The Vardar Elite Boys’
Under-13 team from Rochester, Michigan, is the 2007 Michigan
State Cup Youth Soccer Champions, defeating Grand Valley
Soccer Club 1-0 on Saturday, June 2, in the championship
game at Founders Park in Farmington Hills. Vardar, ranked
tenth nationally in the Under-13 age group, will now
represent the State of Michigan at the 2007 Youth Soccer
Region II Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, June 22-27.
Vardar pushed across the
only goal of the game in the early stages of the first half,
when Michael Moscone (Washington Township) fed a perfect
pass to Jeff Adkins (Shelby Township), who proceeded to deke
the goalie and knock the ball into the empty net. The
remainder of the half was a see-saw affair, as both teams
generated numerous scoring chances, only to see the opposing
defense shut the door.
In the second half,
Grand Valley, which entered the match ranked second in the
nation, responded by furiously attacking the Vardar goal,
but again the Vardar defense proved impenetrable. The team
from Rochester even fought off a last-minute penalty kick by
their opponents to preserve the victory.
The Vardar defense was
led by goalie Zach Carroll (Grand Blanc), named the
Tournament’s Most Outstanding Goalkeeper, and midfielder
Jerome Cristobal (Sterling Heights), named the Tournament’s
Most Valuable Player.
"I thought it was a great result for us
against a very good Grand Valley team,” said Vardar Head
Coach Eric Pogue. “It was great to see the team set a goal
back in August, work extremely hard over the next ten-plus
months to make it happen, and see it through to its
achievement. It’s a valuable lesson for the boys to be a
part of something like this at such an early age."
Pogue added,
"The team is looking forward to Regionals in Des Moines and
will work extremely hard over the next three weeks or so to
be fully prepared to be successful. After that, we’ll let
the chips fall where they may. I never worry about the work
ethic of this team, they always put forth 110%, and as a
coach that is all you can ask. They have been a great group
of young men to coach."
