The Helenites Soccer Club has won the USVI Soccer Association’s Annual Club Championship in a 3-1 victory over the Raymix Soccer Club.
The USVISA club championship, held at the Lionel Roberts Stadium on St. Thomas this past weekend, featured the top two clubs from both the St. Croix and St. Thomas regions battling to be named the best soccer club in the territory. At the end of the season, Helenites SC and Raymix SC finished as the top ranked clubs in St. Croix and St. Thomas, respectively. Rovers SC and Haitian Victory SC both finished second in their respective regions, rounding out the top four in the final knockout tournament.
The first match on day one of the club championship pitted the second ranked St. Thomas club, Haitian Victory, against the St. Croix perennial champion, Helenites, which ended in a 5-0 victory for the St. Croix squad. Top-ranked St. Thomas club Raymix followed up the first match with another high-scoring affair beating Rovers 7-1.
USVISA technical director, Kendall Walkes, was pleased by the club play but was unsurprised. “After the first day, the two top teams showed why they were the top teams,” he said.
Day two featured the final two games. First, Rovers and Haitian Victory faced off against one another for third place in the league, ending in a 3-0 win for Haitian Victory. The final championship game between the top-ranked teams in the league would follow and close out the tournament.
After a competitive few minutes, Helenites scored their first goal. They then went on to win the club championship 3-1 over Raymix through a combination of aggressive offense and great goal keeping by Danny Michael, who was named most valuable player in the tournament.
“We were a little shaky coming into the game…but we got our stride in the late first half, said Helenites assistant coach Kenneth Marcellin. “The second half was a better half for us because we were able to move the ball around freely and execute our plans.”
As champion of the USVI Men’s League, Helenites SC, will have the opportunity to play in the CONCACAF Champion’s League and compete against the confederation’s top clubs.
FIFA development officer Angenie Kanhai and FIFA technical development officer Marcos Tinoco were in attendance this weekend. Immediately following the championship game, the USVI Soccer Association and FIFA officials awarded winners their respective medals and trophies for the championship tournament in conjunction with regular season honors.
Final scores and standings for the 2015 USVISA Club Championship
Match 1
Haitian Victory vs. Helenites – Saturday, Feb. 7, at 6 p.m.
Haitian Victory-0 Helenites-5
Carlton Daniel (83rd min.)
Garrick Mathurin (57th min., 71st min.)
Frius King (90th min.)
Kerson Marcellin (45th min. + 1)
Match 2
Rovers vs. Raymix – Saturday, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m.
Rovers-1 Raymix-7
Alexander Washington (36th min.) Trevol Smith (5th, 20th min.)
Trevor Wrensford Jr. (10th min., 57th min.)
Richard Allen (22nd min., 43rd min., 69th min.)
Match 3
Haitian Victory vs. Rovers (3rd Place Game) – Sunday, February 8, at 6 p.m.
Haitian Victory-3 Rovers-0
Reynold Regis (25th min., 58th min.)
Romaine Bellevue (35th min.)
Match 4
Helenites-3 Raymix-1
Vernus Abbot (65th min.) Trevol Smith (90th min. + 1)
Kareem Plummer (6th min.) -Own Goal
Connel George- (71st min.) – Own Goal
2015 USVISA Club Championship Standings:
1st Place: Helenites SC — St. Croix Region
2nd Place: Raymix SC — St. Thomas Region
3rd Place: Haitian Victory SC — St. Thomas Region
4th Place: Rovers SC — St. Croix Region
