' and girls' varsity teams entertained visiting rivals New Albany and Jeffersonville.

The Highlander boys took on Jeffersonville in the first 20 minute matchup and came out on top by a 2-0 scoreline thanks to goals from Matt Kelecy and Jordan Adams.


However, the night belonged to New Albany and new coach Ben Vigar, who has moved up from the shadows of assistant after his father Dutch was appointed the school's athletic director.


The Bulldogs tied its first game 0-0, but beat Floyd Central 2-0 with goals from Steve Dobson and Cameron Jenkins.


In the girls' games, Floyd Central and New Albany just edged out Jeffersonville, both with 1-0 wins. On target for the Highlanders was Elizabeth Doody, while Kamaren Cole scrambled in a last minute winner against the Lady Red Devils.


In the much anticipated game against Floyd Central and New Albany, who played each other in last year's sectional final, the game finished scoreless.

Lady Pirates set to sail!

Charlestown's Lady Pirates' soccer team is ready to set sail for the first time and its maiden voyage will be a game against Switzerland County on August 22.

It was only a matter of time before Charlestown, which has up to now had a co-educational team under the guidance of coach Richard Stephens, would introduce a girls' squad. The majority of those turning out to play the game in recent years have been female.

In fact, five of the girls from last year's co-ed team are among the 19 strong squad available to newly appointed coach Marcy Satkoski.

It comprises a mix from all grades, with a strong young representation of nine sophomores and four freshman, with three juniors and three seniors adding some experience to the team.

"Everything is going great," coach Satkoski told The Evening News & Tribune. "The girls have fantastic attitudes and have been working very hard to prepare for the fall season. After completing our first week of practice, we are excited to get out there and play to see how we match up against other girls' teams."

Satkoski said they have some dynamic leaders emerging in the group, including co-captains Jordan Dent, Sophie Higazy and Emma Wesp.

Dent, a senior, said she is "very excited" to finally have a girls' team.

"We've wanted this for a long time," she said. "I'll be thrilled to see how this year goes."

Higazy, a junior, said the Pirates are a very strong unit.

"We're all in this together in this and very supportive of each other," she said. "Because we are close, I believe we'll be successful this year."

The third co-captain is sophomore Emma Wesp. She said she wants to see the team grow this year and continue to improve over the next few years.

This is Satkoski's first head coaching job. She was the assistant coach at New Albany for six years under Sara Dickman, and has also coached at SIU. She played at Hanover College, and was a member of Center Grove High School’s (Greenwood, Ind.) varsity team.

Her assistant coach is state trooper Katrina Smith, who was also an assistant at New Albany during Dickman's tenure.

Ex-Card faces old team mates

A former University of Louisville star will feature as part of the Republic of Ireland women's soccer team when it takes on her alma mater at Cardinal Park this Saturday, August 8 (7 p.m.).

Shannon Smyth has already played two 45 minute halves for the Girls in Green, who are on a 10 week training camp in the United States preparing for its important upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

So far, the trip has gone exceptionally well for Ireland, which has beaten Women's Professional League outfit Chicago Reds Stars, FC Indiana of the W-League, and Chicago Breeze. After the Louisville game, Ireland will finish out against Notre Dame on August 11.

Smyth, whose father was born and raised in the southside Dublin town of Dun Laoghaire, said she is greatly looking forward to taking on her old team mates. That includes senior Lindsay Boling who has been helping Smyth with coaching duties at Net-Surfers.

"I'm very excited to be back and playing at Cardinal Park," said the diminutive 5'3" forward. "U of L has treated me like family and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be back here with my Irish team mates."

She added that Karen Ferguson-Dayes, entering her 10th season as Cardinal coach, has been a major support in her aspirations to play for Ireland.

“Karen has prepared me well over the past four years to progress to the international, and hopefully professional, level,” she said.

"I'm currently exploring the best option to sign a professional contract in Europe. I'm not ready to hang up the boots yet, so we'll see what transpires for me over the next year as I have been blessed with the opportunity and support from my family and coaches to continue to play."

Ireland’s goal is to be in tip-top shape for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Switzerland, Kazakhstan and Russia in September and October, and Smyth’s objective is to be part of the 18 strong squad which will face them. The roster currently stands at 25 plus.

"All players here are quality and bring different strengths, so at the end of the day it is a matter of the right combination of players,” said Smyth. “I'm honored to be here training for my country alongside the best team mates and coaches Ireland offers. I'm learning a lot and couldn't ask for better teammates to train with everyday.”



Shannon Smyth (left) and Lindsay Boling spent the spring season coaching southern Indiana’s Net-Surfers while team mates at University of Louisville. This Saturday, the pair will be on opposing teams when Smyth kits out for Ireland, who will be taking on Boling and the Cardinals in Louisville.

As well as playing out her final year at Louisville, Smyth has spent 2009 coaching Net-Surfers’ U17 girls, along with U of L's Lindsay Boling.

"The girls and their parents were always supportive of their daughters and my development plan for them," she said. "I hope they learned as much from me as I did from them."

Also helping her development as a player has been her time with FC Indiana (11-1-2), one of the top women’s soccer teams in the country, which recently fell 2-1 Ottawa Fury in the W-League Central Conference Championship game.

“FC Indiana was a great experience for me,” she said. “I came in toward the end of their season and couldn't have asked for a better training environment. Shek Borkowski and his coaching staff are second to none and the variety of players from such diverse backgrounds offered so much creativity and inspiration.”