Champions - Spring Buckeye Premier League

Team Ohio FC Sparta was able to win the spring division of BPL.  This is a huge accomplishment as it was a very competitive division with 2 state cup semi-finalist and 3 state cup quarter-finalist.  Sparta scored the most goals with 17 and allowed the fewest with 5.  Congrats!

Game #1:	Sparta	4	vs.	Classics F.C.	1	(1-0-0)
Game #2:	Sparta	1	vs.	Classics F.C.	2	(1-1-0)
Game #3:	Sparta	1	vs.	WC United	0	(2-1-0)
Game #4:	Sparta	1	vs.	Metro F.C.	1	(2-1-1)
Game #5:	Sparta	1	vs.	Alliance	1	(2-1-2)
Game #6:	Sparta	2	vs.	Sycamore-Hauter	0	(3-1-2)
Game #7:	Sparta	2	vs.	Classics Hammer	0	(4-1-2)
Game #8:	Sparta	5	vs.	Ohio Elite	0	(5-1-2)

 Champions - MASC Classic

Despite opening the 2008 spring season with injuries and absences, Sparta was able to elevate their level of play and win the Gold Division of the Mid American Soccer Classic in a dominating fashion. Game 1 saw Sparta matched up against Toledo Football Academy . The boys controlled possession, as play remained primarily in the oppositions defensive third. About ten minutes into the game, Kyle was able to find the back of the net and put Sparta up 1-0. Moments later, unsatisfied with just one goal, Kyle struck again giving Sparta a 2-0 lead at the half. The second half was more of the same for Sparta as they controlled the flow of the game. The opposition employed an offside trap that called back 2 more goals from Kyle, as the team was eager to put the game out of reach. With two seconds remaining in the game, Toledo was awarded a penalty kick which the converted making it a 2-1 victory for Sparta . The 2nd game that afternoon found Sparta playing GFC Arsenal. Once again Sparta got off to a fast start as Kyle continued his scoring ways giving Sparta a 1-0 lead within 5 minutes of the start of the match. The defense, comprised of Anthony, John Michael, Zach, Nick and Tyler once again played superb and denied GFC Arsenal an opportunity to tie the game giving Sparta a 1-0 victory. The final game in group stage matched Sparta against Penns Forrest. In order to advance Sparta needed to record at least a tie. Luckily, Patrick decided to relieve some of the pressure on the defense by knocking in a great shot by Brett that deflected off the post in the 2nd minute of the game. Moments later, and clearly the goal of the tournament, Ian made a brilliant run down the flank and sent a cross to Kyle who headed the ball into the upper corner to put the score at 2-0 in the 5th minute. The half and the game ended 2-0 as the stingy Sparta defense once again refused to allow a goal during a very physical game. Sweeping group play, Sparta would face WASA Eagles in the Championship game. Any nerves that could have been present were immediately erased when one of the most memorable goal scoring sequences occurred. Obviously unsatisfied with only 1 goal during the weekend, Patrick decided to win the championship on his own by scoring 3 consecutive goals within minutes of each goal. The hat trick gave Sparta a 3-0 lead by the 10th minute of the first half. Even with the game seemingly over, the defense recorded their 3rd clean sheet of the tournament and John added an insurance goal in the second half to give Sparta a 4-0 victory in the championship game. With that win Sparta went 4-0 over the weekend scoring 9 goals and allowing 1 goal on a penalty kick.

2nd Place - Nike Challenge Cup

 Quarterfinalist - Ohio South State Cup

The Ohio South State Cup tournament was a fantastic experience for the team.  Going into the tournament, Sparta ’s performance earned them the 6^th seed in the state.  Having never won a state cup game since the team’s inception, the boys quickly took care of that curse by soundly defeating Worthington United White 6-1 in the preliminary round.  The victory earned them a Round of 16 game against Ohio Elite Academy.  Despite the very difficult field conditions after a rain storm, Sparta was able to defeat Ohio Elite 2-1 in overtime sending them to a quarterfinal match against 2007 state cup semifinalists Classics F.C.  Despite controlling play in the 2nd half and bringing considerable energy, Sparta was unable to hold off Classics F.C. in overtime, losing the game 2-1.  Regardless of the outcome, it’s clear that Sparta has made progress this season and positioned themselves as one of the top teams in Ohio South.  The boys should be very proud.

Warrior Cup

We took the opportunity to split up the U13 age group for Warrior Cup.  As a result, Juventus was made up of 10 players from Sparta, 7 players from Juventus, and 1 guest player from Texas .  Sparta was made up of 10 players from Juventus and 7 players from Sparta .  Juventus received bad news before the tournament even started as Tyler was out at GK due to illness, so it was goalie by committee for the weekend.  Juventus started out with Brighton Express from Michigan .  The cohesion of new players was not there in this game and as a result the game ended 0-0.  Sparta started out with Warren Country United.  Sparta knocked the ball around very well and controlled most of the match, but WC was opportunistic on their goal scoring chances and sneaked away with a 3-2 win.  The 2^nd game found Juventus matched up with Sycamore Arsenal Premier.  The cohesion was much better in this match and Juventus found controlled most of the match, but could not score despite numerous opportunities.  It was still a very positive showing for the group.  Sparta played SCSA Raiders and was dominant in a 6-0 victory.  Sunday morning found Juventus matched up with Sycamore Hauter.  Juventus needed a 3-0 victory to guarantee advancement.  The boys went out and dominated the game and earned the 3-0 result.  Sparta was matched up with Metro FC Rapids in their 3^rd game and needed a victory to advance.  John Michael started off the scoring with a brilliant strike from 20 yards out.  Metro scored a goal in the 2^nd half to make it 1-1.  Logan put the game away deep in the 2^nd half to secure the 2-1 victory.  Both teams won their division and advanced to the semifinal.  Sparta was first up and played Sycamore Arsenal Premier.  This was an odd game from a referee standpoint, but was still exciting to watch.  Logan started off the scoring with a PK to give Sparta the 1-0 victory.  Sycamore quickly responded with a goal from a free kick just outside the 18 yard box to make it 1-1.  In the 2^nd half Sycamore scored a goal off a mishit to make it 2-1 with 10 minutes to play.  Sparta put a lot of pressure on Sycamore’s goal the last 10 minutes and was rewarded with another PK as a Syacmore player slapped the ball out of the goal in what looked to be the equalizer.  The ref issued a red card and pointed to the spot for a PK.  Bryan stepped up and slipped the ball into the upper left corner to send the game into OT.  In the first OT, Sycamore was given a PK to take the game to 3-2.  Mitch missed a free kick just wide in the 2^nd OT and Sparta was unable to get another goal as the game ended 3-2.  4 of the 5 goals came off handball situations……in what was a very odd game. It was still a very exciting match and both teams played at a very high level.  The 2^nd semifinal found Juventus matched up with a VERY BIG and very direct Center Grove Inferno team.  The first 15 to 20 minutes found Juventus controlling the match.  Juventus was able to get on the board first with a nice free kick from Alec.  Center Grove was able to tie the game before half after a very long kick by the GK was not handled by the defense.  The 2^nd half found Juventus slow down with limited subs as the heat took its toll.  Center Grove was able to break down the defense and score to take a 2-1 lead.  That’s how the game ended.  We were able to mix up the age group, get 8 quality games in, advance both teams, witness great camaraderie within the age group, get face time on the local FOX TV station, and finally enjoy a Memorial Day at home with our families.  The weekend was a great success!