Elite Football Club Captures both Charity Shields

20 October 2022

Senior football returned to the Truman Bodden Sports Complex, with a sweep of both the women’s and men’s Cayman Islands Football Association Charity Shield matches on Sunday, 16 Oct.

Elite Sports Club claimed both the men’s and women’s shields for a strong start to their 2022-23 season. The women’s team defeated Fusion FC 5-0, followed by the men beating Scholars ISC 2-0.

Women’s recap

Ethana Villalobos scored twice during the women’s match. Photos: Seaford Russell Jr

Elite put the pressure on Fusion early on with newcomer Molly Kehoe finding the back of the net just six minutes into the match.

That was followed by Ethana Villalobos who scored in the 29th minute. Teammate Shanice Monteith made it 3-0 in the 30th minute and then Villalobos scored again in the 40th minute to close the first half at 4-0.

Elite’s Jhosta Williams scored the final goal of the match in the 55th minute.

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“We had a lot of coordination, stringing passes together and they dominated the entire game,” Martha Godet, Elite’s women’s head coach, told the Cayman Compass after the match.

Villalobos also complimented her teammates on their performance, saying despite the circumstances her team gave it their all.

“Normally you can just take off easy but since the field was wet, it was a lot harder to run but the team came together to win,” she said. “Everyone put 100% in and I am happy with the results.”

Men’s recap

Jose Cruz Melendez celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the men’s charity shield match.

Elite SC men’s team had their hands full but pulled off the upset against the 14-time CIFA Premier League champion Scholars.

“It was a real technical game,” Rene Carter, Elite’s men’s head coach told the Compass. “Scholars were holding their own. Coming out of the locker room [after the first half] and the substitutes that we made, made it a completely different game.”

The match remained 0-0 up until the 86th minute, when Jose Cruz Melendez converted a penalty. Just when it seemed game would close out at 1-0, Alexander Jones scored goal number two for Elite in added time.

Carter said his attention is turning to the upcoming season, noting that “it’s not going to be easy but we are going to work forward to compete at the best level”.