2003
National 3v3 National Championships-Finalists
3v3
Live, Las Vegas, NV
Jan 3-4, 2004
Representing
the Rampage: TJ, Connor, Andy, Cameron, Mitchell
| Game |
Opponent |
Score |
W/L |
| 1 | Pueblo,
Colorado | 6-0 | W |
| 2 | Ogden,
Utah | 9-1 | W |
| 3 | Layton,
Utah | 2-1 | W |
Semi
Final | Brandon,
Florida | 2-1 | W |
Championship | West
Pines, Florida | 2-4 | L |
We took five boys to the 3 on 3 Live National Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada. The states represented in our age group included 12 teams from UT, CO, IL, TX, and FL.
After some some fun around town, the boys got focussed and played some great soccer. On Saturday they faced off against three quality teams representing Colorado and Utah. They handled all three with relative ease out scoring them 17-2 and giving the Rampage the #1 seed going into day two. Consequently, the boys had a bye in the quarter finals and advanced directly to the semis where they faced off against a previous foe from FL--the Brandon Blue Bandits. This was a very tough game. Brandon is a very fast team with excellent foot skills. But the Rampage got an early lead and held onto it to the end, knocking off a formidable opponent 2-1.
The Championship match was a grand finale to put it mildly. West Pines was a well stacked team that actually combined some excellent skill from both West Pines and Weston, two of the top clubs in Region A. They were not only fast, skilled, and very experienced 3v3ers, but had one dominate player that out weighed our players on average by about a factor of 2... and he had amazing skill. We controlled the ball extremely well in this one and certainly had the edge on possession, 60/40 or so. But West Pines played a very conservative defensive game and packed all their players in front of the goal once they got up on us. Our boys tried patiently to find the gap and did hit is twice, but the physical abilities of West Pines, and the defensive congestion got the best of us. We lost the final 4-2 in a great battle, but the boys walked off the field with their heads up.
Despite some mild jet lag and understandable nerves, all five boys played fantastic soccer and represented the Rampage well this weekend. Each tournament we announce a sportsman of the tournament. This time, the honor goes to all five. Congratulations on a great weekend.
The
Rampage and West Pines pose together after a tough championship match.
Below are individual statistics from the 3 on 3 Live Nationals:
Player | Goals | Assists | Great
Defensive Plays |
Andy | 5 | 1 | 9 |
Cameron | 5 | 6 | 2 |
Mitchell | 9 | 3 | 3 |
TJ | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Connor | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Celebrating
at Nationals
About
to receive their second place hardware
Hand
picking carp at Lake Mead between matches
Carp
lips
Gambling
in Vegas
Calling
his Agent
Heading
Home...