U14 Wilson FC Boys Advance to
President’s Cup National Finals
By Mike Feehan, Coach, U14B Wilson FC
At the start of the Spring 2009 season, the U14 boys’ team, Wilson FC, coached by Mike Feehan and Bob Mochan, had a chip on their shoulders. During the previous season, the team had lost in the finals of the EPYSA Challenge Cup in double overtime with only 10 players, the other six players having attended a school-sponsored band trip to Virginia instead.
The 2009 EPYSA Challenge Cup began with a round-robin format with each team playing three games. There were 29 teams in the U14 age group. WJSC beat the Ukrainian Nationals, 6–0 and Vereinigung Erzgebirge United, 7–1, before playing a scoreless tie against the Langhorne Strikers. WJSC advanced based on points to the quarterfinals and defeated the Hulmeville Thrashers, 5–0. A 4–3, double-overtime victory in the semi-finals against the team from Lower Merion avenged last year’s loss, while a 1-0 win over Fox Chase Gunners in the final gave Wilson FC the victory it had come so close to the previous year.
As winners of the EPYSA Challenge Cup, the team was invited to participate in the National President’s Cup. On May 30 and 31, Wilson FC traveled to Cranberry, Pa. (northwest of Pittsburgh), to compete against Challenge Cup winners from Western PA, Eastern NY, and Western NY in a round-robin format in one of three Region I President’s Cup qualifiers. The top-two teams from the Region I Central Division would advance to play against the winners from the Region I North and South Divisions in New Castle, Del., on June 20-21 at the Kirkwood Soccer Complex.
Wilson FC advanced with a second-place finish, defeating Western PA, 6–0, and Western NY, 3–0, before losing to Eastern NY in the final, 3-2.
The two games on Saturday at Kirkwood were in the pouring rain on fields covered with puddles. Against the Maryland team, we came back from a 2–0 deficit to tie the game at 2–2, then defeated New Jersey, 3-0.
On Sunday, the day of the Region I President’s Cup Final, all fields were closed except one turf field. Our rematch with Eastern NY resulted in a 1–0 victory and a trip to the Nationals in Raleigh, N.C. on July 17-19. We will be facing the winning teams from the other three regions, including teams from Missouri, Texas and California.
It has been a tremendous experience for all the players, coaches, and families; a great opportunity to play against other high-caliber teams and for the players and parents to bond.
Coach Mochan and I have over 60 seasons (including indoors) of experience coaching soccer. The team started to form at the U9 age group, with five of the current 18 players from this original team. Six additional players, and coach Mochan, were added at the U10 age group and another three at U11. The last player to join the team was in the spring of 2009.
The team consists of many athletes that participate in a number of sports other than soccer, including basketball, baseball, track, swimming, lacrosse, water polo, diving, wrestling and the martial arts. At the early age groups, the team played in the Reading-Berks Junior Soccer League, winning several league championships, but left at the U12 age group to seek better competition. The team has since played in the LANCO and Lehigh Valley Leagues, also winning league championships, and is currently playing in the DELCO League. The team consists of the following players:
Adam Bainbridge, Forward/Mid
Trevor DePaul, Mid/Forward
Jonah Bowman, Forward
Kyle Eshbach, Forward
Alex Feehan, Stopper
Bryan Fegley, Forward/Mid/Defender
Wes Frebel, Mid
James Kiefer, Defender
Jason Krut, Mid/Forward
Kyle Lorenz, Keeper
Ben Mochan, Mid/Defender
Bryan Muchoney, Mid/Forward
Zach Post, Mid/Forward
Matthew Reinoehl, Sweeper
Eric Rodrigo, Forward/Mid
Ryan Schumacher, Mid
Mack Trexler, Mid
Jason Vottero, Defender
