The U14 boys Elite participated in The Adidas Germantown Invitational top flight (Predator). In the first game the boys played Sporting St. Louis and won 2-0 against a very technical team. The boys put on an excellent defensive performance and stayed organized defensively against a pretty skillful team.
The 2nd game was against the Arkansas State champions and tied 2-2 after being down 0-1 in the first half, the boys showed great character to come back in the 2nd half and scored 2 Goals to take the lead. We stayed in an attacking formation even when we were winning because we needed to win by a 3 goal differential to take the bracket lead. Arkansas however came back and scored their 2nd goal with about 10 minutes left against the run of play because we had created a few chances to score a third and a fourth goal but we lacked that final finishing touch. I still thought that the boys played an excellent 2nd half and showed resilience to come back from behind against a very well-motivated and athletic team.
In the 3rd game, the boys played against (Tri state Elite) from Michigan and had to win to advance. The boys again put on an excellent performance offensively and defensively and took the initiative and created a few scoring chances that put pressure on the opponent defense. Knowing that they only need a tie the Michigan team was satisfied with defending but they did a good job counter attacking with some great athletic forwards that they had. In the last minute of the first half our boys efforts and commitment to winning the game was rewarded with a goal from Adan Flores on an excellent combination play with Kyle Owen and Martin Sotelo. In the 2nd half and desperate for a goal the Michigan team put a lot of pressure on our defense trying to score the tying goal to be able to advance but our boys were resilient and put on a great defensive performance coupled with good goal keeping and some luck and shut the opponent out and advanced to the finals on a 1-0 really tight win.
In the Finals the boys played the Mississippi State Champions (Jackson Fire), our boys were just happy to be in the Finals and had a very disappointing first half where we got down 0-3 and did not compete in that 1st half at all. After a motivational half time speech, our boys responded with an excellent attacking 2nd half and created a few scoring chances but great athletic defending and excellent goal keeping kept a clean sheet for the Mississippi State champs and they were deserving of winning the tournament.
I was proud of our boys the whole week end, their attitude on and off the field was excellent. We all stayed together the whole week end and our boys were very courteous, showed mature and professional attitude throughout the whole week end. For 18 teenagers to be together in the same hotel and during meals in restaurants without a single incident speaks volumes of the group of guys we have on this team and also of their parents that have raised them right. We had 1 yellow card the whole week end and all the teams that we have played against complemented us on our team excellent behavior during competition.
It was an excellent week end for our team from all aspects of the game. Both players and parents showed a great sense of team work and team unity it was definitely a successful tournament to finish our fall outdoor soccer campaign with.
Coach Nour