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Local recreational soccer squad talks ‘mind-blowing’ regional performance

CONTIBUTED PHOTO - Representing Marshalltown and Iowa in the boyÕs under-17 Midwest PresidentÕs Cup last weekend was the Marshalltown Galaxy, a recreational traveling team that made it to the semi-final round against premier competition. Back row, from left: Bobby Shomo (Coach), Austin Shomo (Captain), AndrŽs Orozco, Antonio Carrillo, Jesœs Mu–oz (Keeper), Jorge Carrillo, Daniel Mendoza, Rodolpho Mendoza, Dylan Bracy, Chris Bracy (Coach) Front row, from left: Renee Hern‡ndez-Andrade (Captain), Samuel Estrada, Alejandro Fern‡ndez, JosŽ Torres, Sebasti‡n Valdez, Kabba Pins, Mikhail Storjohann.

Many local soccer fans are watching their favorite stars in World Cup action this month, but one Marshalltown 17-and-under squad is also making waves.

The Marshalltown Galaxy, a traveling recreational soccer team affiliated with the Marshalltown Area Soccer Club, made it to the semi-finals of the Midwest President’s Cup, a regional tournament that took place in West Chester, Ohio last week. They represented Iowa in the 17U tournament.

“That these kids go and compete so well against that type of competition, it’s mind-blowing”

said Galaxy coach Bobby Shomo. “We’re not a big enough club that we have hundreds of kids trying out for one particular team.”

But that’s exactly what the competition the Galaxy were up against were able to do. Shomo and fellow coach Chris Bracy’s squad of young men all come from Marshalltown — a community of fewer than 30,000 — and go to Marshalltown High School.

While the Galaxy’s squad is chosen on a sign-up basis, Shomo said premier youth teams in metro areas like Chicago, Kansas City and, at the state level, Des Moines are able to recruit from a larger population base.

“They might have 100-150 kids trying out for 15 spots,” Shomo said. “We’re not as deep as these teams we’re playing, but our top kids, they are that good.”

So good, in fact, the team was able to get two wins out of three games in pool play during the tournament. In the semi-final match, the Galaxy was defeated by Indiana-based Millennium Soccer Academy 01 Black by a score of 2-0.

Despite the loss, team members were proud of their performance.

“With the team that we had, we gave them competition,” said striker José Torres, who tied for tournament lead scorer with four goals. “We have great coaches, they help us improve.”

Team captains Rene Hernández-Andrade and Austin Shomo, Bobby Shomo’s son, also praised the performance.

“We were the only recreational team there and everybody else was, like, academy,” Austin Shomo said. “I think we put up a pretty good showing.”

He said the Galaxy got people at the tournament talking about Marshalltown for the first time.

“I was very happy with the effort,” Hernández-Andrade said. “We’ve had a lot of time to build chemistry together.”

He said the squad is made up of good teammates on the field and good friends off the field. Bobby Shomo said many members of the team have played youth soccer together for years and also play as Marshalltown High School Bobcats.

“Almost all of them just finished their sophomore year and we have two kids that finished their junior year,” he said. “This team that travels with me started five on varsity as freshmen, they’re good.”

Shomo said the club will soon begin offering sign-up for next year. He wants that team to return to the President’s Cup.

“There won’t be any tryout, we’ll take the first (15-18) kids that sign up,” he said. “We’ll play with that team in the state cup again and then … based on our results, we hope we can get back.”

Torres said he will be signing up to make another run at the state and regional level, if not further.

“In order to achieve what you want, you’ve got to work harder and harder to show them what you are,” he said.

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Contact Adam Sodders at

(641) 753-6611 or asodders@timesrepublican.com

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