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Health & Fitness

Tails Never Fails!

On 3/23 and 3/24 Grayslake Galaxy Soccer Club U14 Boys travelled to Cincinnati to participate in the TFA United Cup.

On 3/23 and 3/24 Grayslake Galaxy Soccer Club U14 Boys travelled to Cincinnati to participate in the TFA United Cup.

Game 1 – v CW3 Extreme (MI)

The boy’s first game of the weekend was against the CW3 Extreme Soccer Club from Michigan. Throughout the winter months the team have been playing and practicing indoor so this was their first action outdoor since the end of the Fall season in mid November. In the opening exchanges the team struggled to adapt to the bumpy field conditions and an unfortunate ricochet gave CW3 a lead within the first minute of the game. Slowly Grayslake eased their way into the game and began to dominate possession without creating any clear cut scoring opportunities. Just as it looked like they would go in at half time a goal down Randy Betancourth struck a superb free kick into the far corner to tie the game at 1-1. At the start of the second half the constant Grayslake pressure began to present a few half chances for the team with Chase Werfel and Leo Orozco battling well up front. With Grayslake unable to convert any of the chances created it looked as though the game may finish all square until Betancourth gained control of the ball 20 yards from goal and hit another excellent long range effort over the GK to make the game 2-1. CW3 never looked like equalizing with Bryan Wehde dealing well with any attacks they may have had.

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Game 2 – v Lyon FC (MI)

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Game 2 again had the team facing up against opposition from Michigan, this time in the form of Lyon FC. Within fifteen seconds Grayslake had gone ahead as Reed Wilson played a great ball down the line to Orozco who did a fantastic job of bringing the GK out and squaring the ball to Grant Nickolson who slotted home into the empty net. A superb team move and without a doubt the goal of the weekend. This set the tone for the game as Grayslake looked composed and confident on the ball and possessed the ball well. This possession was rewarded with further goals from Betancourth, who took his own total for the tournament to four, and Jake Miller doing well to pounce on a rebound and prod home for a fourth. A solid performance and comfortable 4-0 win for the team.

 

Game 3 – v Michigan Jaguars Black (MI) – Championship Game

With the results and standings as they were Grayslake were scheduled to play Michigan Jaguars in both group play and the championship game on Sunday. Due to the forecasted storms and the long drive faced by both teams it was agreed that the 8am game would become the championship game. Grayslake started well with Andrew Klima utilizing the space on the left side of the field to deliver some excellent crosses into the opposition box. Unfortunately Grayslake could not convert any of these and despite this dominance the score at half time was 0-0. The opposition clearly came out fired up in the second half and were not afraid to challenge hard. Unfortunately not every challenge was fair and from one of the free kicks conceded Grayslake scored the opening goal as Orozco drifted in a great delivery which was missed by everyone including the GK and ended up in the net. At this point it seemed a question of how many Grayslake would score but a calamitous own goal in the final five minutes gave the Jaguars an undeserved equalizer. With the scoreline ending at 1-1 normally the game would have moved to extra time and then penalty kicks if necessary. As the field was needed for the next game the organizers decided to call the game on a coin toss. Fortunately for all those connected with Grayslake the coin landed ‘tails’ up and with that the championship was secured.

Although it was not an ideal way to win the boys deserved the championship as they were the better team across the three games. A special mention goes to Randy Betancourth for his four goals in three games and also to Trevor Veenstra who supported the team all weekend after unfortunately suffering an injury early in the first game. Thank you also to his Dad, Rick, for organizing the trip for the team.

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