SDSC All-Star Classic

Great weekend for soccer in SoCal.  Nice and sunny, with highs in the low 70's, just weeks before the Christmas holiday...we have it good in SoCal.  

The BU8 portion of the All-Star Classic was hosted at the 4S fields (next to the 4S Boys & Girls Club).  The fields are artificial turf and the facilities/conditions were top-notch. The games were officiated well and it was really cool to be a part of the SDSC All-Star Classic.

The PQ All-Star team was formed just a couple of weeks ago, and competed in their first tournament against other All-Star teams created from rec team players under the San Diego Soccer Club (SDSC) umbrella.  

There were six teams in the BU8 tournament and they were split into 2 groups.  Based on within group outcomes, two teams from each group advanced to the semis on Sunday, earning an opportunity to to play in the finals and a chance to win the All-Star Challenge.

All of the teams were solid, which made for very competitive matches on all sides of the bracket.  

Brody breakin' for it...gut feel is that he didn't look for a cross opportunity (coming from his dad)

Group Play: Game #1 vs Scripps Ranch "B"

Brody trying to turn

Joseph moving the ball up...he's a SOLID defender, with great ability to stop an attack and turn it into an opportunity.

Brody cutting one wide-right

Shervin on the attack

Evan R. battling with a couple to get things started.

Patrick on the run

Patrick sending one from outside the box.

Shervin Battlin'!

Game On!

Group Play: Game #2 vs RB

Shervin on the move...he scores 1 out of every 4 of these.

The battle continues

Evan Levine running the show.

Shervin on the hunt.

Battle for the ball #1

Battle for the ball #2

Patrick launching one...came up a little short, but give him 4 shots and that will convert to another goal.

Go Time

Ian is a STUD....gonna miss him next week.

Patrick in the shootout...missed to the left

The agony of defeat!!!

The PQ All-Stars tied 0-0 in an uninspiring first game against the Scripps Ranch All-Star "B" team.  The PQ crew needed a victory in their second game against an RB team to advance to the semi-finals.  Brody found his stride and posted a hat-trick in the first half.  Shervin cleared another. PQ won 4-1 and advanced to the semi-finals on Sunday.

The semi-final was against another RB team and it was a battle.  RB scored early, we countered and went up 2-1.  Brody and Liam (#3) scored the goals.  RB tied it up 2-2 halfway through the 2nd half.  PQ created lots of opportunities late in the game, but just couldn't get any shots inside the posts and past their goalie.  Time expired and it went to PKs.  The RB team won it 3-2.  That closed out the tournament for the PQ crew.  Missed the finals, the podium, and the hardware.  Tough loss, but very entertaining game and good experience on how to handle a tough loss for the boys (and parents).

In the end, the Scripps Ranch "A" team (from the other group) beat the RB team (that beat us in the semis) and the Scripps Ranch "A" team won the championship in a close game.

Tournament Assessment

Brody had a great tournament, but I'd give MVP of the PQ team to our goalie, Ian.  He's incredibly solid in the goal and allowed the team to advance because he blocked so many shots on goal when the bad guys were able to work through our defenders. Ian is out of town for the next tournament, I think we will struggle to put somebody in the goal and have them perform at the same level Ian does.

The team hasn't had much time to play together and Coach Domingo hasn't had much time to figure out the talents of each kid and how to get the most out of the individual players.  But, the kids looks good on the field.  They matched up well with all the opponents they played and were competitive in all their matches. Given more time to practice together, this group of kids could turn into a really strong All-Star team.

We have another tournament next week.  It looks a little bit tougher with a couple of club-level teams in the bracket.  It might be our first introduction to what club-level soccer can do to develop players and create a team.  Should be interesting.

We'll see you on the pitch,

Marc