St. Croix teams do well at youth soccer tourney in Minnesota

Local youth soccer players salivated at the mouth when they saw the size of the soccer complex they would be playing at. A summer heat wave that hit the Midwest and east coast of the United States last week helped dry the drool off their jerseys.

Two American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) teams from St. Croix competed in two separate tournaments last week at the Schwan's USA CUP in Blaine, Minn. More than 1,000 boys and girls soccer teams from the U.S. and 18 other countries gathered for the event as the St. Croix Under-16 team came home with two team trophies.

All the action was played at the 600-acre National Sports Center, which boasts 52 soccer fields and is certified by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest soccer complex on earth.

"It was an amazing experience for the kids, and considering the competition we went up against, both St. Croix teams did extremely well," said St. Croix Under-12 assistant coach Tim Williams, who is also the St. Croix AYSO Regional Commissioner.

The competition included a week-long tourney and a weekend tournament. The St. Croix Under-16 team advanced to the championship in each one but finished runner-up both times.

The St. Croix Under-12 team lost in the Gold Flight quarterfinals to the eventual champion in the week-long tourney and did not advance in the weekend tournament.

Both St. Croix squads had less than five weeks to prepare, and the teams they met in Minnesota were battled-tested.

"All the teams we played had 60 to 100 games under their belts and we had less than five games together," said Reid Klopp, a USVI senior men's team player who coached the Under-16 squad. "This is the biggest tournament in the country and we really just wanted our guys to experience what it's like to travel and compete at this level."

The Under-16 squad finished the tourneys with a combined 7-3-1 record and fell to Canadian teams in each championship.

In the week-long tournament, St. Croix pushed past the Centennial Cougars (Minn.) in the semifinals, 3-0, before falling to the East York Dragons (Ontario) in the final, 1-0. In the weekend tournament, St. Croix advanced to the B Flight championship and lost to the ASC Storm (Canada), 2-0.

Klopp, who has been coaching the team for the last few years, said the squad gained more and more confidence as the tournaments played out.

"They really didn't know what to expect at first because they were still in awe of the soccer complex," he said. "Many of them had never seen anything like that before. But after they started to win, they became much more comfortable. They just needed some time to play together. This team is much better than they were just two weeks ago."

The heat wave that struck the area registered a heat index of 115 degrees during the day, Klopp said. Other teams learned where the St. Croix players were from and thought they held a slight advantage.

"It was kind of funny," Klopp said. "People were like, 'Oh, you must be used to this,' but we weren't. It was hot. Everyone had to step up their game. We had to drink lots of water and we were constantly substituting players so everyone had a role."

Players from the Under-16 team received medals for their play and two team trophies, which Klopp said will be displayed soon.

"It was just a great effort from these guys and it proved that soccer is heading in the right direction for the Virgin Islands," said Klopp, a Maryland native and former college player. "If we can keep these kids playing consistently, there's no telling how far they can go."

The Under-12 team from St. Croix was the same group that took first place at the AYSO Florida State Games in January. It was the first time a soccer team from the St. Croix AYSO had won a tournament held on the mainland.

In Minnesota, the team finished the weekend tournament with a 1-0-2 record in preliminary play and did not advance to the medal round. At the week-long tourney, they met another "St. Croix" squad, out of St. Croix, Minn., and lost in the quarterfinals, 2-0.

"We put the kids in the Gold Flight because we wanted them to play the best," said Williams, whose team finished with a combined 3-4 record in the tournaments. "They had the best teams from the U.S. along with Brazil, Columbia and Ecuador."

Brian Blaschka, a former professional soccer player who has worked with the AYSO since he moved to St. Croix over two years ago, was the head coach for the Under-12 squad. Both St. Croix teams were select squads that were made up of the best players from each league's respective age groups.

The AYSO on St. Croix is considered the biggest soccer organization in the territory and attracted 285 youth players last year. Weekly games were held at Renaissance Park. For more information about the organization, log on to http://ayso1383.org/.

- Contact sports writer Aaron Gray at 774-8772 ext. 352 or e-mail agray@dailynews.vi.

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