EDP Soccer hosted the inaugural EDP Spring Kickoff Florida in Palm Beach Gardens, FL on January 27-28. The event hosted over 65 boys and girls teams, with players traveling down from MA, RI, NY, NJ, and Canada to take on some of Florida's top teams. Close to 50 different clubs were in attendance, with over 120 games played at the state-of-the-art Gardens North County District Park. One of the top venues in the state, it is also hosting MLS sides Nashville SC and Toronto FC preseason camp, with Nashville SC training during the Sunday of the event.
A look at the bracket recaps from the weekend:
See All Results Here.
9U Boys
In the Blue Bracket, there were several high-scoring thrillers, with little separating the top teams. Miami Strike Force U9 Lions Red and Sevilla FC 2015 both went 3-1-0, with Lions FC winning first place on the head-to-head tie-breaker. The two sides met in their opening match up, in what was one of the most exciting games of the weekend, which saw Lions FC win 7-6. They followed that game up by defeating New Jersey’s Bergen Football Academy 2015 6-5. On Sunday, they defeated Key Biscayne SC Premier Blue 2015 4-3 before dropping their only match to W&H America - 2015 Boys Ultra.
In the Red bracket Key Biscayne SC Premier White 2015 met Naples Eagles 2015/2016 in the final, after both sides finished a perfect 3-0-0. In a high-scoring final, KBSC came away with a 5-3 victory.
10U Boys
Palm Beach Kicks PBG 14 Boys Elite, Wellington SC 2014B Elite White, and FC Prime 2014 Premier Boys were the three top teams in the group stages, with PBG and Wellington meeting in the final, and the hometown PBG being crowned champions.
10 Girls
Mako 2014 Girls Green won their last group game to reach the final, where they would take on Cape Coral Soccer 2014 Cyclone Girls Blue. Mako kept their only clean sheet of the weekend in the final, with their back line propelling them to a 3-0 win for the championship.
11U Boys
In the Blue bracket, SIB 2013 Gold won all three of their games in the group stages to clinch their spot in the final, while Team Boca 2013 Boys White reached the final over Flower City FC from Western NY on the goal differential tie-breaker. In the final, SIB used their excellent attack to lead them to victory, as they finished the weekend with wins of 4-2, 5-1, 3-1, and 4-0.
In the Red bracket, Rhode Island Surf B2013 Central Blue won first place, going 3-0-1. The squad kept a clean sheet in all three of their wins.
12U Boys
In the Blue bracket, FC Prime Pre ECNL B12 opened with a 6-3 win over STA MOSC 2012 Pre E64 Boys. They would then draw against Boynton Beach Knights BBK-2012-B-Black, then defeat SIB U12 Silver before having a rematch in the final with Boynton Beach Knights. In another extremely close match between the two sides, FC Prime came away with a 1-0 win for the championship.
In the Red bracket, three teams all finished on nine points, trading wins against each other. PSG Academy FL Mbappe, Brooklyn United Academy B2012 National, and Bergen Football Academy 2012 all had 3-1-0 records, and PSG and Brooklyn United were both tied with a +8 goal differential, and PSG would end up winning on the goals for tiebreaker.
13U Boys
Rhode Island Surf B2011 Elite Blue played a perfect weekend, winning all four matches and keeping a clean sheet in all four of them. On day one, they defeated Weston FC 2012 Boys Black 4-0, and Bay Lions Florida Soccer Club 2011 Elite 2-0. On day two, they beat Winter Park FC 2011 Select Boys, and closed out the event with a 3-0 win over FC Prime 2011 ECNL Boys, who also entered the match 3-0-0.
13U Girls
SFC New England SFC 2011G Elite (MA) from the USYS National League New England Conference, and Jupiter United 2011 Girls Elite (FL) from the USYS National League New England Conference, faced off twice during the event, both games being very evenly matched. In the event opener, the two sides traded goals, and Jupiter came out as 3-2 winners. In the final, regulation ended 1-1 and the game went to penalty kicks. SFC New England were crowned champions after the GK saved against the Jupiter GK before SFC scored the fifth penalty kick to win the penalty kick contest 5-4, and bring the championship back to Massachusetts.
14U Boys
In the Blue bracket, it came down to the final game to see if PSG Academy Neymar or Key Biscayne SC KBSC Elite 2010 would advance to take on Winter Park FC 2010 Select Boys in the final. Both sides entered with identical records and goal differential, and PSG won 4-0 while Key Biscayne won 4-1, seeing PSG through. In the final, Winter Park was leading 2-0, and PSG came back to tie the match 2-2 in the last 10 minutes. Winter Park scored what looked like the winner with five minutes left, but PSG came back again to score two goals in the dying moments to win the final.
In the Red bracket, Key Biscayne SC Premier Blue 2010 and PSG Academy Asensio met in the final, after the two teams advanced in a tie-breaker over CTC Bandits FC 2010 Palau. In the final, Key Biscayne SC Premier Blue 2010 defeated PSG Academy Asensio 2:1 with a late winner.
14U Girls
Pinecrest Premier 10G DPL started off strong, with back-to-back games scoring three goals and posting wins of 3-1 over Miami Breakers FC, and 3-0 over Rhode Island Surf. On Sunday, they drew 1-1 against Cooper City Optimist Cobras G 2010 Red, and then closed out the weekend with a 4-1 win over NJ Crush FC 2010 NL to seal the first-place finish.
The EDP Florida Competitive Leagues kicks off this Spring season with over 1,150 teams this February.