Cape Coral, Florida, October 24, 2016 - Florida Gulf Coast Dutch Lions FC had an exciting weekend with several activities. On Friday FGCDL FC went to Pelican Elementary School to give a soccer clinic, on Saturday and Sunday the FGCDL FC U10B and U11B teams played in the South Florida Classic and on Sunday there was also the "Orange Family Opening Day" with almost 200 people attending.
The Florida Gulf Coast Dutch Lions FC coaches attended the Fall festival of the Pelican Elementary School in Cape Coral. At the festival the FGCDL FC coaches showed some soccer tricks and skills and played multiple scrimmages with all the kids. Everyone had a blast and we look forward to coming back!
Saturday morning 40 kids and parents from our Youth Academy went to Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium. An animal show, planetarium show and walk through was set up for the kids of the academy. We want to thank Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium for this great opportunity.
On Saturday the U11B had their first game day in the South Florida Soccer Classic 2016 Tournament. Unfortunately the FGCDL FC lost their first game but compared to their first half the Lions did a very good job as a teaming the 2nd half and made a come back to 6-2, with two nice goals by Thomas. The second game we saw a lot more passing and the boys scored two good goals by Thomas and Reed. It was not enough to win the game but the showing was a lot better. On Sunday the U11B returned to play the semi finals. It was a tough game but the Lions worked hard and created some good changes but were unlucky finishing leaving the score 0-0 at halftime FGCDL FC started he 2nd half with a lot of confidence and looked for the opening goal. Unfortunately we conceded a goal and after a defensive mistake we were 2-0 behind. Thomas did score he 2-1 on a penalty kick but it was not enough to advance to the finals. Overall the U11Boys can look back on a tough tournament were they worked very hard and showed the areas of improvement. We'll be back working on this again this week. Thanks for all the parents that came out and your support!
On Saturday the U10B team also played in the South Florida Classic Cup in Naples. At 8am their first game started against Pine Crest U10. We started very good with some great combinations, but couldn’t find the back of the net. The opponent was a strong team with more energy. Mason was definitely the Man of the Match was some great saves. The second game the the U10B played was against another strong team: Marco's Island. With some tactical changes we tried to pressure them but got caught on some breakaways making it clear we have some work to do. The U10B played their last game for the 5th and 6th place against Cape Coral Arsenal. After a great start of the game the team went into half time with a 1-1 score. They came out looking for the game winning goal and created some chances but could not score. It was Cape Coral Arsenal that did score and took the win. The players can be proud of their effort though in a tough group.
Sunday October 23 was all about the Orange Family Opening Day. Derek Woolf and Kevin Schaal were working the grill making sure everyone had plenty of food. There were also multiple soccer games between parents and the players. With almost 200 people present it was definitely a great "Orange Day".
