InsideTheStorm - Dec 2021

DEC 2021 | GeorgiaStorm.com

InsideThe STORM Regionals 2006 BOYS AT US YOUTH REGIONALS

State Cup Final 4 2007 GIRLS, 2006 BOYS, 2004 BOYS, AND 2004 GIRLS

NPSL

Men’s Team Inaugural Season

Plus STORM CHASERS · TOURNAMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS · NEW TECHNOLOGY · PHOTO GALLERY · PLAYER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY · TEAM PROMOTIONS

(770) 834-5050 ScottEvansCDJR.com

CONTENTS

In this issue Georgia Storm’s InsideTheStorm Magazine reviews 2021 highlights, news, and happenings from across the club with a deep dive into our new NPSL Men’s team and our top teams battles on the Southern regional scene

12 NPSL Team

42 2021 Southern Regionals 2006 Boys and Coach Sasan take on some of the very best teams in the Southern Region.

Inaugural Season

14 State Cup This year, Storm advanced (4) teams to the State Cup Final 4.

... more georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

3

CONTENTS

In this issue

26

44

Competing in National League PRO 2006 Boys battling it out in National League’s PRO division.

8 U.S. Open Cup Competition

Inaugural run in the prestigious Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Interview with the GM

Q&A with Stephen Bivens

Feelin’ our brand of soccer? You really should join us ;-) Do it now at georgiaStorm.com

Features

Accomplishments

Gallery

8

New Storm Technology for 2021-22

48

54

34

New Support Group... The Storm Chasers

40

Reserve Team and U23 Team make a splash in UPSL

League Promotions & Tournament Accomplishments

2021 in Pictures

46 Awards

4

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

EDITORIAL

Welcome Georgia Storm 2021 InsideTheStorm Magazine

U

NIQUE YEAR - 2021 was another

unique soccer year. While Covid-19 and its variants made the year difficult at times to navigate, we made it, and it was a great blessing to have a full year of soccer. This year saw many firsts for us... Including our first time competing in NPSL with a semi-pro Men’s team, first time participating in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, our first ever U23 team, and the first Georgia Storm Girls team to win a State Championship.

We eagerly look forward to what 2022 will bring our club, and we continue to hope and

pray that our communities continue to work past the era of Covid.

Our successes and new programs in 2021 were only possible because of Storm sponsors, parents and supporters... Our heartfelt thanks and gratitude go out to all of you that make Storm possible.

We hope you enjoy reading the latest InsideTheStorm!

ker Bill Ruc

PHOTO CREDITS Nomadic Lens, Matthew Dingle, Matt Lazcko, Michael Valentine, Tim Cochran, Jonathan Ulsaker, Shannon Barger, Julie Thomas, Christi Austin, Ron Scroggy, Tina Rucker, Caryn Scheufler, Courtney Denney

On the cover A group of young Storm soccer players and members of our new support group, The Storm Chasers.

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

5

6

GEAR

This month’s picks For every Storm player, Storm Mom & Dad, and Storm Chaser, there is an affordable Storm Gear available on our online store, shop.georgiastorm.com.

3

1

2

Did you know?

Storm swag can be purchased at shop. georgiastorm.com and offer local delivery

4

5

Storm Hoodies

Quarter Zips

Black Storm Hoodies, Royal Storm Hoodies and Puma White Hoodies

Men’s Black and Ladies White Storm Quarter-zips

1

Price from $40

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

2

Price from $30

Replica Kits 3

Storm Men’s Team Replica Kits.

Price $60

Storm Hats

Face Masks & Accessories

Carolina Blue Stormie Hat and Black Embroided Storm Hat.

Storm Face Masks, Beanies, Scarves and Magnets

4

5

Price $10

Price $25

7

NEW

Trace Game Film System System creates personalized footage for each player’s moments during games.

EW partnership signed with Trace to provide camera systems for Storm teams. This was our first year with the system but we’ve now deployed it so far for our Men’s teams and our National League teams. As we move forward, we intend to expand that partnership to move of Storm’s teams. The software and camera system not only break down all of the games tactical moments and possession breakdowns, but also provides ultimate highlight reel material for players.

N

Skynet?

TinyMobileRobots field painting technology.

8

Photo by aurora.kreativ on Unsplash

Extra sweet Trace is the only AI platform that automatically edits your game into playlists of short personalized videos.

HAT’S RIGHT, Storm has partnered with TinyMobileRobots to deploy new state of the art automated field painting robot.

Now all staff will have to do is bring the robot to any given field, turn it on and let it go to work while they do other tasks around the park. The robot is expected to have greater accuracy and quality to the markings than

T

a human with a walk-behind striping device.

The work previously consumed a “good number of hours on any given basis” of staff time, said Josh Bivens, director of Georgia Storm. Depending on the type of field and size, each one could take an hour to an hourand-a-half of labor to stripe. .

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

NEW

Player Development Program

fter several years of successful youth development, Storm had its coaching staff continue to think of programs that could enhance our development pathway.

One program that was developed was our Player Development Academy (PDA) that would be geared towards the 6- and 7-year-old players within the club that wanted a slightly more serious and development-intensive environment to grow. The program was developed to run for 8-10 weeks in the fall and 8-10 weeks in the spring with the majority of the time training with a few games in that time period.

Training would be offered at East Carrollton

A

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

and Chestnut Log 2-3 days per week with players able to attend as many of the sessions as they want. Our first season was a success in the Fall of 2021 with 10 players taking part in the program. For those that are interested in joining for the spring, be on the lookout for more information in February. Coach Sheldon McClendon moved over to launch the PDA program from our Douglasville Recreation Director position, adding “Providing foundation skills for our youngest players that will help them reach next level as they grow into the game.”

9

NEW

Club Operating System torm partners with Playmetrics apply a new full operating system concept to the club’s software management.

Playmetrics tools connect portions of the clubs communications and management that simply weren’t possible. Everything from new App to facilitate communications between coaches, staff and parents... To field scheduling and status communication and coordinating.

S

2021 saw the creation of our new club crest/brand

Photo from Playmetrics, www.playmetrics.com

New Crest!

e rolled out a new Storm crest in 2021... At same time we started our NPSL Inaugural Season.

The new brand helps to refocus our club’s brand and included re-centering Storm on new colors as well as the new crest.

Our hope with the new crest was to better symbolize the club’s unrelenting determination, strength and passion in the game. The logo made its debut with the Men’s team first game in 2021, but our plan is to roll the new logo out with the entire club with the next uniform change.

W

Along with the new crest, we also rolled out new mascot... Stormie.

10

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

12

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

FIRST TEAM

NPSL

inaugural season

S

TORM entered into the fray that

is semi-professional soccer in the United States at the end of 2020. They would compete in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) in the Southeast Region for 2021. For the club’s first signing, Hunter Jumper, who had previously played 3 years in the MLS with Chicago Fire, was signed by General Manager Stephen Bivens. With the club’s first big signing, the squad took shape over the next 2 months. For the first unofficial match, Storm hosted Rovers FC on April 6 at Chestnut Log Soccer Complex with 100 fans in attendance, winning 6-0 by the end of the 90 mins as a great preparation for the season ahead.

For the last friendly before the inaugural NPSL season, Storm hosted Potros in a match where they

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

created chance after chance but could not find the back of the net, with the match ending 0-0. With the first match of the season looking, Storm signed two more marquee players in Kevin Barajas, who played two years with Atlanta United 2 in the USL, and Andrew Carleton, who had played with Indy Eleven of the USL as well as Atlanta United in the MLS.

Season kicks off On May 1, Georgia Revolution traveled to Grisham Stadium to play Storm in our first ever NPSL match.

The match started extremely fast as Revolution sought to impose their will, but 22 minutes into the match Stephen Bivens challenged for a ball as he was kicked by the opponent. Since he was the last man, the referee had no choice but to send him off.

13

14

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

15

Although Storm slowly took over control of the match, Revolution capitalized on a mistake in transition and took the lead 1-0 after a volley from Geovanni Rios. Storm attacked until the final whistle, but they were unable to equalize. Recovering from their opening match loss, Storm charged onto an unbeaten run of matches, including wins against Metro Louisville, Athletico Lanier, and draws with Georgia Revolution and Appalachian FC. Storm were very unlucky to draw Georgia Revolution in the return leg after a late

goal was called back for a marginal offside call. The great run of form saw Storm score 7 goals and only concede 2. After this good run of form, a loss away to North Alabama SC on a back-to-back, having only played Appalachian FC at home the previous night.

Bouncing back positively, the team defeated North Alabama in the return leg a week later 3-1 in a torrential downpour. With two matches remaining, Storm needed only 3 points to lock in a second-place finish in the league ahead of the playoffs. Hosting Metro

Season Record

Overall Record... 6-4-2 Home Record.. 4-1-1 Away Record... 2-3-1

Louisville FC, Storm attacked from the first whistle, scoring 7 first half goals. Not content to slow down, Storm added an additional 7 goals in the second half for a final score of 14-0 to clinch second place in the league. In the final league match before the playoffs, Storm traveled to Appalachian FC in an exciting, attacking contest where Appalachian FC and its large home support saw them take a 2-0 lead into halftime. Storm responded well to the adversity as they scored twice to equalize with 10 minutes to play, including a quick counter-attack from an Appalachian FC corner. Pushing for the win, Appalachian scored the winner with a few minutes left, sealing a 3-2 victory, but the two would have to rematch 10 days later at Grisham Stadium in the playoff semi-final. Storm concluded their first league season with a record of 5-32, scoring 26 goals and conceding 9..

Storm makes the playoffs On July 14th, Grisham Stadium saw the first-ever Georgia Storm NPSL playoff game 16

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

FIRST TEAM

Coach Josh Bivens “It was a phenomenal first year to make it to the Southeastern Conference Championship game in our first season. If it wasn’t for a slight rush of blood, we likely would have won it. We had lots of learning lessons in our first year and will come back even stronger next year.”

with Appalachian FC as the visitors. After only 3 minutes, Storm earned itself a penalty kick, which Andrew Carleton stepped forward and finished with aplomb to give the hosts a 1-0 lead. Only 14 minutes later, Appalachian FC earned a penalty of its own, finishing it to tie the score at 1-1. For most of the match, Storm dominated position and chances created with the winner scored in the 68th minute from the right edge of the penalty area by Wilfried Kamdem Tchoupa.

Though Storm could have added to the lead, the game was closed out with yet another organized effort from the back four and goalkeeper to seal the 2-1 victory, sending Storm to the Conference Playoff Final in their inaugural season. The final kicked off at 8PM on Saturday, July 17 at Henry County High School with Storm anxious to win its first title in its inaugural season. From the kickoff, Storm attacked and attacked until it finally broke the final open with a goal from Stephen Bivens off a header in the 27th

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

minute. Heading into the half leading 1-0, Storm looked in good form to win the title.

As the second half began, Georgia Revolution tried to get back into the match, but they were struggling to find their feet. In the 55th minute, there was a clash at midfield with Storm’s Kevin Barajas who was shown a red card, which turned the match on its head with Revs scoring twice in the final thirty minutes to secure the Southeast Conference Title..

in our first year and will come back even stronger next year.”

Season Ends In its first season in the NPSL, Storm had accumulated 6 wins, had 4 losses, and 2 draws, while scoring 29 goals and conceding 12.

After the season, Head Coach Josh Bivens said, “It was a phenomenal first year to make it to the Southeastern Conference Championship game in our first season. If it wasn’t for a slight rush of blood, we likely would have won it. We had lots of learning lessons

Good to know Our 2022 NPSL Tryouts begin again in January Read more at

georgiastorm.com

17

Story by Josh Bivens

STATE CUP “The hard work and dedication the girls put in this season pushed them past not only making it to the finals but winning it all.”

-Coach Caryn

G

eorgia Storm, in 2021, had a Spring State Cup that our 08B Premier team competed in to end the 20-21 season, and our older teams had a Fall State Cup at the conclusion of their fall 21-22 seasons that our 07B Elite, 06B Premier, 05B Elite, 04B Premier, 07G Elite, and 04G Premier all competed in.

SPRING 2021 For the Spring State Cup that took place in May, Storm 08B Premier was draw into Group A with Savannah United, Kalonji SA, and Old Capital SL. To kick off the group stage on Saturday, May 8, we played KSA where KSA attacked from the start, putting us on the back foot

18

STATE CHAMPIONS #EarnYourPlace

while eventually defeating us 4-1. On the following day, we battled Savannah United, the eventual group winner, to a very difficult 1-0 match. To close out the event, we played Old Capital SL in a match that saw both teams attack fluidly with Old Capital winning 4-3. Although the results were not favorable, our league finish in the spring had qualified us for National League Piedmont

ELITE EIGHT Group Stage Competition

Conference, so these matches were a very good tune-up for the quality of opponent we were expecting to face in the Fall 2021 season.

FALL 2021 Our Fall State Cup opened with two play-in matches for our 07B Elite and 05B Elite. The first match slated was the 05B Premier on Saturday, October 2 against Impact Elite at East Carrollton Park where a sluggish start from the group saw them go down 1-0, but a quick response saw Storm’s attack score 3 to take a 3-1 lead late into the game where both teams added one more goal each for a final score of 4-2 to Storm with Storm’s Isai Gallegos and Ohuen Romero proving too much for Impact’s defense. The result saw the 05B Elite through into Group

19

A with Lanier SA, Piedmont SA, and Bryson Park SC. On Saturday, October 9, Coach Bill and the 07B Elite hosted Impact Elite at East Carrollton Park. From the first minute, the team pinned Impact deep into their own half with quick counter attack play, seeing them score 3 first half goals. In the more conservative second half, we scored one additional goal to see us through into Group B with three National League opponents in

20

Lanier SA, Inter Atlanta, and FC Sudamerica.

GROUP STAGE The group stage of the tournament opened on Saturday, November 6 with both 07G Elite and 07B Elite playing at 12PM. Our 07G Elite, who were in Group A with Impact Elite, All-In FC, and Macon SC, played All-In in the first match, having only played them in the final league match a week before. All-In FC made a few tactical adjustments to thwart Storm’s high-flying attack, but Storm’s front two of Mia Showalter and Justice Rogers proved too much scoring 3 between them, resulting in a 3-1 win to open the tournament.

Our 07B Elite opened the tournament with a very tough opponent, playing Lanier SA who were currently sitting in 2nd place in National League. Attacking from the off, Lanier scored 9 goals with us scoring one consolation goal, ending the match 1-9 in a loss. The third match of the day for Storm saw its 06B Premier face-off against a very common opponent in Inter Atlanta in what would ultimately be the battle for the group winner. Coming off a long run of matches that had begun in late June at the Southern Regional Championships, the boys were a bit beat-up and sluggish, and Inter Atlanta were very determined in the first half, racing off to a 3-0 lead.

After some tactical changes at half-time, Storm came out in a 4-2-4 formation to attack from the whistle, which saw them score 2 goals and admittedly could have scored 5, but lost the match 2-3 in the end. Storm’s 05B were next to play against Piedmont SA in what turned out to be a very tense and physical match with Piedmont scoring twice to our single goal in the first half. After a month-long layoff from the last National League Piedmont Conference league match, Storm’s 04B Premier were lacking sharpness against an August SC team that played a very high line with a constant offside trap. Struggling to score, Augusta SC capitalized on a set play and a mistake to win 2-0.

SECOND MATCH DAY The second matchday opened with 07G Elite playing Macon SC to a much slower paced match where a win for Storm would see them through to the semi-final.

With two first half goals, Storm’s defense was able to stay strong led by Maya Burns for a clean sheet and a 2-0 win that qualified them for the semi-finals with one match to spare. After a gut-punch on the opening day,

the 07B Elite responded terrifically against FC Sudamerica, pressing them from the start. After 2 first half goals, with the attack being led by Elliott Agyekum and Pedro Gallegos, they were determined to get 3 points on the day. As the match wound down, Storm held on to a 3-1 win seeing them setup a showdown on the last day with Inter Atlanta for the second spot in the semi-final out of Group B. After struggling in the first match day, Storm 06B Premier rebounded quickly against FC Sudamerica, scoring 3 goals in what was never a challenging match from the beginning. Playing a very difficult National League opponent, Storm’s 05B Elite gave a great effort against Bryson Park SC, heading into halftime down 1-2, but the legs were growing weary from a very physically draining match the day before.

Running out of energy, Bryson Park tacked on another 3 goals in the second half to comfortable win 5-1. Needing to earn all 3 points after the opening match loss, our 04B Premier were in for a tough battle with east Georgia affiliate Lake County FC. In an up-and-down match for 90 minutes, 04B Premier battled to a 2-1 win that would see them only needing a win on day 3 against Impact

STATE CUP PATH State Cup is part of the massive US Youth Natinal Championship Series... Next stop for 04G and 06B is Southern Regionals in Murfreesboro TN

21

Elite to advance to the semi-finals.

THIRD DAY On the third matchday, Storm’s 07G faced a stiff opponent in Impact Elite who took a quick 2-0 lead before scoring a penalty to bring it back to 1-2 before Impact’s attack was too much, ending in a 1-4 loss to Impact. After a resounding win in the previous match, our 07B Elite wanted to knock out Inter Atlanta on the third match day, but a sluggish start saw Inter take a 2-0 lead into halftime. After an inspiring team talk from the 07B coaching staff, the boys brought the intensity from the whistle in the second half with high pressing from the front 3 and the midfield. Playing direct vertical balls in the second half, 07B Elite fought all the way back to a 2-2 draw after a set piece delivery and finish. For the final 10 minutes, the team pressed and truly deserved to win 3-2, but it was not to be on the day as two good saves from Inter Atlanta’s goalkeeper and 1-2 wasted chances saw the match end in a 22

2-2 draw. Although not the result desired, the performance will be one to remember for the group in that second half against the eventual State Cup Champion in Inter. To book a place in the semi-final, 06B Premier made quick work of Athens United, winning 4-1, which included a goal by Wyatt MathisKline in the first 60 seconds of the match. In a thrilling match on the last matchday of the group stage, 05B Premier played Lanier SA’s Piedmont Conference winning side, but gave them no respect early on as we took a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes to play. Unfortunately, the boys tried their best to keep them out, but Lanier SA’s class took over, eventually winning 4-2 to send them through as group winners. Although they were in need of 3 points, the 04B Premier started the match with Impact Elite very calmy, seeing 5 first half goals scored with goals from Malachi Rafiq and Daniel Cruz Ortiz, including a deft chip finish from Malachi from 20 yards over the on-rushing goalkeeper.

GIRLS FINAL 4 In Storm’s first semi-final match of the tournament on Saturday, December 4, our 07G Elite played Savannah United that saw Savannah start quickly and push Storm very deep into our own half before scoring a goal midway through the first half. After a few changes, Storm started playing themselves into the match, but couldn’t finish any of the 4-5 gilt-edge opportunities they created.

Savannah scored a second before Justice Rogers pressed the goalkeeper in possession and finished into the empty net to give them a lifeline, but Savannah kept pressing away to a 3-1 win and an eventual State Cup win the following day. Due to the setup of the 18U State Cup for the girls, our 04G Premier had already qualified for the semi-final where they played MOBA a few hours after the 07G lost to Savannah United. Primed and ready, Coach Caryn and the squad attacked from the start, making fairly quick work of the opponent. The scored 4 goals over the 90 minutes that saw them able to take their foot georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

FIRST TEAM

off the gas to preserve energy ahead of their final the next day against Impact Elite. In a rematch from what was a tight affair during the Piedmont Conference season, Storm sought to end the match quickly with excellent attacking play from Cameryn Morris and tidy finishing from Mary House including a terrific header goal to put the match out of hand. After a return to the finals weekend from a year earlier, Storm’s 04G came determined to win it this year, and they won it emphatically scoring 8 goals and conceding 0 in the two days, booking their place in the Southern Regional Championships in June in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. About the win, Coach Caryn added “I can’t be more proud of the 04 girls. This team has given me many memorable moments the past 3 years and this year was the best memory they have given me. We set a goal at the beginning of the season to improve our state cup showing and advance to the finals. The hard work and dedication the girls put in this season pushed them past not only making it to the finals but winning it all.”

Jack Andrist drove a ball goalward that rebounded off the cross bar to Oscar Serna, who neatly tucked the ball away to give a 1-0 lead. Wyatt Mathis-Kline cut inside of his defender and curled a left-footed shot right into the far corner to extend the lead to 2-0.

Storm’s tempo was too much for Augusta, scoring 3 goals across the 80 minutes with Augusta only creating 1-2 half-chances, which saw our boys advance to the final for the second-year running having won it the previous year. In the later semi-final in

BOYS FINAL 4 The boys’ weekend for State Cup semi-finals was the following weekend on December 11. The first semi-final in the day involved our 06B Premier against a very recognizable foe in Augusta SC, who had pushed hard to draw us in the opening weekend of the National League season. However, this was a much different day as less than 5 minutes into the match Storm’s right-back, georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

23

the day, our 04B Premier took on Group A winner Legion FC, who were a hard-nosed and high tempo team that play very direct. Imposing our will on the match early, we dominated possession and chances until we had a throw-in deep where our long throw was flicked

by Malachi Rafiq to Bryan Negrete who smashed his volley down into the ground, bouncing over the Legion FC goalkeeper. Unfortunately, it was not to be a great attacking day as Storm missed chance after chance, leaving Legion FC with a chance late in the match.

With two minutes remaining, a long free kick from midfield was taken straight and an unmarked Legion player scuffed his volley past the players on the line and goalkeeper, sending the match to 20-minutes of extra time. In an uneventful extra time, neither team was able

24

to score so the match headed to the stressful penalty shootout. Losing the shootout 1-3, it wasn’t to be as Legion FC advanced to the final. In a rematch for the 06B Premier with Inter Atlanta, who beat us in the first group stage match 3-2, Storm was out to prove that was an anomaly as the midfield pressed high to pin Inter in deep in their half. About midway through the half, a neat piece of combination-play between Isaac Cruz and Oscar Serna saw Isaac through on net, finishing with aplomb in the bottom right-hand corner. Heading into halftime with a 1-0 lead, Storm’s staff of Sasan Lak and Bill Rucker (III) plotted the solution to a second straight state cup victory. Solid defensively, the team slowed the match down when a break down the left wing, saw a free kick given right on the edge near the corner of the penalty area. Inter sat in very deep on the subsequent free kick that was whipped in by Isaac Cruz was headed past the on-rushing goalkeeper by Nyckolas Waits, securing the 2-0 win. Booking their 3rd consecutive trip to Souther Regional Championships, Coach Sasan Lak said, “The boys have been playing hard and training very hard this season. We’ve had a few injuries, but the squad showed our quality this weekend with 2 clean sheets and a good attacking showing. We are looking forward to our next matches in NL Pro in February as we continue to prepare for the Southern Regionals in Murfreesboro in June. We are happy to join our 04G there as well.”

USYS NL SEASON

National League

2021

“We have been building our National League Program year after year, so to see 4 of our teams qualify for this season shows the growth the club has had in its short history.” -Coach Sasan Story by Josh Bivens

F

OR the 2021 USYS Nation-

al League (NL) Piedmont Conference Fall Season, Storm had 4 teams that had qualified for this elite competition. Our 08B Premier, 06B Premier, 04B Premier, and 04G Premier all qualified based on their 2020-21 season finishes, including the Piedmont Conference League Winner medal that the 06B captured. The season began on Saturday, August 21 at North Mt. Carmel Park with the 08B Premier playing Highland FC and the 06B Premier playing Augusta SC who had finished 2nd last year as the 04G Premier and 04B Premier would open their seasons at the beginning of September.

Opening Weekend In the first match of the day, the 08B Premier team played Highland FC team that had tremendous quality in their midfield, giving the

26

boys a quick understanding of the level increase between Georgia Premier League (GPL) and NL. For the second match of the day, the 06B Premier team were facing a common opponent that knows our team well. Last year, they had pushed all the way to finish 2nd place, so they were looking for a bit of revenge in the first match, hoping to catch our team off-guard. In the opening minutes, Augusta hit the post and targeted Storm’s goal several times but goalkeeper Jon Smith as well as center back’s Diego Guillen and Nyckolas Waits stook up to the challenge as the team played into the match. As the match wore on, Storm started to take control, but ultimately were not successful in finding the winner, resulting in a 0-0 to start the season. Facing that diversity from an opening match loss, the 08B rebounded to a great performance on Sunday losing 1-0 to the eventual league winner in Savannah United, but they showed with the performance

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

27

that points in the league table were not too far off for the group. After being surprised slightly by the pace of the August SC team on Saturday, the 06B found their attacking groove on Sunday, putting in an excellent attacking performance that saw them score 4 goals, which could have been even more.

Labor Day Weekend Battles With Labor Day weekend ahead, both Storm’s 04G Premier and 04B Premier teams were traveling to Greenville, South Carolina to play at MESA Soccer Complex with the girls and boys playing 3 matches each. In the opening weekend the 04G Premier team was out to attack and attack while scoring 10 goals with Mary House and Cameryn Morris leading the line, coming out of the weekend with 2 points in their first NL season. They lost to the league finalist Piedmont Triad 4-3, followed by two high scoring draws with 28

04 Girls QAfter the high scoring and all-out attack of the first weekend, Storm’s 04G Premier worked hard through September as they traveled to Rock Hill to play Carolina FC

National League P.R.O. & Showcase

game of the weekend 2-1. After a few weeks of training, they returned to Wilson, North Carolina with two great performances as they defeated Wake FC Blue by a score of 1-0 as well as thrashing Wake FC North Gold 5-2 with the attackers running riot once again. The followed their unbeaten run with a draw against United FC from Georgia with the attack shining again, scoring 3 goals in a 3-3 draw. With a difficult run of matches on the weekend, the team traveled to Rock Hill, South Carolina to play Charleston SC and SC United FC where they came away with a point, going with a loss and a draw on the weekend. The final weekend of the season saw the team earn a 1-1 draw with Carolina FC and a 0-2 loss to CESA Pachuca to finish out the season in 8th place with 12 points.

06 Boys After a tough opening weekend, Storm’s georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

USYS NL SEASON

06B Premier were out to show the league why they had won the league the previous 2 years in Greenville on Labor Day weekend.

That weekend saw them go 2-0, scoring 6 goals and conceding 0 with wins over NCFC South Gold (3-0) and Wake FC Blue (3-0).

After a few weeks of intense training to push for attacking and attacking, the boys

continued their win-streak, stretching it into an 8-match winning run while scoring 22 goals and only conceding 1. In this time, they beat Inter Atlanta (2-0), GA Alliance (3-0), Highland FC (1-0), Wake North Gold (5-1), CESA Pachuca (2-0), and Carolina FC (3-0). During this run, Isaac Cruz and Wyatt Mathis-Kline were clinical creating or

scoring most of the goals with a few set-play goals to show the strength of the team. As of the writing of this article, 06B Premier has 1 match remaining with MOBA, and as long as Storm stays within 6 goals in a loss, they will win the league for the 3rd year running. The 06B Premier had qualified from the 20-21 season for USYS National League Pro where one of their opponents was the Highland FC team, so the NL Piedmont Conference match counted for both, with Storm currently sitting in first place in USYS NL Pro Group B ahead of their December event.

04 Boys After the opening weekend, Storm’s 04B prepared themselves for their upcoming trip to Wilson, North Carolina to play Highland FC and TUSA Blue where they played very well in beating Highland 2-0 on Saturday before a

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

29

30

06B | National League P.R.O.

31

sluggish match against TUSA, losing 1-3 to the team that would win the league this season.

Back in Georgia for a home match with a frequent rival in MOBA, 04B Premier played a terrific match and were very unlucky to draw MOBA 1-1. They led from the front foot from the off, with a great team goal after a nice buildup Blake Underwood clipped a ball through to Malachi Rafiq who smashed the ball into the far corner for Storm’s goal. To end the season, 04B Premier played at North Mt. Carmel Park against Atlanta City and Augusta SC where they went 1-1 with a 1-3 loss to Atlanta City followed by a 3-1 win over Augusta SC. For most of the team, they will be graduating this year and pursuing their soccer and life goals, but they closed out a 4-year run of competing in National League Piedmont Conference, which is a tremendous effort from all of the squad and Coach Bill Rucker (III) .

32

04 Girls QAfter the high scoring and all-out attack of the first weekend, Storm’s 04G Premier worked hard through September as they traveled to Rock Hill to play Carolina FC and Lexington SA, coming away with a win over Carolina FC 2-1 and a tough loss to the league winners of Lexington SA 0-5. Heading into the final weekend, the girls needed to come away with 6 points to have a chance at a third-place finish in the league in their first season. With this goal in mind, the girls were full speed ahead into October 16 where they smashed local rival MOBA 6-1. From the kickoff, the team never looked back as they attacked for the full 90 minutes. With a difficult one ahead against Impact SC, the girls stayed focused as they continued to go forward and score goals, closing this match our 4-2, ending the season with 22 goals

scored in 7 matches, averaging a little over 3 goals per match. With some of the girls moving on to their college careers and others returning for one more season with Storm, Coach Caryn Scheufler and the 04G Premier can be proud of their achievement in the first NL season for a girls team at Georgia Storm.

National League P.R.O. After a strong finish to the NL Piedmont Conference season, Coach Sasan Lak and the 06B Premier headed south to Orlando for the opening weekend of USYS NL Pro as group B leaders with 3 top-class opponents in Dix Hills (NY), CUP (OH), and Brentwood SC (NY). On Friday, December 3 the team played Brentwood SC at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex with a strong 3-0 winning performance. On Saturday, they played NL Pro powerhouse Dix Hills from New York, giving a valiant effort but losing georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

USYS NL SEASON

4-1. On the third day, CUP from Cininnati, Ohio started the match well, leading 2-0 at halftime. Looking for a response, Storm started the half brightly with two quick goals to draw level, but as legs grew heavy from the weekend, CUP was able to score the winner with a few minutes left. Currently, sitting in 5th place, Storm will seek a 2nd place finish to qualify for the USYS National Tournament later in July when they travel to Lakewood Ranch in Florida the weekend of

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

February 5 to play Kings Hammer (KY), KC Athletics Academy (KS), and LFA Goddard (MO) where they are looking for 9 points.

The Future

growth the club has had in its short history.

Our 06B may lead the way with our 3rd consecutive title, but all of our teams are performing and showing what the club is about.”

After the best season in National League Piedmont Conference to date with Georgia Storm, Technical Director Sasan Lak added, “We have been building our National League Program year after year, so to see 4 of our teams qualify for this season shows the

33

SUPPORTERS

The Storm Chasers The team represents our hometown, and we want to do anything we can to be that link between the team and the community. We want the players, some of whom are from halfway around the world, to feel welcomed and appreciated and remember their time here as special.

S STORM headed into its first National Premier League Soccer (NPSL) season with our Men’s First team, on one of our very own families reached out to try and make the season an even greater success. From our 09B Elite team, the Whitehead family with Kevin and Sarah and their two sons Jack and Will, who plays for our 09B team, wanted to help build a supporters group for the club to attend in force the home NPSL games and get behind the players. From there, the founding of the Storm Chasers occurred in April of 2021.

Early in 2021 the Whiteheads were watching a game on Eleven Sports (formerly MyCujoo) when Sarah mentioned, “Storm should have an upper-level team like this.” Without knowing what the year was to bring, Kevin responded, “I can’t see something like that happening” but just a few weeks later Storm announced it would have a team competing in the same level as the teams they had watched. Throughout the season, the Storm Chasers could be heard and the team absolutely loved to hear the support each and every game. From the very first derby match with Georgia Revolution to the torrential downpour in the North Alabama

A

SC match to the Conference Championship match at Georgia Revolution. Even in the team’s travels, the Storm Chasers were ever-present, including an early season match where Storm traveled to Louisville, Kentucky and the small contingent of Storm Chasers outnumbered the home Louisville crowd and drowned them out for the entire match.

Community Link On starting the Storm Chasers, Kevin added, “We love the Carroll County area and

Carrollton, and we love soccer. As soon as we heard the team announced, we know we wanted to be involved and support the team nay way we could. The team represents our hometown, and we want to do anything we can to be that link between the team and the community. Carrollton is a tight knit yet welcoming community who gets behind their own and when word gets out to the people that there is a team representing them, we could have one of the best home field advantages in the league. We want the players,

EYE OF THE STOR

Instagram @thestormchaser FB @The Storm Chasers

!

Eye of the Storm... a region of calmer weather found at the center of strong tropical cyclones.

34

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

some of whom are from halfway around the world, to feel welcomed and appreciated and remember their time here as special.”

Becoming a Storm Chaser In the first year, the Storm Chasers have a contingent of 75 or so made up of Storm Youth Players, Storm Parents, Storm

Coaches and Staff, as well as soccer fans in the community. The Storm Chasers would love to increase their support for the team heading into the 2022 NPSL season, so if you want to help show the support for the team and the community, join the Storm Chasers today. You can stay up to date on all Storm Chaser action via their social media channels

on Instagram @thestormchasers_ or on FB @The Storm Chasers.

RM

rs_

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

35

U23

Photo by Bill Rucker

UPSL Inaugural Season

36

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

U23 TEAM

O

N THE HEELS of the Men’s

First team signing 24 players to compete in its inaugural National Premier League (NPSL) season, our General Manager, Stephen Bivens, pushed the leadership to start a U23 team to compete in the United Premier Soccer League Division I over the summer to mirror the First team in NPSL due to the abundance of player interest in joining the club. The club was accepted into the UPSL, and it built its team with 22 players of its own, including Storm Youth Academy Graduates in Jacob Antoine, Cristian Martinez, Eber Sosa, and Nathan Upson, as well as current Youth Academy player Malachi Rafiq who earned a few minutes in his first season.

Georgia Storm Youth Coach Matthew Brooks was selected to lead the club’s first U23 season by the Stephen Bivens.

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

Stormie Start After several weeks of training, Storm hosted its first ever U23 match at Bremen High School as the first match in a double-header with the First Team where we played UPSL veteran club Limeno Georgia U20. Although Eber Sosa helped the team dominate in possession, two corner kick goals against saw Limeno edge the match 2-1 late. In a quick

turnaround, Storm ran riot over Cornerstone Toppro in its next match, scoring 7 goals, led by Alan Kazemian with 5, and conceding only one. The U23 squad was growing in confidence as it traveled to play Atlanta Generals where they thrashed the opponent 7-1 to place us in the top 3 early in the season with the top 2 earning promotion. With a slight misstep, All Star United scored two

UPSL Founded in Southern California, United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) has grown to over 350 teams throughout United State, Canada, and Mexico.

37

early goals in the third match of the season with the attack struggling to finish a plethora of opportunities, resulting in a 1-2 loss with the first place Athletico Atlanta U23s ahead.

Traveling to Athletico, the squad attacked from the first whistle, dominating in possession. Carrying a 2-1 lead late into the match, a mistimed tackle from a Storm defender saw a penalty kick called in the dying minute of the game, which Athletico finished to secure a hard-fought but fair point for both sides.

Rally With a few weeks of training with no matches, Storm’s U23s were ready for the final runin to the season, hoping to challenge for the title in Division I. With a great run of form, we won the final 5 matches of the season with victories over Kalonji SA 4-2, Limeno Georgia U20s 2-0, Cornerstone Toppro in the return home leg 4-1, Atlanta Generals 6-2 in the home leg, and a 4-1 final match win away at Middle Georgia SA. After a terrific season with a record of 7 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw (7-2-1), the team sat atop the table with one final match between Athletico Atlanta and All Stars United to determine the champion with Storm needing a victor of

38

less than 6 goals for Athletico. Unfortunately, Athletico won 12-0, meaning that our U23s tied for 1st would finish 2nd on the tiebreaker of Goal Difference.

Promotion Earned A phenomenal achievement in our first year of U23 player with a 2nd place finish

and only missing out on winning by goal difference, but most importantly promotion to the Premier division for the following year. Coach Matthew Brooks added about the season, “There is no doubt there are challenges with starting our U23 men’s program.

The boys responded exceptionally well. They overcame a lot of adversity, stuck together, and played with professionalism beyond their years. The grit they displayed resulted in promotion to the Premier Division. To say that I am proud of, and excited for, the players is an understatement.”

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

TRAVEL

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

39

TOURNAMENT

STORM FIRST: U.S. Open Cup A

FTER A successful summer

National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) season, Storm Men’s First Team was invited to the Qualifying Rounds of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which is the United States’ longest running professional tournament. We competed in our first ever Open Cup in its 108th edition of the event, with our first match drawn against our local rival in Georgia Revolution. The match was played on Saturday, October 17th away at 8PM at Ola High School in McDonough, GA. After a lackluster start from the team, Revs scored the opening goal towards the end of the first half through a cross and a header from Christian Duncan. Seeking a response out of halftime, the team took to the field to attack from the onset in the second 40

half. As the game was winding down, Head Coach Josh Bivens made a tactical switch, moving center back Jacob Bivens to striker alongside the front three to play as a target player. In the 91st minute a ball was played forward and flicked on by Jacob Bivens to Stephen Bivens who lofted a volley pass over the right center back for Revolution where Gerard Forges hammered a left-footed volley into the roof of the next to setup extra time while scoring Storm’s first ever goal in the competition.

Kicks from the Mark As extra time wore on, Storm took complete control of the match when, with a minute left in the first period of extra time, we had earned a free kick on the right edge of the

penalty area. With a low delivery, Jacob Bivens had beat his man to the near post and flicked a right footed volley into the far post, giving Storm a 2-1 lead and likely victory. With seconds remaining, a gaggle of players went to ground on the right edge of the penalty area before a Revs player lofted a cross in between Storm’s 2 center backs where Christian Duncan scored again to force a penalty shootout. With momentum on their side, Revs won the impending penalty shootout 3-1 to send them through to the next qualifying round. Although not the result they wanted, Storm will be back next year in 2022 and push for a deeper run into this prestigious event.

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

41

N THE fall of 2020, Storm had numerous teams competing in the National League Piedmont Conference, where a first-place finish would earn you qualification to the Southern Regional Championships, as well as Georgia State Cup where a Championship would also earn you a spot. Storm’s own 06B Premier teamed, with Coach Sasan Lak, earned their spot by winning Piedmont Conference as well as winning Storm’s first Georgia State Cup. The Southern Regional Championships (Region III) took place in Greenville, South Carolina at the MeSA Soccer Complex from June 18 to June 24 where our team was drawn into Group B with the top two teams after group stage and 3 matches advance to the quarterfinals.

I

Southern Regionals

Opening Game On Friday, June 18, our boys opened the tournament with a match against Little Rock Rangers Academy out of Arkansas. Needing to start well, the boys came out firing on all cylinders as they scored 3 goals across the 80 minutes and barely even conceded a shot to the group from Arkansas. With the first 3 points under their belt, the second day was to be a tight and intense affair for a place in the quarter finals as both Lobos Premier and our boys had won their opening match. In what turned out to be a very physical battle, the team from Memphis really pushed our 06Bs, but we stood strong, looking for our second consecutive clean sheet. With an organized back four of Brady Price, Diego Guillen, Nyckolas Waits, and Luis Guillen, it was extremely difficult see the Lobos team scoring. With just a single goal, Storm’s 06B Premier sealed a 1-0 victory to lock at least a second-place finish in the group. The final group stage matchday saw the team play Mcallen Lobos from South Texas in what was a very high scoring affair.

In a back-and-forth match with both teams displaying their attacking talent, 42

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

REGIONALS

goals from Wyatt Mathis-Kline and the Storm front 3 came up just short in a 3-4 loss as they began looking ahead to their quarterfinal matchup.

Soldier On With no rest for the weary, the squad suited back up on Monday, June 21 to play Baton Rouge SC from Louisiana, who had gone through as the Group A winners. In a very organized and defensive struggle, neither team was able to create much on goal, but Storm’s combination of Isaac Cruz, Baden Derringer, and Oscar Serna were wearing the Louisiana team down as the match approached extra time. As legs grew fatigued, it was the most important of set pieces that sent our boys through to the semi-finals after goalkeeper Jon Smith had kept his 3rd clean sheet in 4 matches. With the semi-final set against Miami Breakers, a very talented group of from south Florida, it was time for the rest day. On Tuesday, Storm’s staff with Head Coach Sasan Lak and assistant coach Bill Rucker (III) planned a recovery session and quick team meeting to get everyone focused for the match ahead.

Playing its 5th match in 6 days against a class opponent, Storm started the match well, but they were quickly pinned back by an attacking Breakers team that sent many numbers forward with both outside backs forcing Storm deeper into its half.

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

With 2 high-class finishes, Breakers took a 2-0 lead in the opening 15-minute salvo.

After a few tactical maneuvers, Storm created a quick chance for Wyatt MathisKline who had his attempt saved by the goalkeeper down to his right. As halftime was approaching, Breakers would add a third goal after a neat overlap and cross.

The second half saw the Storm boys give their best effort to get back into the match, but the legs had nothing left to give with the Breakers adding a 4th goal, ending Storm’s run with a 0-4 loss. The Breakers would go on to win the Regional Championship the following day and finish 3rd place at Nationals in July.

It was an historic run for Storm’s Youth Academy who had made it to the semi-finals in its first attempt at the Southern Regional Championships, having had its 2020 qualification voided by COVID-19, which had cancelled that edition of the event. It was Storm’s 2nd team at the Southern Regional Championships where 2 years earlier, Coach Bill Rucker (III) had taken our 04B Premier team to Baton Rouge to compete, so he had experience to help the run-in to the semi-final with the 06B. Storm’s Technical Director and 06B Premier Head Coach, Sasan Lak had this to say of the run, “In the 6 years that Storm has existed, this was a showing of where we have come and where we are

going with our Youth Academy program.

It was very unfortunate that the 2020 Regionals had been cancelled, so this was our chance to go for it. Our team played very hard to make it this far where we played a quality team in the Breakers and we just came up a bit short. We will be back next year and we aim at winning it.”

Looking forward to 2022, the Southern Regional Championships will take place June 24 to June 30 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Storm is excited as we have two teams qualified for the event with our 06B Premier returning after their terrific run in 2021 on the back of winning Georgia State Cup and likely winning Piedmont Conference. They have one match remaining and simply need a loss by less than 6 goals to MOBA to win the Piedmont Conference for a third year running.

Joining the 06B Premier will be our 04G Premier, led by Coach Caryn. They had a class performance at Georgia State Cup with their two wins in the semi-finals over MOBA 4-0 and the finals over Impact Elite 4-0. Both groups are excited to travel to Tennessee in June. Preparations and training will resume after high school seasons for these groups of players in May.

43

Q&A WITH THE GM L Stephen Bivens, Georgia Storm FC’s General Manager

44

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

CHALLENGE?

NEXT?

DREAM IT

This was our first time really attempting many of the things involved in running an NPSL team, so we had to learn quickly how to do a game broadcast, recruit good players, travel well for games, grow the brand.

I see the club growing from the ground up. As a fully integrated club from age 3 to our men’s level (NPSL),

Keep chasing your dreams. If you want to get to the next level, whatever that is, then spend as much time as you can preparing for it.

A

few question and answers from our GM, Stephen Bivens:

Why did you want to join Storm to start a Men’s Program?

I saw the opportunity to work with the leadership of Georgia Storm to bring a competitive men’s team to the club. I really wanted to make it a reality so that the soccer community of West Georgia could have a senior level team to support and be proud of. When I was growing up as a youth player in Douglasville and Carrollton, I never had a team to really look up to and learn from. I really think that giving the youth players something to aspire to will help them reach their goals and achieve their soccer dreams.

What has been your favorite part of the first year of the Men’s Program?

My favorite part of the first year was the goal the Gerard scored in the 93rd minutes of the U.S. Open Cup Qualifier. Our backs were against the wall and we were facing elimination when Gerard comes through with an incredible side volley finish to send the game to extra time. What a

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

moment.

What has been most challenging?

This was our first time really attempting many of the things involved in running an NPSL team, so we had to learn quickly how to do a game broadcast, recruit good players, travel well for games, grow the brand. I think we have done fairly well but we are focused on improving in each of those areas in the 2022 season.

Where do you see the club growing?

I see the club growing from the ground up. As a fully integrated club from age 3 to our men’s level (NPSL), I’m seeing tons of interest in being apart of the club and playing with us in 2022.

Did you enjoy also being able to play in the first year?

It was a pleasant surprise for sure because I had no intention of playing. I was recruiting two or three strikers to get the job done and for various reasons, each one of them backed out in the last minute. I hadn’t played competitively in about 5 years but fortunately, I had been training for several months so it wasn’t a huge problem for me to get

match fit in a short time. Funny enough, it was probably my most successful year of playing in all my career. I’m grateful I was able to play and help contribute to Georgia Storm’s successful first season and I aim to do the same in the coming years only off the field.

What is your favorite professional team?

I’ve always been a Liverpool fan which at times is a roller coaster ride, however they are very exciting to watch in the last few years, so I’m loving that.

What advice do you have for Storm youth players?

Keep chasing your dreams. If you want to get to the next level, whatever that is, then spend as much time as you can preparing for it. One day you’ll be my age and wish you would have done more with your younger years.

Set big goals and go achieve big goals.

45

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Kamdem Tchoupa FAN FAVORITE

Alan Kazemian

Player & Fan

AWARDS 2021 STORM CHASERS OF THE YEAR

DEFENDER OF THE YEAR

Jacob Bivens 46

Whitehead Family

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Isami Takeuchi ATTACKER OF THE YEAR

Stephen Bivens

S

MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR

Kevin Barajas georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

47

2021

Accomplishments

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS 06 Girls chamions of Geogia Premier League (GPL)... Earning promotion to National League

48

PROMOTION 08 Boys earned promotion to National League

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

ACCOMPLISH

STATE CHAMPIONS 04 Girls State Cup Champions

STATE CHAMPIONS 06 Boys... Two Time State Cup Champions

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

49

2008 Girls

50

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

GENERATION ADIDAS CHAMPIONS

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

51

UFA FALL CLASSIC 08 Boys chamions of their division at UFA Fall Classic tournament

52

PANAMA CITY CHAMPIONS 09 Girls Champions of Trident Cup Tournament

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

ACCOMPLISH

GENERATION ADIDAS NORCROSS CHAMPIONS 10 Boys Champions of their division at the Generation Adidas Tournament

STATE CHAMPIONS 06 Boys... Two Time State Cup Champions

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

53

2021

Pictures

54

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

PICTURES

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

55

56

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

PICTURES

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

57

58

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

PICTURES

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

59

60

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

PICTURES

georgiaStorm.com | Dec 2021

61