In the first tournament of the 2012-2013 OCYS season, both the boys and girls representing Orlando City Youth Soccer put on excellent performances. Although some teams faired better than others, the young people of OCYS certainly showed everyone their great skills and the potential of the OCYS program.

Coming into the final calm and collected, the U13 Girls Purple side were set to face a tough Jacksonville side. Facing each other for the second time in the tournament, the young lady Lions looked to get revenge on the North Florida side after they defeated our U13 side 1-0 in the group stage. With each team holding their own in a defensive deadlock, Orlando went on to score first, giving them a one-goal advantage and control of the match tempo. The goal turned out to be the match winner as the OCYS U13 girls side would be crowned the Disney Pre Season Champions.

"Our ladies were impressive in the way they possessed the ball throughout the tourney,” said Coach Joe Avallone. “It was a total team effort to not only keep the ball, but to defend as a unit. This is a great way to kick off our season."

Despite winning their group at the group stage of the competition, the U14 Boys Purple fell 2-1 to Florida Rush in extra time in the first knockout round of the tournament. 

"Our players performed well through group play to win the group,” said Coach Mir Moghaddam. “Our semi-final caused us to have to adjust to a team who put us under pressure and adjusted well and were able to go up 1-0. We found our boys fatigued in the latter stages of the match and have and showed me we have some areas to improve on in preparation for later in the season."

After ravaging FC Jacksonville 5-2 in the semi-finals, the U13 Boys Purple squad were set to face a strong and physical Pinecrest side. The OCYS U13 side came into the match on a high by defeating every single team they had faced in the competition thus far. Sadly, they would lose on PKs, giving Pinecrest the victory.

U13 boy Coach Greg Brick took more than a loss away from the competition, praising his side by saying, "Our boys played an attractive style of football which resulted in 90% or more possession in each if the matches. This is a great tournament to identify areas we need to work on in order to help our boys grow in the game."

The U14 Girls ECNL impressed everyone with their amazing push to the final, making an appearance in the semi-final on an unbeaten record. Despite their good spirits and terrific record going into the semi-final, the U14 Girls were handed a 2-0 defeat.

"This was a great opportunity for our girls to prepare for future ECNL events,” said Coach Hue Menzies. “Our girls have a solid base to grow from and will continue to improve throughout the season in order to showcase our young talent."

In total, 9 of 16 OCYS teams in the Disney Tournament made it to at least the semifinals of their age group.  Four teams emerged champions.  The OCYS season is off to a great start!