Three Roanoke Star soccer teams recently competed in Europe. The teams included three players from Salem — Shannon Dishaw, Christopher Pollack and Jack Maxey — plus coach Allen Crowder.

The Roanoke Star team shares the following account:

On a beautiful day in our nation’s capitol, Sunday July 11th, 2010, the Roanoke Star’s U15 Boys Elite, U15 Boys Premier, and U14 Girls Elite teams departed for their European adventure. After a quick stop in Paris, France to change planes the teams arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark on Monday July 12th. The first tournament that the teams participated in was the Tivoli Cup. After a week of competitive play the teams all were successful. The Roanoke Star U15 Boys Elite team were able to finish 3rd in the B16 group of the Tivoli A Cup. The Roanoke Star U15 Boys Premier team were able to finish 1st in the B16 group of the Tivoli C Cup. The Roanoke Star U14 Girls Elite team were able to finish 2nd in the G15 group of the Tivoli B Cup. This was the first time ever that all the teams were able to bring home hardware from the tournament.
After the first week of competition the teams headed to the Gothia Cup (The World Youth Cup) in Gothenburg, Sweden to begin play. This tournament is the largest youth tournament in the world and Roanoke Star is a mainstay in the competition. In 2010 this was no different the Roanoke Star teams were very competitive. The boys were split into a B15 and B16 teams. The B15 team won their group going undefeated and not conceding a goal in group play. They eventually lost in the second round of the A playoffs to the biggest youth club in the world and the most successful club in Gothia Cup history (IF Brommapojkarna – Sweden). The B16 team played well but had some unlucky moments in their group play. The team eventually lost in the first round of the B playoffs. The U14 Girls Elite team finished second in group play but lost in the second round of the A playoffs. The players performed well in the games and the experience was great for all.
The teams finished off the trip with watching some great soccer matches and taking in the Swedish culture. The players arrived back into the nation’s capitol on Sunday July 25th, 2010. It was a great trip and experience for all the players. They were able to play some great competition as well as make some friendships with other players around the world. The trip is a once in a lifetime experience for any soccer player.

Written By: Alan Crowder

The U14 Girls Elite

First Row left to right

Diana Schaefer- Roanoke Co., Taylor Gallagher- Roanoke Co., Emily Whitaker- Roanoke City, Sydney Varney- Franklin Co., Savannah Neal- Roanoke Co., Laura Garbarini-Bedford, Kennedi Van Ravenstein- Botetourt Co.

2nd row left to right

Emma from Europe,- Taylor Smith- Franklin Co., Sara Farthing- Roanoke City, Jordan Dudley-Franklin Co., Kelsey Angell- Franklin Co., Brooke Sauerwald- Roanoke Co., Shannon Dishaw- Salem, Coach Rodney Varney-Franklin Co.

U15 premiere roster:

front row left to right – Sam Lodebole (Roanoke City), Zach Large (Roanoke County), Sam Lesko (Blacksburg), Patrick Burns (Alleghany), Sam Bernhard (Blacksburg), Kolbe Adams (Botetourt), Ryan Voss (Botetourt)
back row left to right – Logan Matz (Botetourt), Chris Bede (Franlin County), Eliot Alford (Lexington), Caleb Robbins, Michael Michaelson, Corey Gaylor, Hunter Hickam (Roanoke County), Alan Crowder (Coach- Salem)

U15 boys elite: