BY KRISTIN LYNCHBLUES NEWS STAFF WRITER
BY KRISTIN LYNCH
Your mission should you choose to accept it is to successfully pull off the second annual Blues New Years Invitational. The weekend in which you will complete this task is January 4 & 5 and the primary goal is to provide quality games for the U11, U12, and U13 Blues as they prepare for State Cup. Now get to it!
This was the mission assigned to Blues Tournament Director Pat Lynch (my Dad). Lynch, along with several other volunteer helpers, staged a prosperous invitational with premier soccer teams coming from throughout California.
Although mother nature provided us with a few showers, the games got underway on a soggy Saturday. The first day of the invitational proved to be a winning day for the Blues, as all three teams went undefeated.
The U13 Blues led off the day avenging early season losses and beating rivals California Legends (Santa Barbara), by a score of 2-1. They went on to earn a 2-2 tie in their evening game, coming back from a two goal defecit to the powerful San Dieguito Surf.
On the other side of Rancho Capistrano fields the U12 Blues inched out a 1-0 victory against the U12 Surf in an action packed game. They concluded the glorious day with a 2-0 win over the upstart Claremont Stars.
Way down in San Diego, the U11 Blues started off with a tough matchup vs the Rancho Santa Fe Attack, who deserves kudos for coming up with a last minute field (the rain would not allow enough room to have the U11's play at Rancho Capistrano); thank you Rancho Santa Fe! The actual game ended up a scorless draw and the U11's had to wait for their next game to claim their first victory, a 2-0 win over the U11 California Legends (Santa Barbara).
Sunday brought happiness to two teams, heartbreak to the other. Both the U11 and U12 Blues opened the day strong with wins. The U11 took on and defeated the DeAnza Sharks (Northern California) 1-0 on a Kendal Holiday goal, a team they lost to in PK's in the semifinal of this past summer's Pleasanton tournament. They earned a rematch with the Rancho Santa Fe Attack on a muddy field. The game was a see saw battle with Rancho Santa Fe taking a 1-0 lead to halftime on a rebound off a hard shot. The Blues tied the match in the second half as midfielder Ali Rivera cut up through the middle took a shot which carromed off a defender and onto a Blues player who put it away for the 1-1 tie. The final went to overtime before it was decided in PK's in the Blues favor. Blues Win U11 Championship!
U12 Blues also had a good day earning a spot in the final match with a 2-0 victory over an energized Wolfpack team. In the final they would once again face the Surf and took a 2-0 lead with goals in each half before conceding a goal of their own late in the game. Blues Win U12 Championship 2-1!
Heartbreak came for the U13 as reality looked them square in their hopefull faces. They would have to defeat the defending state champion Valley United Stars twice in a row in order to sweep the invitational in all three age groups. A tall order, but not impossible considering the fact the U13's had beaten the Stars the last two times the teams had faced eachother.
In the first game the Blues managed to pull off another upset beating the Stars 2-1 and setting up the rematch in the final. The second game proved to be fatal as the Stars clearly demonstrated that the road to the state cup still goes through the San Fernando Valley. They thouroughly dominated the Blues and beat them soundly 3-0. Valley United Stars U13 Win Championship! That is it for me, Kristin Lynch (1997 U14 Blues), Blues News Staff Writer.
BACK TO BLUES NEWS