THUNDER ADVANCES IN STATE CUP

Bayside U16 Boys

State Ranked #6

By Ron Hillis

The Bayside U16 boys soccer team, the Thunder, under Coach Fraga DaRosa, traveled to Tampa March 27 to participate in the initial round of the prestigious Florida Youth Soccer Association State Cup. This is the highest level of youth soccer in the state of Florida and is usually the domain of the central and south Florida teams, but the Thunder is sending notice that they can compete at this level and their #6 state ranking (#90 national) by GotSoccer is well deserved.

The Thunder tied the Central Pasco Spartans 0-0 and the Miami Strike Force 1-1 and then shut out Satellite Beach 6-0. The tie against the Strike Force was especially gratifying since the Strike Force plays in the national "Super Y' league and is considered to be a favorite to advance to the Final Four which will be held in Pace on May 17/18.

After the defensive struggle against the Spartans that saw numerous shots go wide of the goal, the Thunder played a flawless game of possession and defense against the athletic Strike Force led by the goal keeping of Hayes Sperry and the aggressive defense of Zach Woodson and Hunter Hillis that kept all goals out of the net except for a perfectly placed free kick. Striker Diego Figueroa answered with a quick chip shot over their goalkeeper's head. The play was made possible by the outside passing of Max Gerke and Danny Gibble that drew their defenders wide. The next day the Thunder exploded for five goals in the first half led by two scores from Chance Winn.

The Thunder advanced to the second round of the competition to be held April 11/12 in Fort Myers. They prepared for State Cup by winning the Pensacola Classic Tournament in February and then traveling to Louisiana in March to win the Lagniappe Cup by beating the U15 state champions and the U16 state champion finalists. The next local tournament appearance for the Thunder will be the Bayside Soccer Club's Gulf Coast Invitational on May 3/4.