Members of the Pumas team are, not in order, Sergio Alvarez Jr., Tyler Ivey, Cole Jahner, Doug Wilson, Matthew Richardson, Logan Tucker, Sonny Warren, Cailis Bullard, Andrew Basden, Sawyer Stice, and Abbie Traylor. In back are coaches Sergio Alvarez and John Ivey.

 

The Pell City Pumas have claimed the Alabama U-11 Division III Spring Championship by winning the annual Mickey Holmes Cup Tournament. 

The team, led by head coach Sergio Alvarez and assistant coach John Ivey, is part of the Logan Martin Soccer Association. 

Undefeated in the tournament, the Pumas faced the Huntsville Futbol Club team, the Valley Futbol Club Arsenal, the Shoals Soccer Club team, and Enterprise. 

Game One:  Huntsville, 3-1.  Sergio Alvarez Jr., Tyler Ivey, and Logan Tucker scored goals for Pell City.

Game Two:  Shoals, 4-3.  Alvarez Jr. and Ivey scored two goals each against the team that won the Governors Cup championship last fall.

Game Three:  Valley, 4-2.  Despite losing a key player for 22 minutes of the game due to an ejection on what the team considered a questionable call from an official, the Pumas held Valley scoreless in the second half.  Goals came from Alvarez Jr., Ivey, Sawyer Stice, and Cole Jahner. 

Game Four:  Enterprise, 3-2.  Scoring goals for the Pumas were Jahner, Tucker, and Ivey.  The team overcame two deficits before eventually taking the lead from Enterprise. 

“This tournament and championship was won on total team effort from each and every player and great goalkeeping from our goalkeepers Sonny Warren and Sawyer Stice,” said coach Alvarez.  “This team’s core group has been playing together for three years, adding a few players along the way.  Its success is a direct reflection of the outstanding coaches that give their time to these kids as volunteers each and every season, and without them, none of this would be possible.”

The Mickey Holmes Cup Tournament, named for the educator, coach, and referee who was instrumental in developing youth soccer programs in Alabama, decides which teams are Division III state champions.  It also supports the Mickey Holmes Memorial Scholarship, awarded annually to one boy and one girl from the Alabama Youth Soccer Association (AYSA). 

To be eligible to participate in the tournament, a team must be comprised of properly registered and rostered youth players, and the team and its affiliated organization must be in good standing with the AYSA.