Cape Cyclones 2009 squad headed to national soccer championships
A Cape Coral boys soccer team will compete for a national championship later this month after taking down competition at both the state and regional level.
The Cape Coral Cyclones 2009 boys black squad (U16) is heading to the United States Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup in Tampa, which runs from July 11-15.
After taking down the Florida championship, the team secured the Southern Presidents Cup this past June in Texas.
Coached by Martin Cardenas, the team is one of the top eight in the nation in its age bracket.
It’s been an up and down road for the group over the year. Results during the regular season put them just over .500, but they turned it on when the matches mattered most.
“As a team, we’ve been playing good soccer pretty much all year,” said Cardenas, who is also the head coach of the Mariner High School boys soccer team. “We lost some games we shouldn’t have lost by one goal, tied some games we should have won — just unfortunate with mishaps. But come April, the boys started playing better and seeing better results. We started the state tournament probably in the middle of the road, and ended up making it to the finals and beating a team from Kissimmee to allow us to go to Texas as one of 12 representatives from the Southeastern United States.”
The Cyclones were all business in Texas, going undefeated over five games to raise the trophy.
They came out on top 1-0 against South Texas in game one, defeated a team from Mobile, Alabama, 3-0 in game two and took down a team from North Carolina 3-1 in game three to win the group.
“Our defense was stellar,” Cardenas said.
In the semifinals against Mississippi, the boys came out victorious 2-1 in double overtime, with Jayden Torres providing the winning goal.
“That was a really good match,” Cardenas said. “Jayden was able to get a one-on-one with a really great goalkeeper, and was able to beat him.”
In the finals against a New Orleans team that had yet to be scored on, the Cyclones came out firing early and captured the title in a 3-1 final.
The team netted its first goal in the first three minutes, and added a second just five minutes later.
“That kind of seemed to put them in a confused space that they hadn’t been in,” Cardenas said.
A third goal came before the 20-minute mark, giving the Cyclones a 3-0 lead, which they kept until the final moments of the match.
“In the second half, (New Orleans) kind of got their wits about them and put pressure on us, but at that point we were pretty settled in,” Cardenas said. “I think the entire tournament we played excellent defense.”
The Cyclones, as well as the team they defeated in the finals, will be two teams representing the Southeast in the U.S. Youth Soccer National Presidents Cup.
“We hope playing in Tampa will give us a little bit of an edge, weather-wise,” Cardenas said. “We still have quite a bit of work to do. Hopefully the boys will continue the streak they have going on and continue working hard to see a good result.”
The team is made up of 18 freshmen and sophomores from local high schools including Mariner, Ida Baker, Oasis, Cape Coral, North Fort Myers, Bishop Verot, and East Lee County.
“I think our early morning training helped — it was really hot, and our kids kind of got used to that,” Cardenas said. “It played a role. We played five games in five days. It’s a lot. We managed to handle substitutes well. Everyone gave us good minutes.”
From being a just above .500 team to playing for a national championship, Cardenas said the team was playing good soccer without seeing the results they wanted when the final whistle sounded.
“I couldn’t be upset because we didn’t play poorly,” he said. “We’re not perfect, nobody is. We lost four of five games we shouldn’t have, as well as tied three or four we should have won.
“Heading into the tournament, one of the things we addressed was having a clean slate and having to fine-tune our final moments. We found a way to score when we had two, and our defense has been solid all year. We’ve kept our shape and tenacity. Offensively, we’ve created better opportunities and put the ball in the net.”
Cardenas said the group is a tight-knit one that gets along well despite representing different schools.
“They work hard for each other,” he said. “They put it all on the line and have been getting the job done. They’ve all had their moments to shine. I don’t think there’s a kid on the team that didn’t play or didn’t make a huge contribution.”
The team roster includes Jack Fish, Carlos Santana, Brighton Levi, Jayden Torres, Daniel Barata, Jayden Ramirez, Jeovani Castro, John Threlkeld, Sean Conger, Townsend Orelus, Daniel Zea, David Alvarez, Derek Johansson, Erik Martinez, Jacobo Herrera, Sebastian Diaz and Alexander Villada.
Cardenas also extended a big “thank you” to team manager Carmen Fish, who helped raise funds for the trip to Texas, as well as the Cape Coral Soccer Association and parents.
To reach CJ HADDAD, please email cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com