Vermont Chargers Capture USPSA Founders Cup
I can’t believe we came away as the champions of the United States Power Soccer Association Founders Cup. Not only did we win the division, but we have also earned a promotion to the Presidents Cup next season. However, this victory was not easy. We had to fight all the way to the end.
We arrived in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Wednesday with only four players. Unfortunately, several of my teammates were unable to make the trek. As a result, we had enough players to play, but no bench. That means you get a lot of playing time, which is good, but wheelchairs sometimes break down. There are freak accidents. It is always a little bit nerve-racking to have only four players, but I was grateful that we had enough.
We had to make some strategic changes based on the personnel we had, and I found myself playing back in the net. I used to do that quite frequently. However, that has not been my primary position for a few years, and I have to admit that I have enjoyed having the opportunity to score goals. However, it was absolutely the right decision to put me back there based on who was traveling with us.
On Thursday morning, we had to play the next best team in our pool, the RHI Inferno. We had been studying this team for some time, so I had to admit that I felt relatively well-prepared. We understood they played fundamentally strong, passing power soccer. We knew that if we could interfere with their passing lanes, we would succeed. We did just that in the first half, and nobody had put one over the line in the first half. We planned on being ahead, but we felt pretty good. Unfortunately, we surrendered two in the second half. We were unable to get our offense on track, either. We had some opportunities, but we ended up losing 2-0.
While I don’t want to make too big a deal of one loss, I want to make sure you understand how devastating this might have been. This tournament involves seven matches over four days. Momentum plays a huge role in this event. I have seen excellent teams fall apart because of a bad first match. While I would not say our opening match was bad, it was certainly not what we wanted on the scoreboard, and it was less than I knew we were capable of. While the Inferno is an excellent team, and I don’t want to take away anything from them as they played very well for the entire match, we had high aspirations for this event, and an opening match loss was not what we were looking for. Before the event, I had been telling people that my objective was promotion, which meant a top-three position. Losses were not going to do that. It might have become a mental roadblock.
However, these gentlemen were up for the challenge. We went on a roll through the rest of our pool. We first met our local opponents, the Commonwealth Cruisers, and found our offensive touch with a 7-0 victory. We also consciously chose to play a very aggressive style of power soccer. It was risky, but it was also exciting. It fit the people we had beautifully, and we wanted to maintain pressure on our opponents. As the person back in the net, I was perfectly happy to see the guys keep the ball at the other end.
Our next match featured Ability 360 United from Arizona. They are a very promising young team that also plays a fundamentally sound style of power soccer, with great spacing and passing. Again, we brought extreme pressure throughout most of the match and took it 5-0. This brought us to the end of the first day of competition, and we felt pretty good. Obviously, it was nice to get our feet back under us after a disappointing first match, and it was good to see that we were able to score in bunches. I will tell you that that took a lot of the pressure off of me. While I wanted to save every ball, I also felt like if I messed up, the team would be able to overcome and bring me back.
We gathered in our hotel lobby on Thursday night for a team dinner. We had a great time, and it happened almost every night going forward. Everyone ordered whatever they wanted, and we enjoyed the time together. One of the best parts about traveling with your teammates is actually spending time with them. We are spread out for the most part. We do not hang out very often outside of practice because it is easy to do so. However, it is wonderful to be with my teammates and their families. We enjoyed our time together and then utilized the televisions in the lobby to review game film from the day. We did not pause or rewind the video very much, but watching what we did and what we should have done was very good for us. Learning together like this was incredibly valuable, and I do not want to undersell its critical role in our success.
We only had one match on Friday against North Texas Fully Charged. We did not know very much about them. We had watched a little bit of video. However, these gentlemen are highly talented. They played a great game. Despite the 3-0 triumph, I was very impressed by their speed and defensive ability.
Our 3-1 record earned us the second seed in our playoff bracket, which would start on Saturday morning. We felt relatively good about our placement, but we hadn’t really scouted the teams from the other pool nearly as much as we did our own, so we were somewhat headed into more unfamiliar territory. The United States Power Soccer Association hosted a social event Friday night, so my entire team attended and had a great dinner with hundreds of other athletes.
Some of you might remember that last year we finished fifth in this competition. That was an excellent result, but I told you before that my objective was promotion, which would require a top-three finish. I at least wanted to do better than last year, which would require a victory in the quarterfinals to guarantee a top-four finish, at least to surpass last year. You always want to improve, but you certainly don’t want to regress.
We were very familiar with the Atlanta Sting, our next opponents. We played them twice last year, and each match was very close. They are very disciplined and well-coached. They also have a senior team in their organization, so they benefit from those learning opportunities, I am sure. Fortunately, our high-intensity, high-pressure strategy kept our opponents far from me in the net, which was just the way I liked it. It ended up being 7-0, and the personal highlight for me was that, because we thought it might be our last opportunity, I came to the front and scored my only goal of the tournament.
Putting the ball in the net was not my role during this event. I was excited by how naturally each of us fit into our positions throughout the entire weekend. I don’t believe that this exact configuration of four players had been on the floor together at all this season. However, for some reason, we all figured out what we needed to do to complement the other guys. Some of it was conscious, and some of it just happened. However, that was one of the most exciting parts of this weekend. So many things fell into place extremely well.
With the quarterfinals behind us, we prepared for the semifinal later Saturday afternoon against the Cinderella story of the tournament, the Turnstone Furious Flyers. They finished 10th in our division last year. However, in the pools, they pulled off an upset against the number one overall seeded Rose City Renegades, and they were playing excellent soccer. As I said above, because of the high number of matches in such a short time, momentum is a huge deal in this event. The Furious Flyers were perfect evidence. They were playing brilliantly, and we did not want to underestimate them. As we were sitting together before the match, I was talking to Marie, a veteran player on the team whom I have known for several years, and I commented on how well they were playing. She replied that they were very excited about how much they were surprising themselves. That is the impact of momentum in this type of event. You start to believe in yourself, and you start playing well. Success builds upon success.
They were the first opponent to really solve our high-pressure assault. Although we were able to put in two goals very quickly, everything started to balance out for them. All of a sudden, they were continually pressing the ball back into our end. Every time we made some headway down the court, the defense cleared the ball back to our end, and we had to start all over again. They were then able to put one in the net to bring our lead down to 2-1. They were pouring on the pressure. I think we were all grateful when half-time arrived, and we had a minute to regroup.
Because we had no substitutes and the Furious Flyers kept the same four ladies on the court the entire time, you can see the impact of momentum in this type of event. They had us on our heels, and there was nothing we could do to slow down the momentum until halftime. It feels like a very young person thing to say, but these power soccer tournaments really are all about vibes. If your team has a solid flow, you will do well. If you lose that, you need to find it.
Luckily, we calmed down during halftime. The second half went much better. Our pressure was back. We were able to keep the ball away from me, and we found an insurance goal to bring home a 3-1 victory and secure our spot in the championship match on Sunday. That was a wonderful match, and we were very happy about our hard-earned victory. That said, during our after-dinner film session in the lobby, we realized we had a lot of work to do. There were a lot of little things we needed to do better in our upcoming championship match against the Rose City Renegades.
Last year, Rose City ended our title hopes with a 2-0 defeat in the quarterfinals. They are a very solid team with lethal set plays. They play strong defense as well. Because of their offensive prowess and our recent offensive explosion, I expected a high-scoring shootout in the final, but others I spoke to believed it would be a defensive stalemate, with neither team able to penetrate the other’s defense. At this point in the tournament, both teams had allowed three total goals each, so those other people certainly had a point. Either way, we understood that it would be a fight.
The worst part about it was the anticipation. We were the absolute last match on the schedule on Sunday at 4 PM. Of course, I was in the gym watching other matches all day, but the anticipation was killing me. I wanted to play. Whatever was going to happen, I just wanted to make that happen. We had already met my promotion goal because the top three teams in the division are promoted. However, now that we were here in the final, I had one more objective.
When they finally walked us over to the court, it was a surreal experience. We went the long way around, so there were players all over wishing us good luck as we went by. Stadium anthems like “The Eye of the Tiger” and “The Final Countdown” were blasting over the sound system. We were brought on as a team, but each player was introduced individually. Even though we were the final match, several people remained around to watch our confrontation. Most power soccer events are only played in front of friends and family, so it was something to have the floor mostly surrounded by observers.
Our warm-ups went very well. We were striking the ball solidly, and I had a feeling it was going to go well. Although you can never tell for sure, so much of power soccer is about timing and solid contact. I felt good about the way we were striking the ball.
Rose City immediately started applying pressure. It should not be surprising that the top team in our division handled our pressure reasonably well. It was a back-and-forth battle. Both teams had opportunities, but neither one was able to take advantage of them immediately. However, we then executed a sideline kick that resulted in a beautiful finish and a relatively early advantage.
Then my heart almost stopped. There was a ball coming back at me slowly. I was absolutely certain it was going to go wide. Then the ball got closer, and it was starting to curve toward the net. I thought about how embarrassing that would be if I purposely let one go by me and it slowly went right into the net. I had to make a last-second decision to tip it out of bounds, which wasn’t ideal because Rose City got a corner kick, but luckily our defense held up, and there was no further damage. However, that moment was something else.
We made it to halftime with a one-goal advantage. After discussing what to do, we decided to play conservatively. There is always a danger in playing it safe, because sometimes that aggression is exactly what keeps the pressure off your defensive end. However, there is also value in caution, especially when you have a small lead. Nevertheless, we committed to that strategy and returned to the court in the second half.
As the minutes went by, we were still holding a one-goal advantage, but we finally pushed one more in. They say that 2-0 is the most dangerous margin in soccer because you start to get comfortable and make silly mistakes. I am happy to say that we did not make any silly mistakes. They did have one breakaway that I was a little bit nervous about and had to step up for, but our guys did a very good job slowing down the match and using up the remaining time on the clock. We brought home the championship with one last shutout, 2-0.
The award ceremony was beautiful, and along with our team awards, our captain, Seth Boulanger, brought home the divisional MVP for his outstanding play, while my other teammate, Mathieu Desroches, brought home awards for the most goals and most assists in the entire division. As I said above, everyone settled so beautifully into their roles, with Seth and Mathieu playing the best I have ever seen, while my final teammate, Sandy Craige, and I complemented the dynamic duo. Everyone fulfilled his responsibility. That is what good teams do.
That night at dinner, I had to admit that I felt a little bit like the four hobbits after returning home from their journey in The Return of the King. They look around at everyone, recognizing all that they have been through, and drink to their accomplishments. There was not much to say about our victory because we had lived it and done it as a unit. After dinner, we had one last film session, celebrating our victory together before we prepared for the long drive home.
It is kind of funny to think about this right now in my living room. This was two days ago. We were in some other world of power soccer, but now we have returned to the real world. I’m going to work tomorrow. However, it was really a magical four days. It was the first national title game I have ever been a part of, and I hope it is the first of many. I’m so proud of how well the boys played, and I am so grateful to have been a part of that.
