After arriving in Indiana yesterday for the US Power Soccer Conference Cup Series and resting up, we were ready for the tournament to begin. We showed up in the middle of the action (which started at 8am) on Friday because the Northeast Passage Wildcats’ games did not start until after 11. Before we arrived the Circle City Rollers started out with an 8-2 bang to take out the Minnesota Magic while the Turnstone Flyers shut out the So Cal Vaqueros 5-0 both in the Premier Conference.

Upon our arrival (and while we were getting ready) CNY United was busy putting up a whopping 12-2 score over DASA MO Rush. On another court, RHI Sudden Impact battled to a 2-0 victory over last year’s runner-up, Turnstone Furious Flyers. Two Presidents Conference matches were also underway when we arrived with two clear victories: Tidewater Piranhas 3-0 over the BORP Shockers and RHI Indy Cruisers 7-2 over the Chippewa Valley Hooligans.

With everyone present the opening ceremonies were ready to begin with all of the athletes, coaches, sponsors and volunteers lining up on court 1 for a photo op.

After opening ceremonies, there were up to six games played each hour until the end of the day. The goal for me was to get around and watch as much power soccer as possible! We tried to see everyone play, snap as many pictures and video as possible (full album on facebook here), and chat with whoever we could. Each of the 29 teams present played either two or three of their group stage games.

Top five stories from Day 1:

1. 6-time champs keep on winning – To almost no one’s surprise, reigning Premier Conference champs, Circle City Rollers, dominated their first day of play with three wins each by six or more goals. The Rollers were led by national team members Michael Archer and Natalie Russo who put them in comfortable footing after day one.

2. Wildcats strike first – The largest margin of victory on the day goes to the Northeast Passage Wildcats. In their first match of the Presidents Cup the Wildcats defeated RHI Inferno via a 12-0 shutout. The Wildcats would lose later to the BORP Crushers but bounced back to win 4-0 vs. River City Phoenix shortly after.

3. Flyers glide just over Thunder – The most exciting match of the day was a Premier Conference showdown between the Turnstone Flyers (not the furious ones) and the Tampa Thunder. After two relatively early goals, the Flyers and Thunder fought back and forth to break a 1-1 tie. With just over a minute left in the 2nd period the Flyers had two quick chances to score. They took a side kick which was deflected leading to a corner kick. The corner pass was lost down court. The Thunder were given a chance to break the tie but Turnstone’s Lexi Heer was having none of that. She stole the ball, broke away driving all the way down the court, and put it away for the game winning goal! The Thunder had one last chance before whistle to tie it back up but Turnstone’s goalie made an incredible save to finish off the game.

4. Surprise delivery… – Tidewater Piranhas’ Devon Johnson is a great young player, but one thing he didn’t have that many other players do is a special power wheelchair called a Strikeforce…

5. Remember this was just day 1 – As exciting as today was, it is important to remember that what we just saw was just the beginning. With so many games going on it seemed like an entire tournament could have been played three times over! With that being said make sure to tune in on Saturday on the livestreams for the end of the group stage and beginning of playoffs!

Standing after Day 1:

Key-W-Win, L-Loss, GD-Goal Difference (First Tie Breaker)

Premier Conference – Group A:

1. Circle City Rollers W-3, L-0, GD-21
2. Turnstone Flyers W-2, L-0, GD-6
3. Minnesota Magic W-1, L-1, GD-1
4. Tampa Thunder W-0, L-2, GD-(-8)
5. So Cal Vaqueros W-0, L-3, GD-(-20)

Group B:

1. RHI Sudden Impact W-3, L-0, GD-12
2. CNY United W-1, L-0, T-1, GD-10
3. Turnstone Furious Flyers W-1, L-1, GD-1
4. Minnesota Shockwave W-0, L-1, T-1, GD-(-5)
5. DASA MO Rush W-0, L-3, GD-(-18)

Champions Conference – Group A:

1. San Jose Steamrollers W-3, L-0, GD-10
2. GLASA Chicago Fire W-2, L-1, GD-10
3. Atlanta Sting W-1, L-1, GD-1
4. Boston Brakers W-0, L-2, GD-(-9)
5. Brooks Barracudas W-0, L-2, GD-(-12)

Group B:

1. Minnesota Northern Lights W-2, L-0, GD-5
2. PRHC Chariots W-2, L-0, GD-4
3. Lakeshore Power W-0, L-2, GD-(-4)
4. Tampa Bay Crossfire W-0, L-2, GD-(-5)

Presidents Conference Group A:

1. RHI Indy Cruisers W-3, L-0, GD-13
2. Tidewater Piranhas W-1, L-1, GD-1
3. Vermont Chargers W-1, L-1, GD-(-3)
4. Chippewa Valley Hooligans W-1, L-1, GD-(-1)
5. BORP Shockers W-0, L-3, GD-(-8)

Group B:

1. BORP Crushers W-3, L-0, GD-12
2. NEP Wildcats W-2, L-1, GD-14
3. ASPO Force W-0, L-2, GD-(-5)
4. River City Phoenix W-1, L-1, GD-(-1)
5. RHI Inferno W-0, L-2, GD-(-20)