Some of the top high school soccer talent in Osceola County is headed to regionals in Texas after capturing the Florida President’s Cup in May. The St. Cloud Soccer Club Girls Under 19 Team captured the championship in Tampa last month with a 4-3 win over Clay Soccer (Jacksonville). The win qualifies the team for the Southern President’s Cup in Frisco, Texas, June 15-19.
“Winning the Florida President’s Cup was a huge accomplishment and honor for our team,” Head Coach Scott Marlega – who is also the Harmony girls’ soccer coach – said. “First of all, we are a small town team competing against a lot of teams from big cities that sometimes have three, four or five teams in different age groups. We do not have enough players to support multiple teams so quite often we were playing many Under 19 teams that consisted of all high school seniors. Our under 19 team has about six seniors and the rest of our roster were ninth, tenth and 11th graders.”
The Club Season runs from the fall until the end of June, taking a break in the winter months for the high school season. The Florida Cup was a year-long competition where teams played in round-robin pool play, before advancing to group pool play and ultimately the knockout stage—a single elimination 16-team tournament.
By winning the Florida President’s Club, St. Cloud now advances to the intensive Southern Regional, a 12-team tournament representing the champions of 12 states. Each team will face three pool games in three days with the semifinals set for June 18 and finals June 19. A win at the Southern Tournament would insure a spot in the National Presidents Cup Tournament, July 7-10 in Greensboro, NC.
“It’s going to be a tremendous challenge for us with a potential five games in five days – all in the Texas heat,” Marlega said. “In high school and normal club play, you are looking at playing one or two games per week. We are certainly going to have to work on our fitness training for the next month.”
This is not the first trip to the Southern Regional for St. Cloud. Last year the team finished third in the Florida Cup and was named a wildcard to the Southern Regional when the first and second place team turned down the invitation to the next level.
“That was a great experience for us,” Marlega said. “We were younger team and did not advance past pool play but it gave our kids an opportunity to understand what higher level competition is all about. Many of our starters are holdovers from last year, so they are going to know what to expect. Our goal this year will be to get to the knockout stage.”
Marlega added that tournaments like the Presidents Florida Cup and South Regional provides incredible exposure for the players among college recruiters. “In Florida, most of the college recruiting happens during the club season, not the high school season. Tournaments like this get our kids an incredible amount of exposure with the colleges.”
St. Cloud Soccer Club’s roster resembles the an all-star team from Osceola County with high school players from Harmony, St. Cloud, Tohopekaliga and Gateway making up the majority of the roster. Other players come from nearby Cypress Creek and Freedom High School.
Top players on the team include Morgan Sullivan, the OBC Co-Player of the Year. Sullivan scored 17 goals and added six assists for the Longhorns in leading them to an OBC championship. Reinna Scott, who missed her junior season with Harmony with a knee injury, has rejoined St. Cloud Soccer after her recovery and is expected to bolster the team’s offense.
A pair of rising seniors, St. Cloud’s Karen Prado and Harmony’s Brynn Magner anchors the St. Cloud midfield, Gateway’s Kim Tavares is a top defenseman and Freedom’s Paula Rincon has been the starter in goal.
The team is currently engaged in fund raising effort to help defray the estimated $29,000 they will need for flights and hotel rooms to compete in the Southern President’s Cup Tournament. In addition to seeking sponsors and conducting car washes and restaurant spirit night promotions the team is also accepting donations from the community on their “Go Fund Me” page at www.gofundme.com/f/help-get-saint-cloud-soccer-girls-team-to-texas.
“These players have worked so hard and have already accomplished so much. They represent the best of St. Cloud and Osceola County,” Marlega added. “They are great representatives of our county schools and deserve the community’s support.”
