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SPORTS
Grant Traylor: Hard work, help from volunteers has tourney running smoothly
Jessica Beihl, who plays on the West Virginia Soccer Club Goal Girls, looks to pass during their match Friday, July 3, 2009, at the Barboursville Soccer Complex and Scott Orthopedic Soccer Complex at the YMCA Kennedy Center.
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BARBOURSVILLE -- For West Virginia Soccer Association president Len Rogers, no news Friday was certainly good news.
After a mad scramble to get everything ready for the tournament, everything ran exceptionally smoothly thanks to the hard work of the volunteers and the combined efforts of the West Virginia Soccer Association and the US Youth Soccer organization workers.
If this is only supposed to be a test run, then I can't wait until we are flying full speed with the tournament because the first day of pool play was quiet.
Eerily quiet.
I have to admit that I was waiting for parking issues or for a team to be playing on the wrong field or for some little glitch that you expect with a new tournament.
There was none.
The only complaints were from parents getting on referees -- something you fully expect when dealing with youth sports.
If there was a buzz caused away from soccer, it was only from a swarm of bees that had taken over a Gatorade cooler and decided to fend off some fans.
That was it.
There was no sound of horns honking because of a parking situation as you might expect with New Yorkers and New Jersey natives in town.
They saved their horns for the trip home because the parking situation was excellent.
And the weather?
People riding in golf carts were actually complaining because the breeze was a little chilly from the 4-H Camp clubhouse back to the fields at the Barboursville Soccer Complex.
Trust me, that is a great problem to have in early July.
All in all, the first day was everything Rogers could have dreamed and more.
It was the conversion of 20,000 soccer enthusiasts while still having the quiet, laid-back nature of West Virginia.
To coin an ol' phrase from our beloved state, it truly was "almost heaven" on Friday.
EARLY IMPACT: A pair of New Yorkers stole the spotlight during opening round action in the U-18 boys division.
Eastern New York representative East Fishkill Thunder got four goals from Jake Keegan in a 6-0 win over Virginia's SOCA Lightning.
New York West U-18 representative BC United Fusion also has a player to watch in Karim Azeb, who is coached by former WVU coach Paul Marco. Azeb scored all three goals in a 3-0 win over Bruno United of Rhode Island.
SATURDAY FIREWORKS: Today, teams from West Virginia will take on some of the best competition at the tournament.
In the U-15 boys division, the WVSC Titans will take on Casa Mia (Md.) at Field 10, starting at 9:45 a.m at Barboursville Soccer Complex. Casa Mia is ranked No. 4 in the nation while the Titans are coming off a draw with No. 7 Herndon.
In U-17 girls, the WVSC Goal Girls will battle New Jersey's PDA Fire, the two-time defending Region I champion. The match will take place at 9:45 a.m. on Field 5 at Barboursville Soccer Complex.
At 11:30 a.m. on Field 4, the River Valley Soccer Club Rapids will take on Lower Merion, the Premier League champion from eastern Pennsylvania. As Premier League champs, Lower Merion has already qualified for the 2009 National Championships.
At Scott Orthopedic Soccer Complex, the RVSC Shock U-19 girls will take on the defending Region I champ McLean MPS Freedom of Virginia at 3 p.m. on Field 19.
Grant Traylor is a reporter for The Herald-Dispatch. Contact him at (304) 526-2759 or gtraylor@herald-dispatch.com.
