Chargers win home tourney

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Five months ago, 12-year-old John Rivera walked off the field feeling like a professional.

Non-alcoholic champagne corks flew through the air, and camera flashes blinded the Braden River Middle School seventh-grader and his FC Sarasota U12 teammates. FC Sarasota had just won the 2011 President’s Cup, defeating Jacksonville’s First Coast 5-2 to finish the season with a state championship and a 28-4-2 overall record.

“If felt like we were professionals,” Rivera said.

Now, Rivera and his teammates have their sights set on defending their state championship — only this year they’ll be doing it under a new name. This past summer, the team moved over from FC Sarasota and joined the Lakewood Ranch Chargers organization.

In addition to its new home, the team also moved up to the U13 division and added four more players to its roster to be able to compete on the larger field. Despite the changes, the team has picked up right where it left off.

On Sept. 3-5, the Chargers won the Nike Cup Labor Day Showcase at the Premier Sports Campus at Lakewood Ranch, marking the third time in five years the team has won the tournament.

“We’re a fast-paced team, and we move the ball really good,” Rivera said. “We’ve got heart, and we want to win.”

Eleven-year-old midfielder Henry Howell agreed.

“We work as one, and we know exactly what each other is thinking,” Howell said.

The Chargers went 5-0 throughout the three-day tournament, defeating the Ocala Arsenal 3-0, Tampa Fusion 9-0, Azalea 7-0 and Florida Rush 5-1 before defeating Charlotte County Soccer 3-0 in the finals.

Rivera led the way with six goals and 11 assists, followed by 12-year-old midfielder Zack McLaughlin with seven goals and five assists, and Howell with three goals and 14 assists. Nine different players found the back of the net throughout the tournament, while goalkeeper Jonathan Fulkert allowed just one goal in five games.

The team won its first Nike Cup as a U9 squad while playing for the Braden River Soccer Club and again as a U11 team while playing for FC Sarasota.

“The first year we won the Nike Cup — that was a pretty magical year,” assistant coach David McLaughlin said. “We won like 34 games and lost two. We created (the foundation) for all of the fundamentals of soccer, including a great attitude and a positive (outlook).”

Since coming together five years ago, the players have developed a unique chemistry fueled by their friendships both on and off the field.

“We try to bond whenever possible,” Howell said. “We want to make memories.”

The team left Braden River two years ago as a way to attract the best players in the Sarasota, Bradenton and East Bradenton areas. Since then, the team has found a new home at Premier and has a new head coach in former Brazilian soccer player Luiz Seixas.

Next, the Chargers will play in the Crown Cup in October at Premier before opening their regular season Oct. 29. The Chargers then will compete in a junior showcase tournament in November in Walt Disney World.

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].