Perfect SYL Seasons: Part II
A feature on U15 Ottawa Fury, U16 Brooklyn Knights and U14 Cal Odyssey
USL News Release
Wednesday, September 23, 2008
TAMPA – In USLSoccer.com’s second of three looks at the perfect clubs left in the Super Y-League system following this summer - we focus in on the three remaining boys clubs: the 12-0-0 Ottawa Fury U15 boys, the 12-0-0 Brooklyn Knights U16 boys and the 10-0-0 Cal Odyssey U14 boys.
 U15 Ottawa Fury Boys
The Ottawa Fury’s U15 boys were the only prefect Canadian side in the Super Y-League this season. Mountain WFC’s U15 boys ended the regular season unbeaten, but drew even three times on the season and a girl’s side, U15 Coastal WFC was also close. They ended the regular season with a record of 6-0-2.
Against their New England Division competition, the Ottawa Fury puzzle was nearly solved on Sunday, July 27 against Seacoast United, but the defenses held and the Fury managed a 1-0 win. No other team in the division would come closer than that as Ottawa outscored their opponents 39-5 on the season. When the team arrives in Tampa for the North American Finals they will first have to steer through competition from the 6-2-2 Abbotsford Mariners. On day two of group play the side will battle the 8-2-0 Kalamazoo Kingdom. Should they survive those two matches, Ottawa will then have a chance to advance to the knockout phase of the competition with a win over the 9-4-2 City Islanders Academy.
This same team earned experience at the U14 North American Finals last season, but following a rough outing in Tampa during the 2007 event, Ottawa is looking to repair their status in the ’94 age pairing this time around. The offseason improvement shown by the Fury has been impressive. They bettered their league record from 9-2-1 last season to 12-0-0 this year by retooling their offense. Last season the side put up 27 goals, this time around they netted 39. The team’s defense required no improvement. They allowed five goals in 12 matches last season and six through 12 games in 2008.
Carryover members of the 2007 Fury include: Brandon Albert, Ryan Brousseau, Simon Brown, Thomas Capstick, Emile Cardinal Soucy, Nagib Hermas, Adrian Hiotis, Matthew Kaminski, Tyler Lewars, Aidan McParland, Chris Medina, Solamon Schroeter.
 U16 Brooklyn Knights Boys
One of only four boys teams in the region to go unbeaten, the U16 Brooklyn Knights were the only side to complete a perfect season against the raucous Mid Atlantic crowd. Defense was paramount in the team’s opening matches against the South Jersey Barons and Parsippany SC, and after 180 minutes of play against those opponents Brooklyn had yet to allow a single goal. Both of those matches ended 1-0 in favor of Brooklyn, two of the team’s four shutouts this summer.
The side was battle-tested from the beginning of the season, having competed well in both the 2006 and 2007 Super Y-League North American Finals. Their postseason Super Y-League record in those seasons was a combined 3-2-2 including a U14 semifinal loss to the eventual champion, Chicago Magic. Those teams met again at the 2007 North American Finals where the Magic dealt a formidable Brooklyn side a 4-0 defeat to advance to the knockout phase of the U15 competition.
Since at least the U14 Super Y-League level, 12 players on Brooklyn’s roster have been together. That list includes: Angel Aguire, Luis Aragon, Anthony Arena, Peter Clark, Kadeem Dacres, George Georgiton, Leron Haywood, Nicholas Lara, Idris Mashriqi, Victor Muntean, Renato Pezzulo and Jair Veloz.
U14 Cal Odyssey Boys
The Cal Odyssey U14 boys withstood the competition of one the most talented regions in North America to finish 10-0-0. The side’s closest call came in the form of back-to-back, 1-0 wins over Bayside Soccer Academy on Sunday, June 29 and San Ramon Soccer Club on Tuesday, July 8. Those wins were just two of the club’s nine shutouts on the season as the Cal Odyssey allowed just one goal all season. That goal came on opening day to Diablo FC in a 3-1 win, further highlighting the fact that this side has not let up a goal in their last nine contests.
In last season’s Super Y-League regular season the Odyssey finished 7-2-3. Opposite of the U15 Ottawa Fury side, Cal Odyssey needed no help scoring goals. Last season they netted 45 in 12 matches. This season the team focused on defense, allowing 10 goals less than a season ago.
|
|
