The CPCC Tigers (6-3-1) were Fall 2005 regular season runners up.

Rivals Crowned Fall 2005 Champions
The first Mecklenburg County Adult Soccer League Championship Game ever played in Memorial Stadium ended with an emphatic 4-1 decision for the Rivals over the Mambo Kings.  The cloudless sky and steady 5-10 mph westerly winds presented near perfect conditions for a championship match.  Both sides responded appropriately in the early going.  The Mambo Kings came out strong in their first several possessions, making the Rivals defend perhaps more than they have been accustomed this season.  When a Rivals counterattack led to one of their forwards being taken down in the box, the resulting PK was converted into a goal the Rivals would successfully defend for the remainder of the half.  The Rivals' cautious approach to the first half gave way to the more familiar attacking style for which they are known.  Somewhere around the eighth minute of the second half, they began a three goal barrage that put the game's outcome beyond doubt.  A Mambo Kings goal in the final minutes provided the only cause for celebration by the team in red. 

Though the Mambo Kings had to be disappointed by their performance in the final, it did little to dampen their satisfaction in knowing they had just completed their most successful season in many years.  If they can keep their newly stocked roster intact during the off-season, they have every right to dream about another run at the championship.  The Rivals, meanwhile, added another trophy to their case, demonstrating once again why they remain this league's team to beat. 

Tigers Fall to Mambo Kings 2-1 in Semi-final, Finish Season 6-3-1 Overall
CPCC's hopes for a second straight championship melted Sunday (12-2-05) under a steady second half rain at Kilborne Park in the second semifinal match of the day.  The Mambo Kings advance to face the regular season champion Rivals, winner of the other semifinal match, defeating Charlotte Polonia 1-0.

The Mambo Kings opened the scoring with a glancing header from a free kick. CPCC answered in the thirtieth minute when Sincere Conner beat a defender on the right side of the Kings' box for a clear shot past the keeper.  In the final minute of the half, a simple throw in for the Mambo Kings entered CPCC's box at a slippery spot. In the ensuing confusion, a Kings forward beat the last defender and an onrushing Jon Payne to chip the ball in for an unlikely goal.  As the second half got underway, deteriorating weather conditions made a controlled attack much more difficult.  Though the Tigers created numerous opportunities to equalize, each second half shot sailed high or wide of the goal. 

Starters:  Payne, Murphy, Kazuma, Gravina, Robledo, Benzerga, Vala, TimKee, Kamara, Fazliu,
Conner (30')

Substitutes:  Cerpa, Tirado

Match #9
CPCC Closes Out Regular Season With 3-0 Win Over Inter
With an Inter side walking off the field for good after the first half, CPCC lost an opportunity to help themselves narrow the goal differential with the Rivals.  Nevertheless, CPCC closed out the regular season in second place, insuring a first round bye in the tournament. 

Starters: Payne, Cuadros, Murphy (8'), Kuzuma, Tirado, Akins, Fazliu (14', 27'), Benzerga, Kamara, Connor, Vala

Substitutes:  J. M. Cerpa, TimKee

Match #8
CPCC dispatches Charlotte Polonia 5-2 
Polonia made it's early goal stand for a full 26 minutes before CPCC's answer from Juan Manuel Cerpa just before the break.  Polonia eventually crumbled under CPCC's steady second half pressure, which resulted in a four-goal-barrage.  Polonia's cosmetic goal in the last minute set the table at 5-2, Tigers.

Starters: Payne, Cuadros, Murphy, Kuzuma, Akins, Fazliu, Kamara (37'), TimKee, Connor (65') , Benzerga, Gravina
Substitutes: Juan M. Cerpa (28', 42') Manuel Cerpa ((55')

Match #7
Tigers edge Mambo Kings 3-2. 

Starters:  Payne, Murphy, Marquina, Tirado, Akins, Benzerga, Kuzuma, Fazliu (22'), Vala, Connor,
Kamara (30', 44')

Match #6
CPCC and Rivals Battle to 3-3 Tie
Two teams tied for 1st place in the league met Sun. (10-23-05).  By all accounts, the game was one of the hardest fought of the season.  The Tiger defense made Sincere Connor's three first-half goals stand up through to the end, long after Connor had departed the playing field.  The intensity and quality of this game was typical of recent Tigers-Rivals meetings, and sets up great anticipation for a rematch in the tournament.

Starters:  Payne, Marquina, Murphy, Kuzuma, Cuadros, Benzerga, Fazliu, Akins, Kamura, Connor (10', 15', 31')

Match #5
Charlotte United Gains the Upset!
Charlotte United handed the Tigers their first league loss of the season, notching a 2-0 victory in league play. It was also the first match this season in which the Tigers failed to score.  Match details to be posted as soon as available.  The loss, coupled with the Rivals' first loss of the season, means that three teams now have identical (3-1-0) records. 

Starters:  Payne, Murphy, Marquina, Cuadros, Tirado, Garang, Chinos, Akins, Benzerga, Connor, Fazliu
Substitutes:  Kuzuma, Lyle

Match #4
Tigers Post First Shutout in a 6-0 Win (updated report)
CPCC wasted little time in asserting their superiority over an outmanned Inter side that played a man down for the game's first 15 minutes.  Even so, Inter held the Tigers scoreless until Yuta Kuzuma struck a rebound from a corner kick in the 26th minute, sailing it just under the crossbar, the only goal either side would have to show for their first half efforts.  The first several minutes of the second half saw CPCC's efforts begin to pay off.  Roland Kamara exploded for two quick goals in the first five minutes.  Five minutes later, Lamine Benzerga converted an assist from Michael Bogart for a 4-0 lead.  Juan Cerpa continued the scoring assault at the 50' mark with an assist from Arton Fazliu.  Fazliu's goal at the 56' mark completed the scoring.  The shutout was CPCC's first of the season.

Starters:  Payne (shutout), Marquina, Cooper, Walbridge, Kuzuma (26'), Murphy, Akins, Benzerga (40'), Fazliu (56'), Connor, Kamara (32', 35')
Substitutes:  Bogart, Cerpa (50'), Garang, Gravina, Tirado

Match #3
Tigers Edge Charlotte Polonia 2-1
CPCC staked a solid claim to a share of the League's top spot with a 2-1 win over Charlotte Polonia.  With players seemingly more familiar with one another as well as Coach Lyles' formation, quality possessions and well-timed attacks are happening with greater frequency. 

Starters:  Connor, Kamara (__'), Fazliu, Bogart (__'), Akins, Walbridge, Cooper, Cuadros, Marquina, Murphy, Payne
Substitutes:  Tirado, TimKee

Match #2
Tigers Edge Charlotte United in League Opener
CPCC opened league play against a revitalized Charlotte United club.  Playing with only two substitutes on a hot summer afternoon, CPCC would need Juan Manuel Cerpa's PK with just 5 minutes remaining to break a scoreless tie and move the Tigers to 1-1 on the season.

Starters: Payne, Bilici, Gravina, Kuzuma, TimKee, Benzerga, Fazliu, Tirado, Akins, Connor, Cerpa (61')
Substitutes:  TBA 

Match #1
Pfeiffer University JV Scores a 6-3 Victory in Season Opener
As part of the CPCC Student Government Association's (SGA) drive to raise $16,000 by September 16 for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, CPCC Soccer partnered with the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department and Pfeiffer University's soccer program to hold a benefit match Thursday (9-15-05) at Charlotte Memorial Stadium. 

Starters:  Payne, Marquina, Kuzuma, Cuadros, Murphy, Walbridge, Fazliu, Bogart, Kamara, Connor (9'), Akins.
Substitutes:  Benzerga, Bilici, Chinos, Cerpa (33', 86'), Fierro, Gravina, TimKee

2005 Soccer Tournament
"Quest for a Champion"

Fall 2005 Roster