The Kalamazoo Kingdom improved their qualification totals from three in 2007 to seven this time around by increasing productivity in their boys program. Where two boys teams qualified in 2007 (U13 & U15), Kalamazoo went five-for-five in 2008. The club’s ’94 boys, who advanced to the semifinals of last year’s U13 North American Finals, enter the U14 tournament looking to take that final step into the league championship match. The side posted a 9-2-1 record this season, losing a 3-1 match to the second-place Chicago Magic on Saturday, July 26 and a 1-0 match to TKO Premier to close out the regular season on Thursday, July 31.
The club’s female qualifiers in 2007, the ’93 team lost only one match this season, a 4-3 shootout with the formidable Cleveland Internationals. That match was the first of Kalamazoo’s season and since, the team has put together a seven-game unbeaten streak. The club tied the Internationals in goals scored with 46 and bested their rivals by allowing only six this season, four of which were scored by the Internationals.
The third returning side is Kalamazoo’s U16 boys (‘92). Just as Kalamazoo’s ’94 boys advanced to the semifinals of the 2007 competition, so did their ‘92s. After going 2-0-1 in group play, Kalamazoo’s ‘92s fell, 4-2 to eventual U15 boys Champion, Arsenal FC of Southern California.
