On a beautiful weekend for some fun on the pitch, the Central Brevard Cyclones U12 girls captured the 11^th Annual Palm Bay Spring Challenge Championship. The Cyclones played in the U12 National Division along with some great teams from the East Coast of Florida. Joining the Cyclones were the Lady Makos of Port St. Lucie, the Jupiter Sting, and Treasure Coast United from Stuart.

The weekend started off with the usual 8 a.m. game on Saturday morning. The Cyclones first squared off with the Lady Makos. The Cyclones came out ready to play by winning the game 5-2. Stepping up for the Cyclones were Lizzy Guertin with 3 goals and 2 assists. Tara Smith also contributed with 2 goals of her own and 1 assist. Mackenzie O”Dell was in goal for Cyclones. Rain Henderson And Jenny Dembowski helped on the defense side of the ball helping the Cyclones to keep the lead and secure the victory.

Coming off the 5-2 victory, the Cyclones continued to roll with another victory. This time at the hands of the Jupiter Sting. The teams played to a 1-1 tie in the first half. The Cyclones came out in the second half and took the lead 2-1 and then the Sting tied it at two all. The Cyclones scored the third and final goal to secure the 3-2 victory. Tara Smith continued her stellar play with another goal. Helping to secure the victory were Desi Ehley and Mackenzie O’Dell with 1 goal each. Playing in the goal for the Cyclones was Kaylyn Williams. Also contributing some great play on the field were Carly Mays and Allison Blaue.

After finishing Saturday with 2 wins and securing a spot in the Championship game the Cyclones had another early game on Sunday with Treasure Coast United. This was a hard fought game on both sides of the ball. Both teams came out wanting to prove to the other that they were the team to beat. After the first half the score was tied 1-1. Scoring in the first half was Jenna Kohlbrand. After the half the TCU girls scored to take the 2-1 lead late in the game. With just seconds left, the ball bouncing in front of the TCU goalkeeper, Mackenzie O’Dell netted the tying goal to end the match with a 2-2 draw. Great game played by both teams. Allison Blaue was in the goal for the Cyclones.

With the tie, TCU secured their place in the Championship game against the CBS Cyclones. The Championship game was a real nail biter. Both teams played a great first half cumulating to a 0-0 tie. The second half was even a better half of soccer. Both teams working the ball up and down the field. Both teams had some great shots on goal and both goalkeepers played an outstanding game. Several minutes into the half, the Cyclones took a 1-0 lead on a penalty kick goal by Kaylyn Williams. That’s all the Cyclones needed to win the U12 Girls National Division.

Congratulations to assistant coach Scott Blaue and the CBS Cyclones on a hard fought Championship. Other members of the team not able to attend were Alex Woeste, Gabbie and Daryth Gayles due to school activities. Dawn Greth was limited to a few minutes due to injury. Also not able to attend due to ODP was Coach Scott Carswell.

10th Annual Ormond Beach Challenge

     The Central Brevard Cyclones U12 Girls went to Ormond Beach this past weekend to compete in the 10th Annual Ormond Beach Challenge. The Cyclones have added a few additional players and was going into the tournament with hopes of coming out Champions. They were in a 4 team group with 2 teams from the Jacksonville area and a team from the host Ormond Beach.

     The Cyclones started off the tournament with a 2-0 win against the Island FC Rage from Jacksonville. Both teams started off strong. Dawn Greth started the scoring with a goal. She was assisted by Lizzy Guertin. Both teams had an equal amount of shots on goal in the first half. After the half the teams played hard and the FC Rage had some opportunities to score but the Cyclones defense shut out any offensive threats. With about eight minutes left Allison Blaue scored the second goal of the game, assisted by Jenny Dembowski. Goalie Mackenzie O’Dell recorded the shutout. The Cyclones takes the first game 2-0. A well played game from the whole team.

     In the second game the Cyclones came out on fire against the host team of Ormond Beach Waves. Scoring 4 times in the first half. Scoring on behalf of the Cyclones were Allison Blaue, Lizzy Guertin, Alex Woeste, and Tara Smith. Assisting with the goals were Desi Ehley and Daryath Gayles with one each. In the second half the Cyclones scored twice. Both goals were by Jenna Kohlbrand. Goalie’s Kaylyn Williams and Mackenzie O’Dell recorded the shutout. The Cyclones take the second game in convincing fashion in a 6-0 route.

     On early Sunday, a windy and cold morning, the Cyclones played the CAA Clash Creek White from Jacksonville. The game started out a little slow until the two teams could warm-up. Clash Creek took a 2-1 lead at the half. Scoring for the Cyclones was Gabbie Gayles, assisted by her sister Daryath Gayles. After the half the Cyclones started to heat up. They took seventeen shot on goal scoring three times to clinch the win 4-2. Scoring in the second half were Jenna Kohlbrand with two and Tara Smith with one. Lizzy Guertin assisted Kohlbrand on a corner kick and Jenny Dembowski had the other assist to Smith.

     With the third win of the weekend the Cyclones earned the number one ranking for the Championship game. Getting the second seed were the Island FC Rage. The Rage was looking for revenge against the Cyclones for the earlier loss they encountered on Saturday at the hands of the Cyclones.

     In the first half of the Championship game, both teams were battling hard against the other while the Rage took a 1-0 lead to halftime. After the half, the Cyclones came out fighting. The Cyclones scored twice and held the Rage in check. Scoring for the Cyclones were Lizzy Guertin and Gabbie Gayles. Assisting with the goals were Lizzy Guertin and Daryath Gayles. Carly Mays and Rain Henderson also contributed to the victory with their hard play. As the final whistle blew the Cyclones were the Champions of the Ormond Beach Challenge. Congratulations to the Central Brevard Cyclones.

     Thank you goes out to their Head Coach Scott Carswell and Coach Scott Blaue.

     The CBS U12 Girls Cyclones started the Region B Cup Knockout Round on Saturday morning in Jacksonville. The Cyclones were going in with hopes of advancing to the Challenge Round on March 1st and 2nd in Vero Beach. The Cyclones played three games over this past weekend coming out with a win and two ties.

     The Cyclones opened the weekend on the pitch against the Clay County Soccer Club. The match started out pretty even all the way around. In the first half Clay County started the scoring. The Cyclones answered with a goal of their own. Jenna Kohlbrand scored the goal on a direct kick. Going into halftime the score remained 1:1. After halftime the Cyclones came and scored 2 goals. One came on a penalty kick by Lizzy Guertin. The other goal was scored by Desirae Ehley on a corner kick from Lizzy Guertin. Toward the end of the game Clay County scored their second goal. With just a little over a minute left Clay County scored their third goal on a penalty kick and secured a 3:3 tie to end the game.

     In the second match of the day, the Cyclones went up against the Orange County Strikers. There was plenty of defense in the first half. The Cyclones only attempted only two shots and the Strikers only had three. Goalkeeper Mackenzie O’Dell held the Strikers scoreless in the first half. The Orange County Strikers opened up the scoring in the second half and holding down the Cyclones. There was plenty of defense in the game. The Cyclones came out in the second half with a little more fire, but couldn’t find the offense they needed until the last ten minutes. In the last ten minutes the Cyclones went on a shooting barrage. The Cyclones finally put one in the back of the net on a goal by Lizzy Guertin. She was assisted by Dawn Greth. The Cyclones had their chances on several good shots, but they couldn’t find the net. For the second straight game the Cyclones ended in a 1:1 tie.

     On Sunday , their third and final game of the Knockout Round, the Cyclones went up against the FC Kumba. The Kumba started the scoring on their only shot of the first half. The Cyclones answered with a goal by Tara Smith, assisted by Dawn Greth. Going into the half with the score 1:1the Cyclones needed to come out in the second half and play hard. The Cyclones arose to the challenge by scoring three more goals only allowing the Kumba to score one goal. Scoring for the Cyclones in the second half were Allison Blaue on two direct kicks and Dawn Greth. Tare Smith assisted Greth on her goal. The Cyclones played a good game with the help of Jenny Dembowski, Rain Henderson, Alex Woeste, Gabbie Gayles, Daryth Gayles, and Kaylyn Williams. Carly Mays was out due to a knee injury. It was a real team effort.

     With the win the Cyclones will move on to the Challenge Round in Vero Beach. Congratulations to the Cyclones for advancing to the next round. The Cyclones are coached by Scott Carswell and Scott Blaue. Good luck in the Challenge Round.