Rocky River’s Kara Johansson tries to win the ball against Keeley Birsic of Excalibur during last Saturday’s action at the NOSO Cup Soccer Tournament at the Barton- Bradley Fields. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Local teams earn NOSO Cup championships
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published July 8, 2009

The 32nd annual NOSO Cup Soccer Tournament is in the books, with several local squads making their presence felt over the holiday weekend.

A number of teams in both the girls and boys divisions claimed runner-up honors as well after competing in the tournament. Teams from throughout Ohio, as well as Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois and Canada, battled it out in what is still known as one of the longest-running youth soccer events in the country.

Excalibur of North Olmsted won a pair of titles, taking the girls U18 Cup championship and the boys U17 Cup title. Erie FC out of Avon Lake won two crowns as well, taking the girls U14 Cup boys U12 Trophy titles. The host club, the North Olmsted Soccer Organization, won the boys U14 Cup, while Concordia out of Olmsted Falls came away with the boys U10 Cup.

The Cleveland Kickers, another local club, won the boys U9 Cup, while a non-club team, the Rocky River Pirates, claimed the girls U13 Trophy crown. And the Westlake Power Strikers took first as well, winning the girls U11 Trophy title.

The Pirates went 2-1 in their U13 contests, getting a pair of wins last Saturday. They beat Schaumburg Tsunami of Illinois, 5-1, then came back with a 2-0 win over Excalibur. They shook off a 1-0 loss early Sunday morning to the Cleveland Kickers to blank that team, 4-0, in the title game.

“We’re a community team that’s made up of girls from Rocky River,” said Pirates head coach Kevin Killeen. “These girls have been playing together since they were at the U8 level, so they’ve worked hard to get where they’re at.

“It’s always an enjoyment to play in this tournament,” said Killeen. “The facilities and the tournament staff here are excellent.”

North Olmsted’s Nick Hayes scores his team’s second goal of the game against Westlake.

Excalibur, coached by Bay head coach Jack Griffiths, went unbeaten over the weekend to claim the girls U18 Cup. On Saturday, they edged the Cleveland Kickers in the opener, 3-2, then came back later in the day to shutout Grand Island Fire out of New York, 4-0. On Sunday, they toppled Grand Island again, 2-0, before taking a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Kickers in the championship game.

The Westlake Power Strikers finished first over the runner up NOSO Strikers by going 3-1 over the weekend. They beat the Cleveland Kickers, 2-1, then blasted Excalibur U10 Black, 11-0, on Saturday, then split their games on Sunday. They beat the NOSO Strikers by the narrowest of margins, 1-0, then lost to their neighborhood rivals, the Westlake Dare Devils, by a 4-2 score in their final game.

Erie FC took the girls U14 Cup with a 2-0 blanking of Westlake on Sunday. An 8-1 win over the NOSO Crush, followed by a equally convincing 6-1 victory over Westlake, started Erie FC off on the right foot. The Rochester Rhinos of New York forced a 2-2 tie on Sunday morning, but Erie FC wrapped up the title with the 2-0 win over Westlake.

On the boys’ side, Excalibur beat out Greece Eclipse of New York for the U17 Cup. On Saturday, they started things off with a 6-0 win over Team Metro of Warren before coming back with a 5-0 win over North Olmsted. A 3-1 win over Greece Eclipse and a win over Midview proved to be enough to get Excalibur the title.

NOSO United beat out OSFC for the boys U14 Cup by going 3-0-1 in the tournament. They beat Canada’s Thorold Cobras, 2-0, then had to settle for a 3-3 tie with OSFC. A pair of wins on Sunday, however, got United the crown as they beat Metro FC, 8-0, then came back with a solid 4-1 win over the Cleveland Kickers.

In the boys U12 Trophy division, Erie FC took first over runner up Avon Lake Soccer Organization by going a perfect 4-0 in their games. On Saturday, they edged out ALSO, 2-1, then crushed the Midview Lightning, 9-0. On Sunday, a 4-1 win over the NOSO Eagles U11 squad was followed up by a 6-3 victory over Metro FC.

Concordia edged out the Cleveland Kickers for the boys U10 Cup with a 4-0 weekend as well. They defeated Metro FC, 8-2, and Croatia, 10-2, on Saturday, then followed up on Sunday with a 5-4 win over the Cleveland Kickers and a 4-2 decision over ALSO.

NOSO got a pair of runner-up spots in the girls competition, with the NOSO Vipers (U10) joining the Strikers (U11). Excalibur’s Orange U10 team took second in the girls U11-12 Cup. For the boys, Excalibur finished second twice on the weekend as their U18 team finished behind Team Metro and their U14 squad came in behind Victory Express of Washington, Pa. in the U15 competition.

Check the published edition of West Life for a complete listing of tournament scores.