TURNSTONE FLYERS COMPETED AGAINST TOP RANKED TEAMS IN FINAL GAMES LEADING UP TO NATIONAL COMPETITION
FORT WAYNE, IN (May 23, 2022) — The Turnstone Flyers Power Soccer team hosted six of the top 40 power soccer teams this last weekend, May 21-22. Of the six teams, four of them were ranked in the top 10. These final tune-up games prepared the Flyers to head into the United States Power Soccer Association (USPSA) Nationals on June 23-26. The weekend’s competition was tight as all six teams had a match finish in a tie with an additional three matches being decided by one goal.
Turnstone Flyers extended their overall record to 6-6-2 as they went 3-1-1 this weekend. The Flyers opened with a 7-0 victory over the Circle City Rollers. After a 2-2 tie versus the GLASA Fire on Saturday, the Flyers had a double header with the Fire on Sunday morning where Turnstone won both matches 3-0. The tag-team chemistry of Danil Vorndran and David Dowling showed as they both picked up five assists this weekend. Vorndran continued his scoring touch as he scored five goals to lead the team with 14 goals which is seventh in the Premier Cup. Dowling added four goals this weekend while both Derek Sellers and Autry Keener got three goals each and Tiffany Labas was solid in net with three shutouts and only allowing four goals throughout all five games.
RHI Sudden Impact from Indianapolis, IN, led the charge by going 2-0-1, which extended their overall record to 14-2-1. Despite their impressive records, Turnstone gave the team a run for their money and they only defeated Turnstone Flyers by 1 goal. They also defeated GLASA Fire from Chicago by 2-1 and tied with Circle City Rollers who are also from the Indianapolis area by 1-1. Former Turnstone athletes, Lexi Heer and Luke Labas both had a huge impact for the RHI team, Heer is second in the nation with 22 goals while Labas scored the lone goal in the tied game versus the Rollers.
The Circle City Rollers continued to show why they're one of the top teams in the nation as they cruised to an 8-1 victory over the Fire. Natalie Russo added three goals this weekend to finish the regular season with 14 goals and four assists. The Circle City lineup looked a little different in their first match against Turnstone as Michael Archer was out due to a failed speed test in their prior match. In the two matches he did play, Archer added two goals and four assists to add to his 18 goals and 23 assists for the season.
The GLASA Fire will head to nationals knowing they've played head-to-head against the top teams in the Premier Cup with a 2-2 tie versus the Flyers and a 1-2 defeat versus Sudden Impact. GLASA was led by Joel Rodriguez who had two goals this weekend to end the season with seven goals.
The Founders Cup, which includes teams ranked between #31-38 featured three matches between the Turnstone Furious Flyers and RHI Inferno. Inferno won the first two matches 1-0 and 4-0, respectively. The final match saw the teams traded goals in an exciting match that ended in a 2-2 tie. Inferno finished the regular season 4-3-2 with Christina Wilson taking charge by scoring two goals this weekend to add to her five goals and two assists. Turnstone Furious Flyers were led by first-year athlete, Kadence Waldron, who has five goals for the season as the team went 1-5-1 heading into Nationals. The Furious Flyers also include seasoned soccer veterans Greg Buse and Owen Donahue.
Nationals will be held at Turnstone in the Plassman Athletic Center Fieldhouse from Thursday, June 23 to Sunday, June 26. Volunteers are encouraged to sign up for their preferred time slot. Anyone can re-watch last weekend’s games.