Congratulations to the U11 Boys Red team on winning their division at the Elgin Back-to- School Classic 2011.Team members were: Luke Baltes, Ryan Bedard, Raffa Consalvo, Eric Fava, Barrett Hindman, Will Hutchinson, Zak Kaminski, Eli Larson, James Lyon, Kyle Morin, Trevor Neumaier, Bartosz Wielgos, and Alex Williams.
They played in the top division and beat the host team, Kickers United, 2-1 on Penalty Kicks in the finals. The final game was a very physical game and the Ela boys outplayed, out hustled and were more physical coming back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to force overtime on a great left footed goal by Raffa. Goalkeepers Eric and Eli, with the speed and help of the boys on the field, made some fantastic saves to keep the team in the game. Then in the shootout, Raffa, Eli, and Zak all made goals to secure the win with Ryan playing keeper. Just 24 hours earlier, the Ela team had been beaten by this same Kickers team 5-0 in the opening game of the tournament. So, this win was all the sweeter for the boys as they avenged their opening loss. Ela beat WC United 5-1 and Cary Defenders White 10-0 to make the finals. Congratulations on a great start to the season especially with the addition of several new boys to the team. The hustle, passing and great defending by the entire team in the final game and throughout the tournament contributed to their success.
Julia Kaminski