U13 boys claim Rush's second State Cup title
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| State Cup 2012 | |
| May 25-28 * Boise, Idaho | |
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Ten more Idaho Rush teams will attempt to follow the lead of the state champion U18 boys Nike team when they kick off play at the Idaho State Cup beginning Friday, May 25. Among the highlights are the U19 boys, who will attempt to win their fourth state championship in their final run at the tournament, and the U15 girls, who are looking to become the second Idaho Rush girls team ever to win a state title. The U19 boys lost in PKs in last year's final and would like to avenge their loss against Nationals, the only other team entered in the U19 age group. Idaho Rush also has legitimate contenders in at least four other age groups. We will update this tournament web page as the tournament rolls along, adding scores and updating schedules when Rush teams gain the semifinals and finals, as neeed. To add game photos or stories about particular teams in the tournament, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . |
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| Boys U18 | CHAMPIONS |
| The boys U18 Nike team claimed its fourth State Cup championship Sunday, holding on for a 3-2 win over Idaho Thunder of Post Falls. Mehmed Selimovic had a pair of goals and Hector Martinez added another to put Rush up 3-0 before Thunder made it interesting with a pair of goals in the second half. But the boys held on to win their second consecutive title and a ticket to Far West Regionals in Phoenix, June 18-24. Rush cruised to the finals with a 9-0 win over Real Caldwell and a 13-0 win over Blackfoot Elite FC. The U18 State Cup was played as a part of the IYSA Director's Cup one weekend before the traditional Memorial Day weekend to avoid conflicts with high school graduations. | |
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| Boys U13 | CHAMPIONS |
| The boys U13 Nike team used every bit of full time, extra time, overtime and penalty kicks before finally nailing down their first State Cup championship over PVSC of Pocatello on Monday afternoon in front of more than 100 fans. Alex Draghici knocked home the fifth and final penalty kick to seal the win, complementing the two saves from GK Casey Sturtevant. Rush dominated most of the match, missing at least two clear opportunities in the first half and putting another shot off the underside of the crossbar. The onslaught continued through the second half with a number of chances sailing just wide of the goal and a few more floating into the PVSC goalkeeper's arms. Solid ball-winning in the midfield kept the chances coming even as the back line snuffed out the few counter-attacking opportunities generated by PVSC. The boys advance to Far West Regionals in Phoenix June 18-24. | |
| Other finishes | |
| Boys U19: Second place | |
| Boys U14: Third place | |
| Boys U17: Fourth place | |
| State Cup daily roundup | |
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| Day 1 | |
| Friday's small batch of opening-round games yielded a mixed bag of results for the club, with both U13 girls teams getting wins along with the U17 boys, but the U16 boys, U15 boys and U14 girls all starting slowly. The U13 girls each logged shutouts to put themselves in good positions to advance to the semifinals. Ric Gale's Elite team dominated Soccer Xpress 6-0 and Kenny Morrell's Premier team matched the feat with a 2-0 win over Nationals. The U17 boys earned a measure of revenge over Idaho Thunder in their 2-1 win over the Post Falls team. Thunder beat Rush in PKs to advance to the State Cup finals last year after the two teams tied in pool play. The U16 boys, though, were overmatched against Nationals, falling 4-0. The U14 girls also found themselves with a challenge too large against Nova, dropping their opener 7-0. The U15 boys nearly drew level just before halftime but the Nationals keeper pushed a floater over the bar to keep the score at 1-0. The wheels came off early in the second half, though, on a penalty kick and a goal from the run of play in the first 10 minutes. The boys went on to lose 5-0. | |
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| DAY 2 | |
| Two teams earned berths in the State Cup semifinals and another two kept their state title hopes alive during a day filled with cold clouds and plenty of rain. The boys U13 and U14 teams started the day right with back-to-back wins over Twin Falls Rapids (2-1) and Nationals (1-0), respectively. The U13 win was especially important as Nationals was one of only two teams to beat Rush during the regular season. Rush will face the only other team to beat them, Super Nova, in the semifinals. The boys U17s also nailed down a spot in the semis on the strength of a 10-0 thumping of Ballistic of Idaho Falls. They will also face local rival Super Nova in the semifinals. The U14 boys added a 8-0 win over Sandpoint Strikers later in the day to stay on track for a spot in the finals. Neither U13 girls team was as lucky though, as both teams were upset in their second and final pool game. The teams had been on track to create an all-Rush final, but now must settle for consolation games. The U15 girls fell to the same fate after they dropped their second game to PVSC 3-1. The U19 boys lost 2-1 to Nationals in the first leg of their two-leg final. The two teams meet again on Monday with the combined scores of the two games determining the winner. The U14 girls and U15 boys earned their first points of the tournament with a draws with Coeur d'Alene Sting (0-0) and Super Nova (1-1), respectively, while the U16 boys continue to look for a positive result after dropping their second match. | |
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| Day 3 | |
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The boys U13 will play for their first-ever State Cup championship on Monday after thumping Nova 5-0 in their semifinal Sunday afternoon. The boys will face cross-state rival PVSC of Pocatello at noon on Simplot 12 in the final. The win was one of the few bright spots on Sunday as the U17 boys lost their semifinal 1-0 to Sandpoint Strikers and the U14 boys lost a de facto semifinal game against Nationals 6-1 to miss an opportunity to play in the final for the second straight year. The consolation games were better fare for Rush as both U13 girls teams won their final game of the tournament. Nike-Premier beat Twin Falls Rapids 3-0 and Nike-Elite beat Fury FC 3-1. The U14 and U15 girls both also ended the tournament on a high note, with the U15s beating Nova 2-0 and the U14s beating VYSA 2-0. The U16 boys, though, remained winless after dropping their final game 4-1 to Coeur d'Alene Sting 4-0. Along with the U13 boys, the U19 boys will have a chance to claim thier fourth State Cup title of their careers when they take on Nationals in the second of their two-leg final. Nationals won the first leg 2-1, which means Rush will need to win by at least two goals in Monday's game to claim the title outright. A one-goal win by Rush would send the series to extra time and a draw or a loss would land Rush in the runners-up position. Tomorrow's two finals games are:
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| Day 4 | |
| Four Rush teams closed out the State Cup tournament with a pair of wins, a draw and a loss on a sun-splashed day at the Simplot Sports Complex. The most important win came at U13 as the boys finished off their remarkable run with a win over PVSC (Pocatello) in penalty kicks following a 0-0 finish. Rush definitely earned its State Cup title, beating Nationals, Nova and PVSC en route to the win (see full story above). The U14 boys garnered the other win on Monday, beating Real Nampa 2-0 to claim third place. The U19 boys used a furious rally to claim a 2-2 draw against Nationals in the second leg of their two-leg final. But the effort was not enough to overcome a 2-1 deficit from the first leg and Rush finished in second place for the second time in three years. The two runners-up positions pair with their three State Cup championships to make them one of the most decorated teams in club history. In the final game of the tournament, the U17 boys fell 1-0 in a rematch with Idaho Thunder to finish in fourth place. The boys beat Thunder 2-1 on the opening day, but could not repeat the feat. | |
| Master State Cup schedule | |||||
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| Friday, May 25 | |||||
| Time | Rush team | Opponent | Field | Result | |
| 5:15 p.m. | Girls U13 Nike-Morrell | Nationals-Rio | Simplot 9 | 2-0 | |
| 5:15 p.m. | Boys U16 Nike | Nationals-Celtic | Simplot 18 | 0-4 | |
| 5:15 p.m. | Boys U17 Nike | Idaho Thunder | Simplot 16 | 2-1 | |
| 5:15 p.m. | Girls U13 Nike-Gale | Soccer Xpress | Simplot 11 | 6-0 | |
| 7:15 p.m. | Girls U14 Nike | Super Nova | Simplot 15 | 0-7 | |
| 7:15 p.m. | Boys U15 Nike | Nationals-Milan | Simplot 5 | 0-5 | |
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| Saturday, May 26 | |||||
| 8 a.m. | Boys U14 Nike | Twin Falls Rapids | Simplot 13 | 2-1 | |
| 10 a.m. | Boys U13 Nike | Nationals-Inter | Simplot 3 | 1-0 | |
| 10 a.m. | Boys U16 Nike | Twin Falls Rapids | Simplot 17 | 0-3 | |
| 12 p.m. | Boys U15 Nike | Super Nova | Simplot 5 | 1-1 | |
| 12 p.m. | Girls U15 Nike | Neto United | Simplot 15 | 6-1 | |
| 12 p.m. | Girls U14 Nike | Coeur d'Alene Sting | Simplot 11 | 0-0 | |
| 2 p.m. | Boys U14 Nike | Sandpoint Strikers | Simplot 12 | 8-0 | |
| 4 p.m. | Boys U13 Nike | Coeur d'Alene Sting | Simplot 17 | 4-1 | |
| 4 p.m. | Girls U13 Nike-Morrell | Coeur d'Alene Sting | Simplot 18 | 0-2 | |
| 6 p.m. | Boys U19 Nike | Nationals | Simplot 14 | 1-2 | |
| 6 p.m. | Boys U17 Nike | Ballistic | Simplot 6 | 10-0 | |
| 6 p.m. | Girls U13 Nike-Gale | Lakeland Nighthawks | Simplot 12 | 1-3 | |
| 6 p.m. | Girls U15 Nike | PVSC United | Simplot 20 | 1-3 | |
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| Sunday, May 27 | |||||
| 10 a.m. | CONSOLATION | Girls U13 Nike-Morrell | Fury FC | Simplot 3 | 3-1 |
| 10 a.m. | CONSOLATION | Girls U13 Nike-Gale | Twin Falls Rapids | Simplot 9 | 3-0 |
| 12 p.m. | Boys U14 Nike | Nationals-Liverpool | Simplot 3 | 1-6 | |
| 12 p.m. | Boys U15 Nike | Idaho Thunder | Simplot 6 | 6-0 | |
| 12 p.m. | CONSOLATION | Girls U14 Nike | VYSA | Simplot 11 | 2-0 |
| 12 p.m. | CONSOLATION | Girls U15 Nike | Nova | Simplot 20 | 2-0 |
| 2 p.m. | SEMIFINAL | Boys U17 Nike | Sandpoint Strikers | Simplot 5 | 0-1 |
| 2 p.m. | SEMIFINAL | Boys U13 Nike | Super Nova | Simplot 3 | 5-0 |
| 4 p.m. | CONSOLATION | Boys U16 Nike | Coeur d'Alene Sting | Simplot 5 | 1-4 |
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| Monday, May 28 | |||||
| 8 a.m. | 3rd/4th place | Boys U14 Nike | Real Nampa | Simplot 11 | 2-0 |
| 12 p.m. | Boys U19 Nike | Nationals | Simplot 5 | 2-2 (3-4 agg) | |
| 12 p.m. | FINALS | Boys U13 Nike | PVSC | Simplot 12 | 1-0 (3-2 PKs) |
| 10 a.m. | 3rd/4th place | Boys U17 Finals | Idaho Thunder | Simplot 5 | 0-1 |
