official recognition

USASA National COED Championship Sept. 28, 29, 30, 2001

Hot Pink Panthers of Metro DC/Virginia Soccer Association win USASA Over 30 COED Championship

The Over 30 Coed Championship was won for the first time by the Hot Pink Panthers of the Virginia Coed Sports and Recreation Association in Virginia. The Hot Pink Panthers defeated Express from the Thirty and Over Recreational Soccer Organization (TORSO) by a score of 1 to 0 in overtime. Express had defeated the Pink Panthers in earlier action on Friday morning by a score of 2 to 0. But Express was not able to hold on a second time for the Championship game.

The Hot Pink Panthers had defeated Olympia I of the TORSO coed league from Houston on Saturday during a 10:00 a.m. game with a score of 1 to 0. The Panthers went on to win their third game at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday against Black Hawk with a score of 7 to 0. Their score for the three games advanced them to the semi-final games on Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m. Their first game Sunday was against the Killer Ducks of the North Texas Coed league, which they won by a score of 2 to 0. With this victory, the Panthers advanced to the championship game to play Express.

The Express, from Texas South, played flawless in preliminary play by winning all of their games. Leading up to the Sunday games after their first game against the Panthers, Express played at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday against Black Hawk from the North Texas Coed league, winning their second game 5 to 0. The third game for Express was played at 2:00 p.m. Saturday against Killer Ducks of the Over 30 division from North Texas Coed. The score for Express was 1 to 0. These victories advanced Express to the semi’s on Sunday with the most points in the Over 30 division. Express played Olympia I in semi-final action winning this game 4 to 2 to advance to the finals at noon.

The sixth team in the Over 30 division was Revenge Over 30 from North Texas Coed league. The Revenge replaced the Washington Athletic Club from the Metro DC/Virginia State Association.

The three-day event was hosted by the North Texas Soccer Association in Plano, Texas at the Russell Creek Park soccer fields. The beautiful complex was in great shape for the teams traveling from around the U. S. to participate in the third annual coed championship event. The Doubletree Hotel in Plano was the host hotel and did an excellent job of hosting the teams and the Saturday night get together for the teams. During the Saturday night event, many door prizes were given away that were donated to North Texas by various providers and donated by teams traveling from other states. A plaque was presented to North Texas Soccer Association by USASA Chairman Mike Edwards in appreciation for hosting the weekend coed championship event.

As each team captain arrived to participate in the captain’s meeting on Thursday night, September 27, they received a goody bag from the North Texas Coed league that was filled with various items donated from volunteer workers. Some of the items included a three ring notebook designed from the Suddenly Susan series, a player pass bag with the North Texas Coed logo on it, chip clip, world squeezy, sunblock lotion, flashlight, pens, notepads, Band-Aids and a special hand towel stamped with the tournament logo. Each team captain received enough towels for each of their team members. The bag contained various brochures for the teams about the Dallas area and things to do.

The coed committee members present, Bill Cross of Region II, Joe Landry of Region III and Tim Busch from Region IV did an outstanding job in running the event. Many thanks go out to all volunteers who worked the three-day event tirelessly. Also working during the weekend were the referees. Referees participating were representative from Washington State Soccer Association and from the North Texas state association during the three day event.

The next event is being planned again for the late fall around the end of August or September 2002. For further information about the event, contact your regional coed committee member or the chairman, Lois Ebensberger.