Cape Coral, September 11, 2016 – The FGCDL FC Youth Academy had a full game schedule. The U8E, U9D, U11B, U11G, U13B, U15B, U17B played their games at Jim Jeffers Park. The U16G had a tournament at Kelly Road and the U11G played against the Elite at Gateway.
The U8 Elite faced their U9 Development on Saturday morning. Despite a 0-3 loss, the little lions played a terrific game. In a very hot morning, a big field and with no subs, they held their own and fought on every inch of the field. From Mason on goal making great saves and even coming off his line, to a defense lead by Jackson frustrating almost every attacking effort by the U9's, and pushing the ball up to his attacking line, Marley and Angelica were everywhere. Derrick was a true fullback helping on defense and complementing the offense. Terry marking his man with fierce precision and Jonah supporting the midfield. The U8's lost the game, but we're in no way beaten.
The U11B played with a lot of U10B players against the Naples Lions U11 team. Christian Zapata scored after a good pass from Thomas. The Naples Lions scored just before halftime the 1-1! In the second half our U11B team was the boss at the field and with good goals from Julian and Reed the Dutch lions won with 3-1! Coach Daan Uithof was very happy with his young Lions: "We played with a good team mentality and a lot of fun."
The U13B team lost against the Naples Lions U13 team. At halftime it was 0-4 and end result was 0-6. Trainer Coach Daan Uithof was very disappointing about the game. Daan Uithof reaction after the game: "We have to work hard this week in the practices to get ready for the Naples cup next week and if we work hard and give a lot of energy, I do have a lot of trust in this team!"
The U11G had a difficult game against the Elite Soccer Academy. It was their first game together and they showed that there is a lot of potential in the group, even though the loss. Coach Jouko was positive about what he saw: "They didn't give up and tried to keep passing and creating chances. With a bit of luck we scored."
The Dutch Lions U15B team played last Saturday against the Naples Lions. The start of the game was for the Naples Lions but after a little while the Dutch Lions were getting in the game. With some good passes from the defense to the midfield there were more opportunities. While the Dutch Lions were getting some chances the Naples Lions found the back of the net. The second half went way better for the Dutch Lions but they couldn’t find the goal chance. The final score was 5-0 for the Naples Lions.
The U16G played this weekend at the Fort Myers Kick-off Classics. With an average age of 14 it was a difficult weekend. But in 1st and 3rd game the girls showed some great soccer. Shelby Rookey scored two goals this tournament, but Mia Johnson deserves a mention, because she is only 12 years old, but she played an amazing Saturday. The whole team showed some development on Sunday by high pressure, defending hard and strong (sometimes too strong). Coach Vincent was happy with the energy in the 1st and 3rd game and is positive about the development. The U16G play next weekend at the Naples Cup.
In keeping true to soccer being a beautiful and yet sometimes heart breaking game, the U17 team lost against the Naples lions. With a bit of bad fortune with field conditions and even an own goal, the Dutch lions dominated the entire game, most of which played on Naples territory. The boys played very well as a team and pinned their opponents with high pressure and intensity. Naples made their very few opportunities count and things just went their way, but our Dutch lions left it on on the field and regardless of the result; a very pleasing game for parents and coaches, with a very promising season ahead of us.
