Soccer at Mary Baldwin College

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1/26/09 MBC Futsal Tournament a Success!! Pics

MBC Futsal

RE Lee Augusta

Wilson White Wilson Green

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say “Thank You” to all of the area participants of this past weekend’s Futsal Tournament.  In this first year of the event, I appreciated all of the support from the local community as well and plan to make it an annual event.

The weekend was an open invitation to all area high schools and club teams to participate in the Futsal Tournament.  Those that participated in the tournament were from Robert E. Lee, Wilson Memorial, Riverheads, and a U-15 club team from Augusta FC.

The festivities began on Saturday morning and ran the entire day.  A total of 15 games were played during the 1st day of the tournament, with the top 4 teams advancing to the Championship Bracket played on Sunday.  The format of the tournament was 5 v 5 (including goalies) with subs on the fly.  Games were 30 minutes with two halves and a 5-minute half-time on Saturday with the games being extended to 50-minute games with a 5-minute half-time on Sunday. 

As mentioned, most of the games were played on Saturday.  All teams played 5 games on Saturday and the top four teams from the six involved qualifying to play in the Championship Bracket on Sunday.  There was a lot of great Futsal played and some very close matches during the first day of the tournament.

Wilson (White) was involved in two of the most important games of the day.  In both matches, one against Augusta FC and the other against Robert E. Lee, the results would carry a heavy weight to see where Wilson (White) would be seeded in the tournament.

The game between Augusta and Wilson (White) started off one-sided as Wilson got on the scoreboard early and often.  With a second half push, the young squad of Augusta FC battled back to force a tie and earn a point.  This then set the stage for the final match of the evening pitting Wilson (White) vs. Robert E. Lee (Blue) with the #1 seed in the balance.…

Both teams battled hard for the first half.  Going into the half, Robert E. Lee was up by one goal.  In the second half, Robert E. Lee had the chance to add to the lead with a penalty shot.  However, the goalie made an outstanding dive to her right and pushed the ball away.  And just like they did all day Saturday, Wilson kept fighting back.  They would eventually tie the game.  But within the last few minutes remaining in the match, Robert E. Lee would take the lead for good.  This would then set the seedings for the Championship Bracket on Sunday. 

            #1 Robert E. Lee (Blue)

            #2 Wilson (White)

            #3 Augusta FC (Pink)

            #4 Wilson (Green)

The Championship Bracket was also filled with excitement.  On Sunday the action continued right where Saturday left off.  The #1 seed Robert E. Lee got all they could bargain for from the #4 seed Wilson (Green).  It was back and forth action from the word “go”.  Finally, in the last few minutes, Robert E. Lee was successful in finding the back of the net and squeaked by and got the win. 

The second game of the day was the most anticipated rematch….Augusta FC vs. Wilson (White).  With the last meeting ending in a draw, both teams were eager to better the other.  Just like the 1st game of the day, this one was also action-packed.  With Augusta FC being the youngest of all teams, they established themselves as the “Cinderella Team” of the tournament.  With the crowd rallying behind them, the Ladies in Pink pulled off the upset and qualified to meet the team from Robert E. Lee.

The 3rd/4th place match was between the two teams of Wilson.  After a battle of 50 minutes, the game went into a 5 minute period of Golden Goal.  Wilson (White) would get the victory with about 2 minutes into the extra time.  Both teams seemed exhausted and the team sportsmanship was very evident as both teams congratulated each other on a great tournament.

The stage was set for the heavily favored #1 seed of Robert E. Lee and the Cinderella story of the #3 seed Augusta FC.  For the first few minutes of the game, both teams seemed a little nervous.  Then the match would go back and forth during the 1st half.  During the 2nd half, Robert E. Lee would go on the attack and never look back.  The team of Augusta FC would do their best to battle back, but simply ran out of time.  After it was all said and done, Robert E. Lee stood as the Champion for the Tournament.  The following were the final standings after the bracket on Sunday...

            #1 Robert E. Lee

            #2 Augusta FC

            #3 Wilson (White)

            #4 Wilson (Green)

Overall the Futsal Tournament was a great success.  All the teams that participated seemed to enjoy themselves and telling by the reactions of the crowd, so did they!  I am eagerly looking forward to next year’s tournament.  So be on the look out for the fliers in the fall.  It was just awesome to watch the level of soccer in the area.  I just can’t wait to do it again.  I also wanted to wish all the area high school athletes “Good Luck” with their upcoming seasons!!

Thanks again,
Coach P.

Please feel free to click on the link to view pictures from the event……..Click Here