BY KELLIE TAYLOR
Enquirer contributor
The coaching trio of Steve Cummins, Mike Barry and Mike Thomas will have a busy day today at the U.S. Youth Soccer Midwest Regional Championship at Clear Creek Park in Anderson Township.
Two of the coaches' teams, Club Ohio/Dynamo men's 20-and-under and Club Ohio/Dynamo boys' 19-and-under, have qualified for today's regional final games. Winners advance to the U.S. Nationals in Phoenix, July 22-26. The older team plays at 10 a.m., while the younger group's game starts at 10:15 a.m.
"We haven't had two teams in the finals in a long time," said Cummins, who coaches at Lakota West. "We'll have to split up the coaches."
The Club Ohio/Dynamo 20-and-under team advanced to the finals after pounding Kansas' Team KC 4-1 on Tuesday.
Roger Bacon graduate and Ohio State midfielder Brian Feldhaus scored the first goal when he blasted in a deflected shot from 25 yards out.
"This is our last year at it and we want to make a run at Nationals," Feldhaus said.
The 20-and-under group is the oldest group in the youth tournament. Most of the team, which is made up of players from Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, has been together for six years.
Miles Jablonka scored Club Ohio's second and third goals, one coming in each half. Jablonka's second goal came after several shots were deflected in front of KC's goal. Jablonka finally slid the ball past the Team KC goalkeeper. Minutes later, Club Ohio's Chris Lindemeyer made the score 4-0 with a shot into the net.
Team KC's lone goal came late on a shot by Mark Roennigke and after two Club Ohio left the match with injuries. Since the team had already used all its allowed substitutes, Club Ohio had to play with just nine men, making it vulnerable for the goal.
In its four games (three pool games and one semifinal), Club Ohio Dynamo has been undefeated and outscored its opponents 18-3. The team faces Mequon United, the Wisconsin state champion, in today's final. Club Ohio beat the team 5-0 on Saturday.
"That doesn't matter," Cummins said. "We don't anticipate anything being easy. At this age group, we've done well, but anything can change a game. We know how difficult it is to get through."
The game was much closer in the Club Ohio/Dynamo 19-and-under semifinal game against Pele's, also from Kansas. Club Ohio's Ryan Winkler, a Moeller graduate who plays at DePauw, scored the game's lone goal.
"It was a goal kick and the keeper kicked it right to me. I stopped it with my chest and beat a defender. When the goalie came out, I kicked it under him," Winkler said.
Winkler said his team is good, but is not overconfident.
"All the teams here are strong," he said. "We have a chance to advance but we have to come out and play hard and play together."
One local women's team and one girls' team advanced to today's finals.
Team Acceleration beat Missouri's Busch SC 2-1 in one of Tuesday's women's 20-and-under semifinal games. Bowling Green freshman-to-be Beth Wechsler and University of Cincinnati junior Michelle Burke scored for Team Acceleration.
In the other semifinal game of the age group, another Cincinnati team nearly advanced. Cardinal Premier, the wildcard of the group and last year's national champion, fell to the Michigan Hawks 2-0.
"It's always difficult to get there a second time," Cardinals coach Tim Lesiak said. "We just ran out of legs."
The team was without Brooke Hergesell and Amy Teetor, who were both injured earlier in the tournament.
The Hawks face Team Acceleration in the finals at 10 a.m.
"Team Acceleration, I think, is the best team in this tournament," Lesiak said. "They've done everything thing they need to do to win and they deserve to go to Nationals."
Another Cardinal Premier, the girls 19-and-under team, had a better fate than its older team. Premier pounded the Minneapolis Kickers 8-1 in a semifinal game and will face Missouri's JB Marine today at 10:30 a.m.
