Wednesday, July 24th
Collinsville, Illinois
Wild card they said, National Championship Title they never
said, but that is exactly what the SLSG Illinois 14 Pre-Academy team attained
on Monday, July 22nd. Making the
most of their late entry as a wild card into the US Club National Premier
League Champions Cup in Denver, Colorado this past week, the team faced
opponents from Washington, Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas on their run
to secure a second National Championship title for the Collinsville, Illinois
based division of St. Louis Scott Gallagher.
After losing 4 players to illness the night before the
Regional Championship match on July 1st, a late penalty and 2-3 loss to the
Michigan Wolves of Detroit seemed to signal the end of a very promising season
for the group of boys who hail from communities in the Metro East like
Collinsville, Edwardsville, Alton, Belleville and Waterloo as well as
communities across Southern and Central Illinois like Carbondale, Marshall and
Anna-Jonesboro. A last minute wild
card berth, however, signaled a reprieve and the team set out to the task of
making the most of their second chance.
According the coach, Blake Decker, “It is difficult to put
into words the emotional highs and lows surrounding our defeat in the Regional
Championship match and then the subsequent awarding of a wild card berth. We trained 120 times over 10 months
preparing for Regional’s and when it ended the way it did, it was heart
breaking; however, I think that experience provided the players with an unique
perspective that contributed significantly to the teams’ eventual National
Championship title. Unlike
all the other teams at the event, the guys knew exactly what it felt like for
the season to be over because we experienced it. They set their minds and hearts to ensuring we made the most
of our second chance together.”
And that is exactly what they did in Colorado. After a 4-0 opening over Wenatchee (WA)
the team fought to comeback from an early deficit to drew 1-1 versus Weston (Miami,
FL). Sitting on 4 points from 2
matches, the team entered its’ third and final group match needing a victory to
secure advancement to the Championship rounds. The challenge was significant as they would face off against
Colorado State and Mountain Developmental League Champions, Rush Colorado. The 3rd match in three days
at altitude against a local team, however, did not faze the group of Southern
Illinois players. After going down
0-1 in the first 12 minutes, the team rallied with a goal before half time. The
game winner came with just 8 minutes remaining in the match after Wan Kuzain
Wan Kamal (Carbondale) picked up the ball in midfield made an individual run
and then slipped in an overlapping Clayton Pearson (Edwardsville) who bent the
ball around the onrushing goal keeper.
With that goal and the final whistle, the team became the 3rd
SLSG Illinois team to advance out of the group stages in a national championship
tournament in three years.
According to attacking midfielder player Wan Kamal Wan Kuzain,
“That comeback was a key moment for us.
We have always been a very tight group, we enjoy being with each other
on and off the field, but the ability to come from behind on the third day
after conceding the lead early to a local team who was not affected by the
altitude made us believe that together we had a chance to beat anybody.”
SLSG Illinois would
need that sense of collective belief in the semi-final where they faced their
most difficult opponent thus far in the form of fully funded MLS Youth Academy,
New York Red Bull (NYRB). Coming
into the event, NYRB was heavily favored to win the title. The team comprised of players from New
York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania had compiled an unmatched record
of 34-1-1 in the North East Pre-Academy League and outscored opponents 13-1 in
the group stages of the event.
Said Decker of the Red Bulls, “We recognized the immense
quality of our opponent and knew that we would have to remain extremely
organized and disciplined defensively against such an athletic and talented
opponent if we were to have a chance.
It was one of the most committed and hardest working performances I’ve
ever seen against one of the most talented teams I’ve ever seen. The boys defended for long periods of
the game, but never lost their nerve and when we were able create chances on
the break, they took them.”
After a scoreless first half, SLSG Illinois shocked NYRB in
the 4 minute of the second half when Clayton Pearson was taken down in the
penalty box and buried the subsequent penalty in the back of the net.
SLSG Illinois would hold the lead until just 7 minutes
before the end of regulation when a corner kick scrum ended with a Dantae Greer
finish through a crowd of players.
The score would remain tied as the two teams entered two 10 minute
overtime periods. Just as it
looked as though the matter would have to be settled via penalties, Hunter Mudd
(Edwardsville) picked up a ball in midfield after a sliding tackle on the NYRB
left back, passed it to Clayton Pearson who beat a defender and served the ball
into the box. After a deflection by the goalkeeper the ball fell to Hunter
Mudd’s feet and he applied the final touch to secure the victory at the death.
On the significance of his goal, Hunter Mudd explained, “Even
if I was not there Riley (Patterson) was right there with me and he would have
gotten it if I did not. I think
that shows how committed we all were to each other. They had so much of the ball, but even after defending hard
for nearly all of the 90 minutes, we had three players in the box to Red Bulls
one. We wanted it so badly.”
This sentiment was shared by New Red Bull striker and goal scorer
Dante Greer who told a Top Drawer Soccer Reporter after the match, ““It was a war. They put us through a war
out there.”
A 3-1 victory for FC Dallas over Weston in the other
semi-final meant that SLSG Illinois would again face a fully funded MLS Youth
Program in the National Championship match. It would not take SLSG Illinois long to find the lead
as Clayton Pearson once again found the back on the net from a Riley Patterson
cross in the 8th minute of the match. Minutes later SLSG Illinois had a chance to go up by two,
but the chance was put just over the cross bar. FC Dallas responded with a just 30 seconds remaining in the
first half to go even just before the break.
On giving up the equalizer, Decker explained, “That was a
difficult time to give up a goal.
The momentum going into half is ours if we keep them at zero. We acknowledged it was a disappointment
but reiterated the message we had followed all weekend: it’s not what happens,
but what you do when it happens.
We gave up the goal, that was done; what was important now was how we
responded.”
The desired response came 7 minutes after the start of the
break. After a long punt by
goalkeeper Gage Steiner (Alton), Riley Patterson challenged for the ball with
the FC Dallas center back and the ball popped free for striker Ben Huels
(Waterloo) who beat the final defender and then the goalkeeper to score. The FC Dallas response was extremely
strong pushing SLSG Illinois back into their own half for much of the next 15
minutes; however, with just over 5 minutes remaining in the match attacking
midfielder Ryan Stites (Waterloo) picked up a ball about 25 yards from goal,
ran inside with it and found Clayton Pearson running in behind the FC Dallas
back line. Pearson notched his 5th
goal of the tournament and sealed a National Title for SLSG Illinois.
The impact of a National Title will not be short-lived nor will
it be exclusive to those who participated in Denver this past week according to
Director of Coaching, Jeremy Alumbaugh, “The achievement of a U14 NPL National
Championship is a great one for not only this team but the younger teams coming
up through the club. For our younger players, being able to look across a
practice field and see players that just won a National Title by knocking off
two MLS Youth Teams is a tremendous motivator and will inspire them to strive
for similar heights.”
The National Title won in Colorado is the second in 3 years
for SLSG Illinois and marks the 3rd consecutive year an SLSG
Illinois team has appeared in a national championship final. In 2011, SLSG Illinois defeated
Olimpica FC (CA) to claim the clubs first US Club National Championship in
Boise, Idaho and, in 2012, SLSG Illinois was a National Finalist losing to Manchester
United Academy (CA) 2-4 in double overtime at the US Club National
Championships in Waukegan, Illinois.
On the significance of the National Championship to the
Southern Illinois soccer community, 20-year Program Director, Dale Schilly
commented, “The U14's have achieved the most difficult of National
Championships and what an incredible reward it is for a group of players who
have invested so much of themselves. They’ve sacrificed weeknights and weekends
over the past 11 months training in stifling heat, torrential rains and
snowstorms for the slim chance that this moment would arrive and when it did they
represented themselves, their families, their club and their communities with a
level of character and quality that they can look back on with pride for years
to come. Our
mission as a club is very clear, to build
the best club in the country. Some have questioned the clubs motives
and means in achieving this or even whether a club from such a small market can
really attain such a goal, but now others will surely see what is possible when
the most talented players in the Metro East come together in order to commit
themselves to frequent, intense and purposeful practice. Future
opportunities are going to result because of what this amazing group of young
men achieved in Denver this past week and the community will witness more
National Championship appearances and more Division I college opportunities for
kids in the Metro East. We are
extremely excited about the future of our young players.”
