Phoenix Rising Invitational Cup Power Soccer Tournament brings countries, players together
After reuniting with a former teammate at the start of the Jan. 13-15 Phoenix Rising Invitational Cup Power Soccer Tournament, the North Stars (Alberta, Canada) closed it with a strong finish.
They placed second during the inaugural round-robin invitational tournament at the Ability360 Sports & Fitness Center in Phoenix.
The North Stars went 5-1 in the 12-team event, the team’s first U.S. tournament this season. It featured teams from the United States, Canada and Mexico — which marked a first for having power soccer teams compete from three countries at Ability360. It featured nine U.S. teams (San Jose Steamrollers, STRAPS Scorpions, Phoenix Rising, BORP Shockers, Minnesota United, California Los Angeles SC, LA Galaxy, Ability360 United and Sacramento Republic), two teams from Canada (North Stars and Juni Sport) and one team from Mexico (Mexico National Team). The San Jose Steamrollers out of California won the invitational.
Both San Jose and the North Stars each finished with 5-1 records. But San Jose defeated the North Stars, 4-0, and had a plus-17 goal-scoring differential ahead of the North Stars’ plus-four.
North Stars player Jayden Chavan, 19, thoroughly enjoyed the tournament. A Calgary resident, she has played power soccer for the past seven years after being diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, a hereditary disease that destroys motor neurons.
“I love the people. I love the chance to compete, the chance to travel, even getting to be part of a team is such a great experience,” says Chavan.
Just as cool was getting to see former North Stars teammate Evan Palmer. Palmer, 15, and his family moved from Calgary to Phoenix this past summer, and he now plays for the Phoenix Rising power soccer team.
“I like it,” says Chavan about her experience. “So, yeah, I want to come visit them more. And this center is amazing — like this facility. No, [they don’t have this in Canada], not with all the courts.”
Palmer, who also has spinal muscular atrophy and was diagnosed when he was 18 months old, moved to Phoenix with his father (Justin), mother (Kira), two brothers (13-year-old Landon and 10-year-old Cameron) and sister (8-year-old Piper). Phoenix Rising went 0-5-1 and finished 11th out of 12 teams. But he still had a good time and enjoyed seeing his former teammates.
“It was really surprising kind of at the start because I didn’t know how many of them were coming, and actually everyone on the North Star team is all my old teammates, and so it was really fun to have them around, as well,” Palmer says.
For Palmer, power soccer is good exercise and a nice social outlet.
“It’s a really fun way to just, like, have some fun,” he says. “There’s not a lot of things to do in a wheelchair all day, so having this little activity is just fun.”
He also liked playing against teams from different countries.
“It makes it a lot more competitive and a lot more interesting,” Palmer says. “After the game, like, you can kind of go back and think about what they did different than you, like, different strategies, and try to adapt them to your own game.”
| Team | W-L-T | Goal Differential |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose Steamrollers | 5-1-0 | +17 |
| North Stars | 5-1-0 | +4 |
| Juni Sport | 4-1-1 +11 | +11 |
| Mexico National Team | 4-1-1 | +8 |
| STRAPS Scorpions | 3-1-2 | -1 |
| BORP Shockers | 3-2-1 | +8 |
| LA Galaxy | 3-2-0 | +1 |
| California Los Angeles SC | 3-2-1 | +3 |
| Sacramento Republic | 2-3-1 | +2 |
| Minnesota United | 1-5-0 | -2 |
| Phoenix Rising | 0-5-1 | -12 |
| Ability360 United | 0-6-0 | -39 |