Last weekend, most of our B1 USA teams have participated in the St. Paddy’s Day Invitational in the beautiful Lakewood Ranch where more than 75 competitive youth soccer teams competed.
After our last appearance in the IMG Showcase in Bradenton Florida, it was time to get back to business and enjoy another tournament weekend. In general, the level of the tournament was high and our teams had to work hard to find some wins.
The U10 Girls back at it!
Let’s start with our U10 Girls who come to Lakewood Ranch for one reason only: WIN!
They have been surprising us in the past tournaments and here they are again offering us a wonderful performance last weekend.
In their first game, the girls faced Sarasota in a really close game. Both teams had good opportunities but our girls were more efficient with them and were able to win the game (2-1).
Furthermore, the girls faced Auburndale and completely dominated their rivals, winning 4-1. The girls showed off the defensive and offensive qualities, that have been improving since the first tournaments.
Unfortunately, the girls came up short in the next game against Tampa Rangers, in a nail-biting game. The girls played really good but so did the opposition, and after an action-filled game, the girls lost 3-4.
Nevertheless, in their final game, aiming for second place of the tournament, the girls played really hard against the Chargers SC.
Another close game, but this time the girls weren’t going to let the win pass and gave their hearts out, final score 3-2.
The U10 boys worked hard
Moreover, we have our U10 Boys who played their first game against the Dutch Lions. Unfortunately, they came up short even though they had a decent performance overall.
In their second game, they faced Sarasota, and thanks to much better performance and quality of plays, the boys were able to snatch a win, end score of 3-2.
Afterward, in their semi-final, the boys played another Sarasota team, but this time they were not able to win the game as the opposition showed some really good organization and strength.
Our U11 & U12 boys had a rough tournament
Furthermore, we have our U11 Boys who were also part of the tournament. Similar to the other B1 teams, the U11 had a difficult tournament because of the level of the teams that participated.
Anyways, the boys started off strong as they were able to beat Tampa Bay FC (2-1) after a really good performance from our boys.
The boys took a challenge as they played in a top tier in this tournament. This means that wins were respectable and losses a way to improve and grow.
After their first win, the boys had an unfavorable outcome in the second game against Metodo Coira. Even though they lost, the boys were still able to create some great scoring opportunities.
Finally, in their last game, the boys were not able to overcome FCL Soccer Stars.
Moreover, the U12 Boys were really unfortunate in their two first games. Both games were really close and they lost by only one goal, respectively 3-2 against Dynamo Tampa and 3-4 against Metodo Coira.
In their last game, they faced the winners of the tournament and were not able to overcome the rivals.
The U16 leave Lakewood with their heads high!
In addition, the U16 Boys also had a difficult time finding the opposition nets. We are still proud of the way they played and fought until the end.
In their first and second game, our boys were a bit behind in opportunities and lost both games, respectively against the Ronaldo Academy and Manasota YS.
In their third game against Lakewood Ranch, the U16 Boys were hungry for a win and played much better than the first games. They were able to play their game and after a really close game, our boys ended up losing by one goal, end score 1-2.
Nevertheless, in their last game, the boys were able to overcome Lakeland Tropics, leaving the tournament with their heads high and some lessons learned.
We are very proud of the work our teams are doing and how they are gradually improving to meet their goals. We will keep working, always more and better!
