2003 Apopka 3v3 Challenge

Ramage-White-Finalists
Mitch, Andy, Cameron, TJ, and Landon

Ramage-Blue
Taylor, Trevor, Dallas, and Jonathan

It was a great day of soccer in Apopka. The weather was perfect and the competition was outstanding. We took two teams to this one, Rampage-White and Rampage-Blue. Both teams put on great shows. This was the largest Challenge Sports 3v3 tournament to date, and we were in the largest division competing in a group of 14 teams.

Rampage Blue began the weekend with a deficit having lost Emilio, their fifth player, to illness. But Trevor, Dallas, Taylor, and Jonathan came out strong in their first game defeating the Sting-1 8-2. They had a tougher time in game 2 against the Hammers, a team constructed of players from FC America Omni. It was an excellent match, but Blue fell 3-5 in a close battle. In game 3, the Rampage battled against the Hawks. The lack of subs appeared to be taking its toll on the boys at this point, who looked very tired. They did a good job of possessing the ball and passing, but lacked some energy. It was a lack luster performance, but they managed to pull off a 7-4 win and advanced to the quarter finals.

In their quarter final game Blue was matched up against Sting-2, a very strong team with some extremely aggressive players. We had some odd calls in this one as our boys were getting man handled and called for fouls themselves. A combination of fatigue and frustration set in and consequently this wasn't our best performance. However, the boys continued to possess the ball well and I think had a solid edge on time of possession. But we were too tired and our movement without the ball and our hustle to get back on defense allowed Sting-2 to score four goals with a lone goal for Blue thanks to Jonathan. Although it was a disappointing loss, Blue got plenty of playing time and competed well this weekend. All four players managed to score at least a few goals each and they played the game the way it should be played: With a lot of possession time, ball control, and patience. More importantly, tired or not, I think they all had a great time.

Rampage White had a very solid day of play. We had a slightly rough start as White awaited the arrival of Cameron and Andy who were in transit. But Mitch, TJ, and Landon nonetheless gave a great performance with no subs for the first 18 minutes of play against the Blizzard Lizards of Clay County. Although it was a competitive game, the Rampage managed to knock off the Lizards 10-4. In game 2, White had their hands full against a tremendous 3v3 squad from Maitland, this year's region cup champion, and a crew of experienced 3v3ers. I thought this was the most enjoyable game of the weekend to watch. Although the boys came away with a 7-8 loss, it was a seesaw battle to the last minute. I thought we had a slight edge on possession, but Maitland managed to capitalize on our aggressive defense by chipping a few long balls over our heads, which made all the difference in this close match. Win or loose it didn't matter. Our kids played the game well and put on a beautiful show. Game 3 was against the Azuri Jrs. This was something of a let down having just completed a great game against Maitland. The boys went up very quickly in this one and what began as effort turned into frustration as the Jrs stopped playing the ball and started playing the body. The boys came away from this one with only one lump (on Landon's head) and an easy, but painful, 12-3 victory, thereby advancing to the quarter finals.

In game 1 of the quarter finals White met up with the Island Girls a very skilled group of ladies (and one gentleman) from the GA coast. The Island Girls had sailed through their first three games defeating everyone by scores of 12-3, 12-2, and 12-0. But White was clearly ready for this one as they easily won 12-3. In the semi-finals White was matched up against the Hammers, the Omni team that had beaten their Blue brothers earlier in the day by a score of 3-5. White made up their minds early that they were going to put on a show and went up 8-0. The momentum turned around a bit when Cam got injured and the ref kept his whistle in his pocket while an Omni player took advantage of the injury, dribbled a ball past Cam as he lie on the ground, and scored. Omni was able to knock in a couple more on break aways, but White ultimately prevailed in a 12-5 victory, advancing them to the Championship game against none other than Maitland.

The final was to be the match of the day. As shown in the photo below, the Rampage and Maitland were both pumped for battle. Maitland came out quickly and scored with a chipped ball on the kick off. The quick goal came as a surprise, but White regained their composure. This one wasn't the seesaw battle of earlier. White managed to tie Maitland by half time 3-3, but in the second half Maitland regained the lead and held on to the end, knocking us off in a great contest 5-7. Again, I thought we had a solid edge on possession time and played a beautiful game. It was clear that fatigue was a bit of a factor for both teams, but our non-conservative defense and weak legs made it tough to recover on Maitland's attacks, and so fatigue appeared to be a greater factor for our boys. Despite the loss, it was a great show and the boys walked off the field with their heads up.

After each tournament we award a Sportsman of the Tournament Award. This time the award is shared between Mitch and TJ who both showed a great deal of positive leadership and lead both our teams in assists. Statistics from the games are shown below. Congratulations to all nine players that traveled to Apopka on a great day of soccer!

Above, the Rampage and Maitland pose for a group photo just before their championship match.
Before this one had even started, it was obvious that it was going to be a brawl.

Below are individual statistics from the Apopka 3v3.

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