Storms, setbacks, and schedules couldn’t derail the Columbus Express 2008 Boys Orange team from winning the 2025 Indiana Soccer Presidents Cup. This is the second Presidents Cup championship the 2008 Boys have won since their last title in 2022.
The original schedule saw CESC playing a Friday-Sunday schedule. With tornadoes and storms derailing Friday night, CESC did not find out it was rescheduled to play at 8 AM on Saturday until 11:45 PM on Friday. Due to the late notice and early kickoff, CESC started the game short-handed against Delaware County.
Running on fumes with zero subs, CESC ended in a 1-1 draw. The second game of the weekend saw Marckenson Paul score a world-class volley to advance CESC past Indy Premier and into the knockout round. Ryder Meek started his shutout streak.
In the semi-finals, it was another Paul goal that was the difference against Indy Eleven in a 1-0 victory. The final saw CESC match up with a familiar Indy Phoenix team. Despite having players unavailable, Brody Johnson’s free kick found the back of the net and put CESC into the winner’s circle as Presidents Cup Champions.
The boys earn the right to play in the USYS Midwest Presidents Cup in June in St. Louis.
