Live Coverage of 2012 Jefferson Cup Boys – Day 1

Welcome to our new TheSoccerWire.com, debuting this weekend to bring you all our Jefferson Cup coverage. Follow this spot for roughly hourly updates throughout the day.

All stories, comments, live twitter feeds, and even links to helpful sections of the official Jefferson Cup website can be followed from here: http://www.thesoccerwire.com/tournaments/the-jefferson-cup/

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9:00: Coverage of Day 2 can be found here!

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7:00: Wrapping up our day 1 coverage, here’s the featured match story on United 1996’s 2-0 win over Cape Fear. We’ll have more content posting later tonight as well, but this is it for today’s “hourly” updates. Tomorrow’s action ads 100’s of teams in the younger age groups as the young ones don’t get to take off school for a day to showcase for college coaches like today’s teens. Watch this space for more late tonight, and don’t forget to head out to Sports Backers Stadium right now to take in University of Maryland vs. VCU match.

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6:00: United 1996 FC 95 International out of Kentucky got its Jefferson Cup play off to the right start with a convincing 2-0 win over Cape Fear 94 Breakers White of North Carolina in the Boys U17 Championship. Pierce Crawley and Matthew Dombrosky scored the goals for the winning team. Stay tuned, because coach Craig Jones will be taking the time to speak to The Soccer Wire shortly to talk about his team’s performance and how Richmond is treating the team.

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5:00: Ah, a wonderful day filled with soccer. It’s just great, isn’t it? For those who may be on the move a bit, be sure to check out the Twitter feed here for constant score updates. Are you trying to find what game to attend? Here is the schedule. Be sure to stick with us throughout the evening for reactions from players and coaches as Day 1 nears its end.

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4:30: A missed flight, a late arrival in Richmond due to President Barrack Obama’s arrival and no van pickup at the airport, it’s safe to say things weren’t going so well for U18 Championship team Sereno 94 Boys White from Arizona.

Now, things couldn’t be better. The boys from the west took down Black Watch Premier Midlothian from New York 3-1 in both team’s opener, with forward Douglass Jamison scoring the winner.

For coach David Robertson, it was a great way to start the tournament.

“The boys have had a lot of obstacles over the years. They’ve been a very successful team. We had issues like this [travel problems] and they’ve always come out on top. A great bunch of guys…To be honest, it’s just a pleasure to have these guys and to overcome the circumstances when traveling 24 hours in a fair feat.”

The Arizona squad got things off to a hot start by going up 1-0, but the team suffered a set back when Black Watch bagged an equalizer.

“I was a bit concerned when we conceded the goal,” the coach said. “They [Black Watch] tied it back up at 1-1. But again, [we had] fighting character to get on top and finish the game out strong. We’ve got 17 [players] on the roster, four are out injured, so [we have] only 13 players with the traveling that we’ve had…You can’t ask for anything  more.”

The talented squad, which looks to contend for the cup after the fine start, has two players on trial with professional club Aston Villa of England, with other receiving offers to play in Europe, though they plan to play in college.

The team will return to action on Saturday at 12:20 p.m. against Strictly Soccer Futbol Select of Florida at West Creek in the second group game.

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4:00: One of the biggest matches of the day saw a pair of rivals from Maryland square off at West Creek in an Atlantic Soccer League contest. Freestate Red Devils downed Bethesda SC, the No. 6 team in the nation, with each team trading magnificent second-half strikes. Playing on field 10, the scoring has carried over to the next game as Maryland’s FC Frederick ’94 went up 1-0 on Montgomery United SC of Pennsylvania in the opening minutes.

Several teams in various age groups are playing ASL league fixtures here in Richmond at the tournament, as has been done in the past. Having regular season games at the cup has made these most-important clashes even more exciting to view, as stakes are higher, as we have seen today. If you want to know where one of the teams sits in the standings, click here.

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3:15: In the game of soccer, teams have to take their chances in order to convert goals and secure the desired results. Before any of that can happen, you have to make it to the game. One team almost missed out after a run of bad luck.

In the U18 Championship, Sereno 94 Boys White (AZ) is taking on Black Watch Premier Midlothian (NY), with the match tied 1-1, despite arriving just 45 minutes before kick off. The team’s flight from Texas was diverted from Dallas to Austin on Thursday night due to poor weather, forcing everyone to stay there overnight. Then, to make matters worse, the club’s morning flight had to circle above Richmond due to President Barrack Obama’s arrival, as he is in The Commonwealth to speak about the economy. But, it didn’t end there. Once off the plane, the rental car company lost their vans.

The team barely made it to Richmond and had to push the start of its first game back, but after finally arriving, the players are ready to make some noise.

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2:30: The U18 Superior match between Bethesda SC 93/94 Gunners (MD) and NY Elite FC (NY) has ended. The boys from Maryland went down 1-0 but rallied to secure a convincing 4-1 win at West Creek.

“I’m happy because the boys played well,” coach Emile Mbouh said. “They knocked the ball around, passed to each other. They played as a team…They played a possession game.

“We went down early, then [my players] came back. They started putting some pressure on the ball, passed the ball with quick touches, and that was better.”

A team of mostly seniors, several players committed, including to schools such as Swarthmore College (PA), Mount Saint Mary’s (MD) and Bowdoin (Maine).

However, it was junior Juan Ortiz stealing the show, posing a threat on goal with nearly every touch, while also demonstrating his creativity with passes wide and forward.

“He’s very skillful, makes plays in the attacking part [of the field],” Mbouh said. “He’s very dangerous.”

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2:00: A final score coming in from the U18 Championship Group B match featuring Maryland Rush Nike Premier 93 (MD) and Spirit United SC Strikers ’93M (PA). The No. 2 team in Maryland secured a 2-0 victory at West Creek.

In the Cincinnati United Cup Crew Juniors Gold (OH) U17 Championship group game against CESA 94 Premier (SC), talented striker Caelan Hueber found the net with a well-place header. Daniel Richtand sped down the flank before delivering a crisp, driven cross that his attacker made no mistake with. The match is still at 1-0.

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1:45: There has been a goal in the U17 Championship Group A match between CESA 94 Premier (SC)  and Cincinnati United Cup Crew Juniors Gold (OH). The Ohio club holds a 1-0 advantage with a sec0nd-half strike.

In other news, one of the top teams in North Carolina bagged a convincing win this morning. The Soccer Wire’s Jimmy LaRoue has more below.

By Jimmy LaRoue

For Triangle United 95 Gold of North Carolina, it’s a break in its league schedule, but no break as far as high quality competition at the Jefferson Cup in Richmond.

The No. 3 ranked team in The Tar Heel State picked up a 2-0 win in its opening match against Empire United Buffalo (NY) at SportsQuest, leaving coach Billy Englishby, who’s also an assistant at Campbell University, pleased with his team’s performance.

The first goal came on a blistering 35-yard shot from attacking midfielder Marco Perez and Zach Lee picked up the second.

Englishby said his team was able to control possession effectively in the midfield.

“That allowed us to keep a lot of the game,” Englishby said. “Fortunately we were able to put away two opportunities. It could have been more, but that’s obviously, a result of the opposition.”

He said the team is still working to shore up things defensively and is looking forward to facing some different teams during this weekend’s tournament, with Friday morning games complete at SportsQuest in many of the U-16 age groups.

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1:30: There is no doubt that one of the most anticipated matches of today is the U17 Championship Group A match between CESA 94 Premier (SC), the No. 1 team in South Carolina and No.43 nationally, against Cincinnati United Cup Crew Juniors Gold (OH), the top team from Ohio and ranked 30th in the country. The game is currently in the second half and the teams are just as they started, at 0-0. 

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1:00: A few updates for you fine folks: The 12:20 game today from Boys U17 Classic between the Richmond Kickers Elite (VA) and WVSC Wizards (WV) sees the local team down 2-1 at the moment. The wet surface has players skidding around quite a bit. In the U18 Superior, Bethesda SC 93/94 Gunners (MD) has shown great movement with the ball and the ability infiltrate the box of NY Elite FC (NY) on several occasions. The Maryland squad currently holds a 3-1 lead, with junior Juan Ortiz stealing the show with his footwork and creativity.

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12:00: It couldn’t be a more lovely day here in Richmond for the 2012 edition of the Jefferson Cup. 52 degrees is a bit chilly, but it’s still fantastic weather to watch and play the sport we all love. Fans have flocked to the games, and so have college coaches. Two hours into the competition and 100 college coaches have already signed in, with many more expected to arrive. Here is a list of the coaches expected to attend.

Also, are any of you heading to the fields? If you are having trouble, here are the addresses.

Striker Park
4801 Pouncey Tract Rd., Glen Allen, VA 23059

West Creek Fields
12575 West Creek Parkway, Henrico, VA 23238

SportsQuest Fields
13020 Genito Rd., Midlothian, VA 23112

Bryan Park
4308 Hermitage Road, Richmond, VA 23227

Capital Park (Douglas Wilder Middle School)
6900 Wilkinson Road, Richmond, VA 23227

Deep Run Park
9900 Ridgefield Parkway, Richmond VA 23233

Dorey Park
7200 Dorey Park Drive, Richmond, VA

Warhill Sports Complex
5700 Warhill Trail, Williamsburg, Virginia 23188

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10:00: West Creek games are underway with two ASL matches on West Creek fields 9 and 10, with the bulk of games at both West Creek and SportsQuest set for 10:40 am taps. For your convenience, here’s the full schedule of all games today, listed by kickoff time.