{"id":270190,"date":"2026-04-28T19:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T19:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/270190\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T19:50:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T19:50:12","slug":"sarasota-paradise-learn-some-professional-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/270190\/","title":{"rendered":"Sarasota Paradise learn some professional lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"

The transition from amateur to professional soccer wasn’t likely to be a smooth for the Sarasota Paradise. Certaily there was a higher likelihood of early failure than immediate success.<\/p>\n

Mika Elovaara, the head coach for the Paradise, understood that when he was hired to lead the Lakewood Ranch-based club. He\u2019s been with USL League One since its founding in 2019.<\/p>\n

Other clubs have come and gone in seasons past, and Elovaara has seen many of them struggle with the learning curve that comes with being a first-time professional organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019d be foolish to think there isn\u2019t one,\u201d Elovaara said of the learning curve. \u201cI know this is a league where anybody can beat anybody on any given day.\u201d<\/p>\n

His players have quickly learned that the hard way.<\/p>\n

The Paradise, which play home games at Premier Sports Campus, are 2-4-1 as of April 24 in their inaugural season of USL League One play. Their 2-1 victory over winless Corpus Christi FC on April 22 snapped a three-game losing streak.<\/p>\n

FC Naples, Westchester SC and One Knoxville SC constituted their worst stretch of the season so far. Against those three foes, the Paradise scored one goal combined and surrendered six.<\/p>\n

\"Defender<\/p>\n

Defender Declan Watters looks up the field for a pass. He’s appeared in all seven games, as of April 24, for the Paradise this season.<\/p>\n

Photo by Jack Nelson<\/p>\n

Putting the ball in the net has been a struggle. They\u2019ve averaged just 0.8 goals per game. It\u2019s not for a lack of opportunities, though, since their 91 shots are third-most in the league behind One Knoxville SC\u2019s 105 and AV Alta FC\u2019s 98.<\/p>\n

Midfielder Sander R\u00f8ed, who was sidelined with an injury for a month before returning April 22, watched those offensive struggles from the bench.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had some chances in each game, but it\u2019s like, \u2018Are we clinical enough to put them away?\u2019\u201d R\u00f8ed said. \u201cIt\u2019s been unfortunate where we have been conceding the first goal and have to try to chase.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

His absence no doubt hindered the Paradise\u2019s ability to produce offense. The 25-year-old Norwegian is tied with forward Jonathan Bolanos for a team-high two goals this season \u2014 one of which was the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Corpus Christi FC.<\/p>\n

R\u00f8ed\u2019s two assists lead the squad, and despite missing a month, his eight shots are fourth-most behind Bolanos\u2019 18, forward Garrett McLaughlin\u2019s 17 and midfielder Maximus Tainio\u2019s nine.<\/p>\n

Naturally, Elovaara sought to set a winning standard when he made the move to Lakewood Ranch. But he was tasked with building a roster from the best young talents he could find in a mere matter of months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was a tall order for this team to pile on wins from the get-go. The record books dictate that, too.<\/p>\n

\"Midfielder<\/p>\n

Midfielder Ethan Bryant (center) weaves through Corpus Christi FC defenders. He’s registered three shots in seven games played.<\/p>\n

Photo by Jack Nelson<\/p>\n

Clubs playing their first seasons in USL League One have historically posted mixed results, and by no means is there a positive trend among them.<\/p>\n

FC Naples, Portland Hearts of Pine, AV Alta FC and Westchester SC were all newcomers in 2025 and combined for a 37-42-41 record. The best finish came from FC Naples, which ended up in fourth place and reached the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Spokane Velocity FC, One Knoxville SC and Charlotte Independence arrived to the league in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively. None of them posted a winning record or finished higher than sixth place in those seasons.<\/p>\n

The Paradise are ninth in the 17-team league, as of April 24. They\u2019re just below the eighth and final playoff spot and trail the leaders \u2014 FC Naples and One Knoxville SC \u2014 by seven points.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a goal-scoring game, as they say,\u201d Elovaara said. \u201cEvery time we\u2019ve lost a game, their goal has been preceded by a really good chance by us. If you don\u2019t take your chances, most of the time, the opponent will.\u201d<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s a time for this team to turn the corner, now seems like it.<\/p>\n

With head assistant Trevor Sinclair and defender Amadeus S\u00f6gaard now in the fold, April 22 was the first time this season the Paradise had their full staff and entire roster at their disposal, per Elovaara. Having R\u00f8ed back is a major boost.<\/p>\n

Signs of success are evident defensively. The squad still hasn\u2019t allowed more than two goals to any opponent, while goalkeeper Alexander Sutton\u2019s 20 saves are tied for third-most in the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a defender, your first priority is always not to concede,\u201d S\u00f6gaard said. \u201cWhat I can bring to the team is that hunger and that urgency to not do that and to really protect the goal \u2014 whatever it costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sander<\/p>\n

Sander R\u00f8ed (center) celebrates after scoring a goal in the 64th minute against Corpus Christi FC. He has a team-high two assists and two goals this season, as of April 24.<\/p>\n

Photo by Jack Nelson<\/p>\n

Depth continues to be a point of pride for the Paradise. Sixteen different players have taken shots, as of April 24. Elovaara has been intentional about that.<\/p>\n

He lauded Jordan Bender following the team\u2019s victory over Corpus Christi FC.<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old defender didn\u2019t travel with the team for its previous contest April 11 at Naples FC. He played eight minutes April 22, by the coach\u2019s estimate.<\/p>\n

But Elovaara saw how Bender used fresh legs to sustain pressure on their opponent down the stretch, helping the Paradise keep their one-goal lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cIron sharpens iron,\u201d R\u00f8ed said. \u201cThat shows the quality around the whole team. I don\u2019t even know the best starting 11 we have, because we have been trying a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The transition from amateur to professional soccer wasn’t likely to be a smooth for the Sarasota Paradise. Certaily…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":["post-270190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi","tag-corpus-christi-headlines","tag-corpus-christi-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}