FRISCO, Texas (March 9, 2020) — More teams have been putting in strong efforts to get an early jump on the standings within the Great Lakes Conference, as the Spring 2020 season continues in its early weeks. Looking back at this weekend, there were a number of matchups that resulted in teams putting in strong performances to get the first victory and build off their success from last season within both the Premier I Divisions and the newly created Club vs. Club Divisions.
Premier I Division
In the 18U Girls Premier I Division, Indy Premier 02 Elite I (IN) defeated Kentucky Fire Juniors Premier Red (KY), 3-0, on Sunday to take an early spot at the top of the standings. The defending Indiana State Cup Champion, Indy Premier, will take on CUP Gold (OH-S) next weekend as both teams now have a victory under their belts, and both will be looking to put more distance between themselves and the rest of the division.
Club vs. Club Division
In the Boys Club vs. Club Division, Lexington FC (KY) hosted two clubs at Frederick Douglas High School in Lexington, Ky., over the weekend.
Cincinnati United Premier (OH-S) brought its 15U-19U teams to take on Lexington FC on Saturday and they came to play with its three older teams earning victories:
- Lexington FC White and CUP 05 Gold tied, 1-1
- Lexington FC 2004 BW and CUP 04 Gold tied, 1-1
- CUP 03 Gold won, 5-1
- CUP 02 Gold won, 2-1
- 01 Club CUP won, 4-1
Javanon FC (KY) brought its 15U, 16U, 17U, and 19U teams to take on Lexington FC. Going into this matchup, both clubs had played their first matches of the season. Lexington FC was able to get a victory with their 15U team, but Javanon was able to edge out close wins in the other three age groups. All four matchups ended in one-goal margins after an exciting Sunday of competition:
- Lexington FC 05 White won, 3-2
- Javanon 04 Boys Black won, 1-0
- Javanon 03 Boys Black won, 3-2
- Javanon 2001 Black won, 3-2
In the Girls Club vs. Club Division, the inaugural season got underway with Century FC (PA-W) hosting Cleveland FC (OH-N) on Saturday in Pittsburgh, Pa. This matchup between the two clubs saw the 15U, 16U, 17U, and 18U girls teams compete for early positioning in the Club vs. Club Division standings, as both clubs picked up victories in different age groups:
- Century 05 Gold won, 3-0
- Century 04 Gold and Cleveland FC 04 tied, 2-2
- Cleveland FC 03 Royal won, 8-0
- Cleveland FC 02 won, 2-0
Cleveland FC 02 (OH-N), which won the US Youth Soccer National Championship last year, had an early season challenge on Saturday with Century V 2002 Gold (PA-W). David Sidloski, head coach of both the 02 and 03 Cleveland FC girls teams, talked about the 02’s match up on Saturday and what he attributes to his team’s success.
“It’s our experience and resilience,” said Sidloski. “We knew that teams would be gunning for us this season after winning the National Championship last year. Our girls are very capable of handling the high pressure of these games and the energy that the Century team brought. We stuck to our system, which is to play position oriented soccer, and that lead to scoring opportunities. Their Keeper was phenomenal, but our girls gave it their all and that led to two goals.
“Sarah Robertson was able to blast the ball to the back of the net after a scramble through the box about halfway through the second half. The second goal came with only eight or nine minutes left, when Kathryn Ramicone threw herself between the ball and the defender to break up the chance of a cleared ball and Emma Adams was able to finish it off by putting the ball in the net.”
Sidloski talked about the newly created Club vs. Club Division.
“It’s good for the younger girls to see the speed and experience of the older girls playing and it’s good to have the older players cheer on the younger players,” Sidloski said. “This environment allows clubs to have a full day of competition and support each other. It’s a culture that is very in sync with what everyone should be doing in regards to youth soccer.”
On top of Great Lakes Conference play, Sidloski coaches both the 02 and 03 Cleveland FC girls teams in the US Youth Soccer National League, which is the top tier of play in the Leagues Program. Sidloski talked about playing in both leagues and the meaning of each match.
“The experience makes us stronger. These conference games mean everything because if we don’t qualify again with our performance in National League, we will need to qualify through the other channels such as the Club vs. Club Division. This makes every game important.”
To follow the results and standings this season, click here.