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

Georgia 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 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 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

Group Stage Competition

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 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

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 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

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.”

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,

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

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 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.”