Edge Soccer Club

The newly formed U11 Boys Black team had only five practices together before they were to participate in the 28^th Annual Colorado Storm Boys Classic Tournament the weekend of August 8-10. They knew going into this tournament that the results could set the stage for the rest of their season – it was sort of a test to see how 14 boys from different experiences and a new coach would come together as a team.

Playing teams from some of the top clubs in the state like Storm, Fusion, and Rocky Mountain Soccer Academy the boys knew they had their work cut out for them. However, it didn’t take long for the team to realize their potential. Each game they played proved that they were going to be a huge force in their division – a team to be reckoned with. Their fist three games in pool play the boys shut out two teams with commanding scores of 8-0 and only allowed one goal in another, ending the game 4-1. The team continued their dominance into their semi-final game with another shut out, winning 5-0. The final game was against Storm and after a hard fought match that led into a nail biting shootout, the boys were able to add one more win to their list to become champions of the U11 Silver Division. Throughout the tournament the team put an impressive total of 26 goals in their opponent’s net and only allowed 2 goals to be scored against them. They came back to Arvada from Englewood with their first trophy as a team but perhaps the bigger prize could be that they came home with stronger team bonds and a sense of confidence they didn’t have before.

Team members as pictured back row Tyler Knipp, Darien Huffman, Mitch McCormick, Coach Dan Millard, Andy Fendel, Josh Campbell, Luis Aguilar and front row Cooper Boeff, Hayden Hogoboom, Dylan Johnson, Nick Rosser, Paul Wills, Paul Elliott, Connor Bell, Hugo Diaz, all played well, fought hard, outplayed and outworked their opponents. Coached by Dan Millard the U11 Boys Black team showed that despite the small amount of time they had to get adjusted to playing on a larger field, with more players in new positions they were indeed able to come together as a team and perform beautifully. 

Our U18 Boys and Girls Select teams just finished a very successful week at the College Search Kickoff Classic in Iowa.  Putting on a display of high quality soccer in front of numerous college coaches, both teams came away with undefeated records (Boys 3 wins and Girls 2 wins/1 tie) versus strong Midwest clubs, such as St. Louis SC and Scott Gallagher.  Congrats to all of the players and best of luck in your upcoming seasons.

The U17 Edge Girls Black Team returned home from Steamboat Springs with one more great accomplishment to add to their list. The team has had great success together and winning this tournament gives Coach Allan Reid yet another reason to sing the praises of this talented group of girls. There can be no doubt that their amazing work ethic and terrific team work were key factors in their success. 

Back row: Corey LaMoureaux, Coach Allan Reid, Amber Hull Middle Row 2: Coach Jeff Combes, Jenna Breckenfelder, Mallory Lizza, Hannah Brown, Katy Elliott, Aubrey Fondy, Caitlin O’Connor, Hannah Kenyon, Coach Mark Johnson Front Row: Lauren McVey, Kayla Kawasaki, Missy Yorchak, Danielle Madonia, Lindsey Pfenninger.

The weekend started out with mixed emotions - winning their first game by forfeit. They knew that the other teams in their bracket would have the same free ride but they also knew that they needed that game to help them stay focused and sharp for the rest of the tournament. Wisely, they used the time to scrimmage knowing they faced a tough opponent in their first game on Saturday. After some soccer and mental prepping for Saturday, they ended their first day in Steamboat with a little team building by tubing down the Yampa River together.

Their first game on Saturday was against the Steamboat Soccer Academy Team - a group of players age 13-17 who attend the Steamboat Summer Soccer Camps. They were a very talented group of girls with a phenomenal goalie. Edge rose to the challenge and was finally able to get one in the net ending the game with 1-0 victory.

Finals were now within reach for the team and their next opponent was a Rush team. The previous day Rush was beaten by the Academy team 3-1 and Coach Mark Johnson passed on tubing with the team to do some 'research' on Rush to help the team go in to the game as prepared as possible. After an extremely physical and hard fought match the score was tied 1-1 which was still enough for Edge to advance to the finals to play against Colorado Fusion Mundial - a U18 team with plans to 'go out on top' by winning the tournament.

The final match was simply superb soccer from both teams. Both teams played hard, aggressive, good and fair soccer. At the end of regulation time it was a 0-0 score. The girls prepared themselves for overtime - two periods of five minutes each with no Golden Goal. Three minutes into the first overtime Colorado Fusion Mundial scored the first goal of the match. Edge was down one goal with only seven minutes to score. Edge kicked off and drove straight down the field and scored! With a 1-1 score both teams battled to get the winning goal but at the end of the overtime periods the score remained a tie. The winner would be decided by penalty kicks.

Edge won the toss and elected to shoot first.

Edge calmly put one in the left corner. Edge 1-0

Mundial comes next and puts the ball over the top. Edge 1-0

Edge again puts the ball in the left corner. Edge 2-0

Mundial puts the ball over the top. Edge 2-0

Edge hits one off the left upright and rebounds out. Edge 2-0

Mundial gets one in. 2-1.

Edge shoots and beats Mundial's goalie. Edge 3-1

Mundial shoots high left and Edge's Goal Keeper tips the ball over.

It took a minute for the players to realize that since Mundial failed on their fourth kick (and there was no way to catch up) it was over. The realization that they won the shoot out 3-1 led to a major celebration on the field.

Afterwards, Coach Allan Reid was full of compliments for his entire team. Each player was important, from those that played with injuries that never seemed to slow them down, to the ones that played any (or every) position that was asked of them - beautifully; to those that kept their composure when other teams were making it difficult to do so and to those superb midfielders that played amazing defense and offense; to the outstanding goal keeping; and to the guest players. All were an integral part of the team's success. Coach Reid was especially thankful to the team for giving him the winning experience in his last travel tournament as a coach. Now he can add one more great accomplishment to his already long list; many of which are thanks to this amazing U17 Girls Black team.