THUNDER BAY – Sports – The Lakehead Express Soccer Club (LEX) is continuing with its summer of success, as the club’s U13 Boys team won the gold at the 2012 Wal-Mart All American Cup. The club sent three teams to the tournament that took place this past weekend in Blaine, Minnesota. The U13 Boys finished with an undefeated record of four wins and zero losses, including a 2-1 penalty shoot-out win in the tournament finals against Wayzata S.C.
The round-robin stage saw the boys defeat Northern Lights S.C. 6-0, Alexandria S.C. 6-2, and Wayzata 3-2. With Wayzata advancing to the finals, the two teams played to a 1-1 draw, with Dyk Taw scoring LEX’s lone goal in regulation. In the penalty shoot-out, Goalkeeper Connor Mcleod made the decisive go-ahead save for LEX, with Joey Mason scoring the winning penalty.
The U13 Girls were ousted by Minnesota Thunder Academy, after strong performances from Alanah Hogan and Vanessa Nichols helped them reach the semi-finals. The U11 girls played to a record of 1-2, narrowly missing out on advancing out of the round-robin stage.
The boys were led by top-scorer Dyk Taw, who netted seven goals throughout the tournament. Taw’s efforts went a long way to ensure the team’s goal record of sixteen for and only five against.
The gold medal adds to an already impressive list of tournaments performances put on by the club’s competitive teams. At last month’s NSC Cup, three LEX teams made their respective finals, with the U15 and U18 Girls teams both securing gold. As the club’s entire competitive program continues with a rigorous training schedule as they prepare for the USA Cup in July, continued success at tournaments is showing to not only be a goal, but a consistent reality.
The Lakehead Express Soccer Club has a longstanding tradition of preparing and developing players to excel and contribute on and off the field. The club is proud to be Northwestern Ontario’s only competitive soccer program that continues to promote all players for scholarship opportunities in Canada and the United States, allowing them to seek success in education through athletics.