The YMS Strikers are a U-16 boys soccer team, playing in the Yardley Makefield Soccer Club. They are the second of three teams in it's respective age group, in between the Xplosion and Mavrix.

Check the schedule or calendar for the latest events.

Team Accomplishments;
*Raised $3,000.00 for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society (2005)
*Donated soccer equipment and uniforms to the San Joaquin, Costa Rica youth team (2005)
*2006 EPYSA Indoor Challenge Cup Champions
*2006 EPYSA Outdoor Challenge Cup Quarterfinalist
*2006 YMS Columbus Cup Premier Division Semi-Finalists                                                 *2007 MAPS Winter Classic Champions                                                                            *2008 Bob Smith Soccer HS Travel League Indoor U-16 Division Champions (Session I) 
*2008 Jersey Shore Cup Champions

2007 - 2008 Soccer Year:

The Strikers played in two summer tournaments; the NSR Region 1 Cup in July and the Kirkwood College Showcase in August. We also played in the Hempfield Classic in Lancaster, the MAPS Winter Classic tournament as well as the MAPS late fall league.

The winter indoor schedule will include the Robbinsville Fieldhouse (Bob Smith Soccer) indoor league and two tournaments including the EPYSA Indoor State Cup.

Spring 2008 will include six MAPS games, the EPYSA State Cup tournament, a MAPS tournament, and a College Showcase.

On a hot and humid day on the turf field, the Strikers played their final two MAPS games of the soccer year.  Playing 19 games in one season is a MAPS record...so there certainly were no complaints about not playing enough soccer!

 Having four starters missing from the squad would make the day a little tougher.

FC Warrington lined up against the team in the first game, and the Strikers started out slowly.  An apparent off-sides led to a goal in the 12th minuted for Warrington, and they continued to have the better play as the Strikers did not possess the ball...they chose the "kick and run" method to match the other team.

At halftime, they were reminded of putting the ball on the ground and talking...and it showed in the second half as they started to move the ball through the field.  It wasn't long before Mike Rossi broke through on a hustle play and beat the goalie to tie the score.  The play continued in the Strikers' favor, and when a Warrington player was red carded for spitting, things looked good.  They could not finish another goal however, and the score ended 1-1.

 Jersey Shore BOCA Alliance was up next, and this team was a mix of the top (BOCA Jrs.) squad and the second team.  They looked strong as they possessed the ball and passed it very well.  Ten minutes in, a player slipped through the defense.  Despite the Strikers saying it was off-sides, the goal was allowed...play the whistle!  Shortly afterwards, Billy C. was red carded for foul language.  A second goal was scored, then Brian quickly got a goal back...but was called off-sides.  Just before halftime, Justin finished a ball that bounced around the goal line for a 2-1 halftime score.

 Billy S. was injured, and the rest of the team was tired from playing a man down.  Andrew arrived at halftime to give the middle a boost...but the second half got ugly.  As two more Strikers were injured, the game got out of hand towards the end.  Three goals were scored by BOCA in a 15 minute span, but one highlite was Matt M stopping a PK.  A BOCA player was sent off with a few minutes left, but the damage was already done.  The heat, humidity, injuries,  and playing a man down most of the game did the team in...with a 5-1 final score.

The team lined up against the host Ocean Stingrays on Saturday morning with one sub, and started out strong with a lot of pressure.  Many early shots were created by their better play, but nothing found the net.  Before long, the score was 1-0 on a hustle play by Devin.  The defense held tight, and despite the Rays push they did not allow a goal.  Some great saves by Christopher in net assured the shutout.  When Nick scored the insurance goal, the victory was sealed.

The second game brought the team out just before noon, and the heat was really building.  The Pasco Stallions had won 4-0 in their first game and were looking tough.  A goal by Billy after Corey wreaked havoc in the box started things off for the Strikers.  A mistake by the defense allowed a great save by Matt to remain in the box...the ball was collected by the opposition and shot again for a goal that was nearly saved again but ruled behind the line.  Nick put things away again with a terrific goal to assure a 2-1 victory.  The defense staved off the final efforts by Pasco to assure the win.

 Sunday afternoon the heat was even worse, but the Strikers had the tough games behind them.  A 4-0 win over the Hulmeville Thunder featured goals by Mike Rossi (header), Corey on a breakaway, Jimmy on a PK and Nick from 25 yards out.  The defense had it pretty easy, and the score could have been much worse had the team stayed serious the whole game.

The final game was pretty anti-climatic as the team clinched before lining up.  The West Windsor Vipers played hard and the Strikers had only one sub, but the result was the same.  Billy, Mike Rossi and Matty B on a PK did the scoring, and the defense allowed one goal on a mistake for a 3-1 final.

 The other bracket looked a little more competitive, but the Strikers did what was needed; play hard when it counted and not let down despite the opposition.    

The team lined up against the NJ Rangers Blue Devils, and immediately went to work.  A shot in the third minute by Nick from 30 yards out beat the goalie, but went off the crossbar.  Several other chances from closer were there as well, but the game remained scoreless until a scramble in front of the Rangers goal had a player make a great diving save...but it wasn't the goalie.  The ensuing red card and PK taken by Jimmy made it 1-0.

 The game was dominated early by the Strikers, and the Rangers had one shot at halftime.  The second half began with a threatening sky, and the Rangers started to press into the Strikers end.  The momentum shifted, but the defense held tight.  At 22 minutes of the second half, lightning began and did not stop...the game was called at 1-0.  

The team travelled to Pomona, NY for a doubleheader against two premier teams.  The Ramapo Valley Tornadoes were first, and based on their MAPS record looked very strong as the hosts.

The game started in typical fashion for the Strikers, which means that they took 15 minutes to get going...unfortunately the Tornadoes scored a goal beofre that time on a very good shot from the corner of the box.  Many more chances came their way as the Strikers struggled to find their rythym, but Chris and the defense held them at bay.  Towards halftime, the boys strated clicking, and a couple of close chances by Jon and Devin evened up the momentum.  The second half had a few players moved around, and it looked very successful as Matty took the ball down the right side past two defenders and put a perfect low cross into the box.  Billy made no mistake with the re-direct and put it home.  Several more chances came, but nothing found the net.  The game went back and forth from there...the last 15 minutes were very exciting as both teams had chances to win the game.  A 1-1 tie was the result.

On 30 minutes rest and with the rain and wind picking up, the Strikers lined up against the Hanover Avalanche.  They came in rested and showed it right away by scoring a goal on a defensive mistake in the first half, as the boys struggled again in the beginning of the game.  More goals could have been had, but Chris made two good saves to keep the game close.  The offense started to click, but could not sustain possession as Hanover showed more hustle.  The boys looked tired at halftime, and while the game was improving, they were lucky to be down 1-0.  The second half was more of the same, and while the Strikers had chances they couldn't seem to get a quality shot on goal.  A ball was not cleared from the box and the Avalanche took advantage as two one-touch passes resulted in a 2-0 lead.

Just as the game looked out of reach, Devin ran up an a ball from the left defensive spot and blasted it past the keeper from 30 yards out.  This seemed to energize the team a bit, and for the next 10 minutes they put plenty of pressure on Hanover.  Another shot by Devin just missed the near post, and two other shots were saved.  The final score of 2-1 would have been different with more rest and better consistency. 

With five players missing, the team headed to Nether Providence to play the Rangers.  As usual lately, the Strikers started out slowly and let them have several early chances.  Having different players on defense was not helping the situation...and midway through the first half and apparent off-side Ranger slid the ball under Chris for a 1-0 lead.

 The team started playing better the last ten minutes of the half, but could not put one in the net.  A 1-0 halftime score had them determined to play better.  The second half was the Strikers turn...and many chances came.  The Rangers goalie was up to the task in stopping Danny on a breakaway, and just tipping Michael's ball into the crossbar.  Devin also had two good chances, but it just wasn't the Striker's day.  With ten minutes left and one less defender covering, the Rangers put in an insurance goal after a great save by Jimmy...the ball stayed in the box too long and found the net.

Final score 2-0, and it's safe to say this was the worse game of the spring...hopefully we will face them again. 

The new turf field at the park officially opened the weekend of April 25/26th, with State Cup and Region League games.  The Strikers got their first taste of the new field on Sunday, May 3rd against the Meford Strikers.  This team had not lost a MAPS game yet this year...but that would soon change.

The game was fast and furious, with goalie Matt Miller getting injured early on when he stopped a breakaway.  He was done for the game with a possible broken wrist, but Chris Lehmann came in and assured the shutout in goal.  Jimmy Wishbow was not to be denied in saving two or three goals himself as the Medford team could not find the back of the net.  Meanwhile, the YMS version of the Strikers were slowly but surely taking control of the game.  Michael Mulcahy put an early shot off the crossbar, and Andrew, Justin and Devin all had chances in the first half.  Halftime showed a 0-0 score.

The second half was a different story.  With the wind at their backs, the team started to control the game and play possession.  Less than ten minutes in, Steve M sent a ball back in after a corner kick, and Nick wasted no time in getting the one-timer for a goal.  Many more shots came down upon the Medford keeper, but he either made the save or had his best friends - the posts and crossbar - help him.  At the other end, a few chances came Medford's way, but Chris and defense kept them at bay.  The final was 1-0, but we won it "going away." 

The Strikers keep taking on all teams, and with good results.  A doubleheader at Ironbound resulted in two victories.  First, they won a tight game against FC Premier ROMA 1-0, and then on 30 minutes rest they dominated JPSA 3-1.

Last weekend they took on the very strong Hurricanes of Rancocas Valley, NJ.  Despite having many, many chances they could not find the net...and one mistake cost them a goal.  The 1-0 final was only their second league loss this spring in nine games.   Here is the current D Flight of the U-16 MAPS League:  http://www.cjysa.org/teams/7082477/5968740-7082511/TEAM.html

In the first NCS Cup game in their history, the team took the field in this tournament as the only true second team from their respective club.  They also drew one of only four seeded teams, and had to travel two hours for a single soccer game.  All the odds were against them, and some said they didn't belong there...but they proved the doubters wrong.

The Metro Jaguars started very strong, and dominated the play the first ten minutes.  Just as the Strikers were settling in an realizing they were just as good, a cross was sent in from the left side.  The outside right middie on Metro collected it and crossed it back again, which led to a very pretty header goal.  It was 1-0 and this seemed to fire up the home team even more as they had several more chances.  Devin nearly scored on a slip-up by the Jags that led to a breakway, but the ball went wide.  Matt M and the defense of Jimmy, Matty B, Corey and Steve played strong enough to keep the score at one goal until halftime.

The halftime talk was simply about heart.  Despite being down on themselves, the players were reminded they had yet to play their best...and it was a one goal game.  The second half was some of the best soccer you will ever see at this age.  Both teams had several chances, including two balls across the goal mouth by the Strikers and a beakaway by the Jags that was stuffed twice by Matt M - including the rebound.  The game got very physical, and the Strikers never backed away, despite two yellow cards being issued.  Sean stole a corner kick pass and the Strikers nearly got another breakaway.  Andrew put a free kick into the box that somehow didn't get into the net after bouncing around several times.  Michael was everywhere; feeding the ball left then right, and taking on anyone to keep possession.  A free kick was awarded the Strikers just outside the box with ten minutes left...but the ball sailed over the crossbar.  With five minutes left, Justin's second yellow card left the team a man down...and they still had chances to score.  The 1-0 final had the Jags coaches very relieved, and despite the heartbreaking loss the Strikers knew they had played a great game.  To say they "left it all on the field" would not be good enough...they also gained respect.  The next two games in the NCS, Metro won 4-0 and 2-0.  Their next loss would be 1-0 to the YMS Xplosion.