Fort Wayne Sport Club Youth Soccer congratulates the Fort Wayne Sport Club ‘00 Strikers girls’ team on their recent tournament victories that will send them to Tulsa, OK, to compete nationally in the US Youth Soccer President’s Cup finals July 14th – 17th.

The team earned the right to play in the Finals by winning both the State Level and the Region II Championships. They will compete with the other winning teams from the three regions of US Youth Soccer at Mohawk Soccer Complex in Tulsa. The ‘00 Strikers will play East winner: New Jersey, South champion: Tennessee and the representative from the West: California.

The US Youth Soccer President’s Cup is designed for those teams seeking additional challenges to play against teams of similar abilities for a national title. The cup provides a progressive, competitive experience to teams that might not otherwise get the opportunity to participate in a series of unique experiences highlighting competition, camaraderie and community from the state to regional to national levels of US Youth Soccer.

The road to the President’s Cup Finals started in May for the ’00 Strikers when the team had their first match in the state preliminary round and finally concluded with the Region II Championship June 19th, in Westfield, IN. It has been a long and difficult journey, coming from behind in several matches. In the Region II final match, they fell behind 0-1 early in the second half. Exhausted from the heat and playing their 4th match in 4 days, even while their opponent had a day off rest, the ’00 Strikers scored 2 late goals to win the Championship in the final 15 minutes.

The ’00 Strikers are coached by Andy Stout, who is assisted by Krysta Hedrick. Team members include: Calista Geiger, Mia Schlueter, Sydney Shannon, Baylee Honn, Alyssa Couch, Karmen Koch, Bailee Wiard, Kayla Amidon, Kylee Hoot, Julia Till, Alexia Skembos, Nadia Bedwell, Alyssa Wells, Brooke Amidon, Jorden Habiby, Kiley Wardwell, Migdalia Rustrian and Megan Gilpin.

In an interesting side-note, Megan Gilpin’s great grandmother, Rosemarie Buerkle, was a founding member of the Fort Wayne Sport Club’s Women’s Auxiliary.

The Fort Wayne Sport Club was founded in 1927 by an active group of soccer players who immigrated to the Fort Wayne area from Germany in the aftermath of World War I. Their immediate goal was ‘the promotion of football (soccer) and German culture’ in the Northeast Indiana area. Today, the Fort Wayne Sport Club is a hub of soccer activity, with programs for recreational and competitive soccer players from age 4-years to 30-and-over. “We are extremely proud of our long history and heritage of encouraging participation in soccer at all levels throughout the area,” stated Dan Kruse, President of Fort Wayne Sport Club.