After more than 14 months that included over 40 games and countless practices, the 92 JSC Jammers Gold finished their season in the best way possible -- as National Director’s Cup Champions.
By virtue of their 1-0 victory over GSPAA Elite (out of Servena Park Maryland), the Jammers capture the club’s first national title of any kind, and the first in the Triad area in more than 20 years.
The team, which is comprised of 18 local players from Jamestown and the surrounding area, posted a 1-0-2 record in the tournament’s round robin stage - winning once, losing none, and tying a pair of matches. The Jammers defeated Houston (Tex.) Westside Pumas 2-0 before posting a pair of 2-2 draws against GSPAA and Hummleville Soccer Club of Eastern Pennsylvania.
After round-robin play the Jammers and GSPAA stood tied atop the standings with identical records while Westside was 1-1-1 and Hummleville was 0-2-1.
The match against Westside was the second time the two teams had met in five weeks, with the Jammers defeating the Pumas 1-0 in the Regional Championships in Columbus, Ga. JSC found the game’s first goal when Jason Hill hit a shot off a cross that bounced around the defense before finding the back of the net. The Pumas would turn up the offensive pressure, peppering JSC goalkeeper Bobby Harrell with 12 shots on the afternoon, but were silenced when Bart Toe broke down the left side before sending the ball across the mouth of the goal to Nick Hastings who one timed the ball into the lower corner.
Against Hummleville the Jammers once again fell behind early in the first half before rallying when Toe poked home a rebound just after halftime followed by Joey Fiorello giving Jamestown a 2-1 lead on a breakaway effort just 10 minutes from the final whistle. A win would have sent JSC into the final regardless of the afternoon match’s result with GSPAA. However a defensive mistake with just five minutes remaining resulted in an own goal, leaving the match 2-2.
A championship rematch with GPSAA Elite within 24 hours of their first match left both coaching staffs with things to think about. In that first meeting, the Maryland based team jumped on JSC 2-0 two minutes into the second half and appeared to be controlling the match. However, the Jammers began to rally when Gray DePasquale headed in a corner kick by PIerce Verchick to cut the lead in half with 25 minutes remaining. Verchick would score the equalizer himself eight minutes later, heading a Nick Hastings corner into the side netting. From there the Jammers would control the match, but could not deliver a game-winning strike.
"We felt like it was an even match the first time," said head coach John Watson. "It was really a tale of two halves. They controlled the first, and we controlled the second. It was a good lesson for the players because it showed they could play with anyone, but the effort has to be the best at all times. At this level nobody is going to give their opponents anything."
Both teams seemed to receive the message and took it to heart as the championship match was highly contentious from the opening whistle. The Jammers had the opening handful of opportunities on goal before GSPAA countered and called Harrell into action five times in the first half. After the teams returned to action, the Jammers finally broke through and put a championship within their grasp 54 minutes into the match. Verchick beat his defender and sent a ball down the left side into the path of a streaking Justin Jones. Jones beat two defenders and then cut back into the middle before hammering the ball into the net to make it 1-0 in what proved to be the game winning sequence.
As the minutes ticked down the energy and excitement from Jones’ goal carried the Jammers until the final whistle came after Carson Poe drilled the ball down the field on a defensive clearance. And then the celebration started, and hasn’t really stopped.
"These boys earned everything they’ve gotten this season," said Watson. "The championship game was a perfect illustration of our season. Justin had been struggling throughout the tournament, but his teammates had helped pick him up to that point. But when we needed him to step up, he did. I told them at halftime that champions make their own luck, and he proved that. This was a great team to work with and I’m grateful for the ride they’ve provided. It’s been a lot of fun since last May, and I’m looking forward to moving forward in the future."
In order to qualify for the National Director’s Cup the Jammers had to win the North Carolina President’s State Cup and the Region III President’s Cup in Columbus, Ga. The North Carolina tournament hosted more than 30 teams ranging from Asheville to Wilmington. The Region III event hosted 12 state cup champions from North Texas, South Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Those three events comprised a 15 match series that saw the Jammers post a 13-0-2 overall record while out-scoring their opponents 39-7. For the season the Jammers posted an overall mark of 36-3-3 and out-scored their opponents 124-28.
The Jammers’ roster consists of Drew Pierce, Justin Jones, William Steffen, Gray DePasquale, Colin Taylor, Evan Mobley, Jose Valencia, Stephen McDaniel, Bart Toe, Andrew Daniel, Pierce Verchick, Nick Hastings, Joey Fiorello, Nathan Hayes, Jason Hill, Tanner Speetjens, Austin Wall, Carson Poe, and Bobby Harrell
