Soccer Links

St. Cloud 3 v 3 Winter Smash--Semi-Finalists

Rampage Blue

Game	Opponent	Score	W/L
1	Maitland 3	4-5	L
2	Orange County	8-1	W
3	Central Florida United	4-5	L

Rampage White

Game	Opponent	Score	W/L
1	Maitland 2	3-5	L
2	PYS	12-4	W
3	Maitland 2	4-2	W
4	PYS	11-1	W
Semi Finals	Maitland 1	3-1	L

This was an excellent 3v3 tournament that challenged all ten players that we took to St. Cloud. Our Blue team was comprised of TJ, Craig, Taylor, James, and Landon and our White team was comprised of Trevor, Danny, Andy, Cameron, and Mitchell. Both teams were placed in groups with some excellent competition. In fact, looking at the other divisions at the tournament, it appeared that the U10 boys division, which was comprised of 11 teams, was the most competitive at the tournament.

Rampage Blue put on a great show this weekend. In their first game they battled against a very athletic Maitland team. Blue passed the ball extremely well and played an aggressive attacking game. But our aggressive attacking game left our goal open at times allowing Maitland to put five balls in the back of the net. Our boys answered with four goals making this a close one. James led the team with two goals and one assist and Taylor and Craig each popped in one a piece.

In game 2 Blue met an inexperienced but hard working team from Orange County. Blue was pumped for this one and put on a passing clinic. At half time the score was 4-1, but could have been a bit more lop sided as quite a few shots went barely wide. In the second half Blue dominated through a great unselfish passing game and chalked up another 4 unanswered points. Taylor led the team with 3 beautiful goals, James knocked in two goals and posted an assist, Landon netted two, and TJ had two great assists and a goal.

In game 3 Blue met a very talented, undefeated and over-coached team from Central Florida United. This was a tough match for our boys. They were perhaps physically out matched and had a difficult time communicating over the screaming coming from the other bench. But at half time the score was 1-1 and Blue was clearly up to the challenge. In the second half, things got even louder. I gave up on helping from the bench and just let the boys play. They handled the pressure with a great deal of poise and class, netting 3 goals in the second half. But CFU managed to knock in 4 goals allowing them to edge Blue out of the semi finals. Taylor led the team with two goals and an assist in this game, TJ posted a goal and an assist, and Craig netted another of his patented toe ball goals. I was super proud of the way these five boys stepped up their game this weekend. Had they been matched up with White, no doubt White would have had their hands full.

Rampage White didn't get off to the same kind of start that we saw from Blue. Mitch had been up sick much of the previous night, and Cameron and Danny were both walking around on sore joints. In the first game White faced another very talented and well coached Maitland 2 team that we had faced in the Halloween Spooktacular. We were clearly moving in slow motion and were getting beat to a lot of balls. At half time we were lucky to be tied 1-1. In the second half Maitland came out on fire and hammered in four easy goals. Mitch tried to answer back, scoring two late ones, but it wasn't enough as Maitland walked away with a fairly easy 5-3 victory. Mitch led the team with 2 goals and Cam gave us the other.

In game 2 White woke up a bit and played a much stronger game, but against an easier opponent. The PYS Bulls were comprised of 3 inexperienced rec players and an old foe from the Dream Team who is a 3v3 master. But it takes 3 to play the game and PYS was clearly no match for White as they walked away with an easy 12-4 victory. Andy led the team with five goals, Mitch had four and two assists, and Cam had three great assists and three goals. Danny and Trevor both played great, unselfish games in the back, creating a lot of the scoring opportunities for their team mates.

In game 3 we got a second chance to show our stuff against the Maitland 2 team. This time White had their batteries charged and were ready to play. The boys worked the ball around much better and we opted to use the camper strategy that unfortunately has become so popular in 3v3. Danny and Trevor set up camp in front of the goal and made it very difficult for Maitland to score. Mitch, Cam and Andy put on a clinic up front passing the ball smartly. At half time the score was a close 3-2 in our favor, but we appeared to have the upper hand. In the second half Danny and Trevor kept up the defensive effort and were well on their way to earning their boy scout patches. The Maitland offense was simply shut down, while White managed to knock in one more giving them a 4-2 victory and a berth to the semi finals. Mitch led the team with two goals and one assist, Andy had one goal and an assist and Cam added a goal as well. I was feeling better about White and their chances in the semis the next day.

In game 4 White met up with PYS again. This was going to be a mismatch from the start, so both teams just played for fun. White put on a great passing show and took this one away easily 11-1. Andy led the team with five goals and two assists, Mitch had three goals and an assist, Cam had two goals and and assist, and Danny added a nice assist as well.

In game 5, our semi final game, we faced the Maitland 1 team, a seasoned team that I believe qualified for nationals this year. A team that had easily beaten two of our 3v3 squads at the Spooktacular. Our boys were certainly up for the game, but shortly after it began our play began to degenerate. I'm not sure what it was, but Maitland got us out of our game and dominated play getting of a lot of excellent shots. Our passes always seemed to be leading by a step or two too much. Consequently, we were losing a lot of passes and couldn't keep possession for long. Maitland made good use of their opportunities and knocked White out 3-1 in what was their closest game of the tournament. Trevor gave us our lone goal on a beautiful outside shot. Although it was a tough loss, I think all five boys learned a great deal and played with a lot of heart and should be proud of the fact that they ended the tournament in 3rd place in a pretty tough division of 11 teams. We'll see Maitland again no doubt and will look forward to a rematch :-) Maitland 1 went on to win the tournament by defeating CFU 4-1 in the championship.

As usual, both teams played with a great deal of enthusiasm and sportsmanship. Evidence of that was our semi final game where several players from PYS (whom White had defeated in two games by a combined score of 23-5) came and sat on our bench to cheer on White. Despite all the competition and pressure, our kids found a way to make new friends, which is what this should be all about...

Because of his great work rate in this tournament, and his focus and leadership that emerged, (and let's not forget his warped sense of humor) this tournament's Sportsmanship Award goes to Taylor H. Congratulations Taylor on an awesome tournament. And congratulations to all ten for a great effort!

[Back to Results]