2005 Copa Coca Cola National Cup / Southeast Regional

This event proved to be the single greatest challenge and certainly the most coveted prize which we in Florida were seeking to attain. A record field of well over 60 teams and a playoff system which required seven wins in a two day format, would prove to be a Herculean task, for which no one team was prepared to understand the strain, the exhaustion and the overwhelming odds...and even luck, required to climb to the top and secure one of ten (10) nationally distributed regional championships, for an all expense paid trip to the 2005 Coca Cola National Championship tournament in Los Angeles, California, at the Home Depot Center.

Concurrent with regional global qualifiers the world over, where over 150,000 participants were registered to play in countries, such as: Brasil, Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Turkey, England, France, Germany, Uruguay, Paraguay, El Salvador, Honduras, Ecuador, Colombia, the Orient, and even the Middle East, the U.S. version of the Coca Cola Cup was going to be determined from among over 650 teams nationwide (Regionals were held in Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles, Denver, New York, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Portland, and Boston) in the U-15 age bracket.

First round play had us play three matches, which we won by the scores of 7-0, 5-2, and 3-0 (goals by Daniel Lovera (6), Garrett Ewald (3), Juan Hernandez (3) and Sebastian Vallejo (2), Francisco Tamayo (1), against teams from North Miami Beach, Miami, and Kendall. Advancing on top of the standings in our group play, we next met Margate Elite in a game dominated from beginning to end by our aggressive, well balanced squad. We were led in that game on the strength of two goals from Juan Zuluaga and one from Daniel Lovera. This victory sent us forward on to quarterfinal match against the highly regarded state (4th ranked) and national renowned squad of Team Boca Gunners. In a game played much like a chess match, each team probed each other until the opening score came in a sloppy sanded goal area, which caused our keeper to trip to the the ground, allowing the first goal, for their 1-0 lead, Immediately thereafter, we responded with a tying goal of our own on the strength of a key shot on a rebound by Garrett Ewald. We had answered the call, our defense was extraordinary, and both teams had battled like titans for the remainder of the match, sending us to the dreaded penalty kicks. However, after three rounds, FUTSOC USA ENIGMA had connected on all there of our shots, with Team Boca having all three stopped by our extraordinary keeper Sean Duble…The final result was a penalty kick over time victory of (1-1) 3-0, and the 2005 Copa Coca Cola Southeast Regional Championship, with all rights to represent the region at the nationals in Los Angeles next month along with the other nine regional champions.

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