1998 NEW YEAR FINALS INTERRUPTED BY RAIN!
1998 NEW YEAR FINALS INTERRUPTED BY RAIN!January 3 the was the kickoff of the third Southern California Blues Premier New Years Invitational. All games for this unique soccer event were held at the beautiful Rancho Capistrano Soccer Fields except for the U10 age group which played at San Gorgonio Park in San Clemente. For detailed maps to these locations check your 1998 invitational guide which was put together once again by Jim Regan of MVP Promotions, Pat Lynch, and Chris Vaught (this year's event director).
The Only difficulty in scheduling came in the U10 bracket which saw one of the teams drop out at the last moment. Fortunately, Rancho Santa Fe Attack U10 was more than happy to fill in for Jusa. The graphic art was designed and provided by Jim Regan at MVP Promotions. The number for MVP is (714) 454-1MVP or you can email Jim at
mvppromo@earthlink.net
Real briefly, the weekend went extremely well except for the rain which washed out the final round of the invitational. Event director Chris Vaught, when faced with the prospect of damaging the fields at Rancho Capistrano, made the decision to cancel the final games and award the invitational championships based on points. This rule was clearly stated in the event guide which was distributed to all the teams prior to the competition.
The luckiest age group was the U10 who got to play for the championship as the heavy rain began to fall. The first round games were held at San Gorgonio Park in San Clemente and the finalists were Rancho Santa Fe vs the Southern California Blues. The Blues took the rain soaked final by a score of 1-0 on a sliding first half goal by Jacqueline Gantes. Towards the end of the game conditions were worsening and Rancho had some chances to tie but some timely goalkeeping from Kirsten Commins preserved the win. The other participating teams were MV Elite and SD Surf.
With rain coming down hard and soggy fields, the U11 Blues lost any chance to avenge an earlier 3-0 defeat at the hands of state cup favorite Mission Viejo. The Blues won their other two games and were poised to take on the first place MV team in the final. Awarding the invitational on points Mission was declared champion based on their 3-0 record. Other participating teams were Irvine Strikers and SD Surf.
The U12 Blues won their second consecutive invitational in controversial fashion as they were declared champions on points. They were set for a rematch with the powerful Rancho Santa Fe Attack in the final having defeated them 2-1 in the first round. The Blues had a 3-0 record going into the final. Thanks to Rancho Santa Fe for accepting the controversial decision with a lot of class. The Attack holds a 2-1 advantage over the Blues this season and no doubt the final would have been another great game. Other participating teams were the De Anza Sharks and SD Surf.
Perhaps the most difficult decision was the cancellation of the U13 Final between the Southern California Blues and the state champion Upland Celtic. The Blues narrowly defeated the Celtic 1-0 in the first round of play and had a 3-0 record going into the scheduled final.
These two teams have played several times this season and were scheduled to meet the following weekend in the CSL Cup semifinals. In an attempt at fairness the coaches from both teams agreed to forego tournament rules and award the championship to the team that wins the next meeting.
This decision became a contentious one among parents from both teams and in both directions. Unfortunately the invitational could not schedule a game for the parents and so by agreement of the players and coaches it would be decided at the CSL cup semifinals.
In conclusion, the championship was finally awarded to the Blues after the two teams met once again at the CSL cup semifinals. The Blues won the game 3-1 and were awarded the Blues Invitational championship.
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