Cherry Bombs roll to AYSO state title

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
With a dominating offense and a nearly inpenetrable defense, the Hartselle Cherry Bombs U14 soccer team cruised to the state title with 14 straight wins this season.
The Cherry Bombs closed out the season with three victories in the 2009 AYSO U14 state tournament in Cullman by a combined score of 12-1.
The Cherry Bombs are just the second Hartselle girls team to win an AYSO state championship.
The team opened the state tournament with a 6-1 victory over Madison, then added 3-0 wins over Athens and Huntsville to wrap up the title.
During the season, the Cherry Bombs outscored opponents 59-5. The team recorded nine shutouts in 14 games.
Team members are Jesse Mashburn, Rebecca Romager, Leah Roberts, Nidhi Vakharia, Alana Parker, Caroline Partlow, Alyssa Appleton, Lauren Haskins, Rachel Paulsen, Maria Green, Shelby Harris, Marietta Wilhelm, Kenneth Romager and Steve Wilhelm.
During the regular season, the Cherry Bombs went 7-0 after allowing just four goals on the way to the Region 773 championship. The team’s closest matches were identical 2-1 victories over Hartselle.
Without allowing a single goal, the Cherry Bombs easily won the Area 5F title with wins over Albertville and Athens, and a pair of victories over Guntersville.