CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — Some at the id2 Program Training Camp for boys mostly born in 2000 called it “The Big Game.” The last match of the camp featuring 29 of the better players culminated on Sunday at Grande Sports World. (But because of time and schedule constraints with players and coaches flying back home Sunday afternoon, the first half was played to 35 minutes and the second half lasted 20 minutes.) The rest of the boys who didn’t play in that match played in a previous 50-minute session of 9v9 matches on smaller fields where they switched between green and yellow pinnies. The girls had their last training session on Sunday morning.

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Below is a recap of the full 11v11 boys match followed by highlights and observations from the 9v9 boys sessions:

YELLOW roster: Tristan Weber, Colton Farley, Benjamin Ofeimu, Zico Bailey, Jalen James, Marco Campos, Ivan Loncar, Emmanual Iwe, David Ortiz, Jonathan Estrada, Luis Arriaga, Jean-Julien Foe Nuphaus, Tyler Ripley, Gabriel Green.

GREEN roster: Jesus Ortiz, Kelee Cornfield, Kenny Amaral, Scott Byrouty, Jacob Muchnick, Diego Gonzalez, Nico Lemoine, Timothy Bielic, Sebastian Cruz, Ricky Mendez, David Wrona, D. Marcelo Palomino, Isaiah Parente, Edward Berumen, Thomas Gallina.

FINAL: GREEN 4, YELLOW 1

FIRST HALF

YELLOW First XI (4-3-3): GK Green; LB Weber, LCB Farley, RCB Ofeimu, RB Bailey; LM James, CM Campos, RM Loncar; LF Iwe, RF Ortiz, CF Estrada.

GREEN First XI (4-2-3-1): GK Gallina; LB Ortiz, LCB Cornfield, RCB Amaral, RB Byrouty; LDM Muchnick, RDM Gonzalez, LAM Lemoine, CAM Bielic, RAM Cruz; CF Mendez.

Yellow saw most of the ball early in the first half but it was the Green team that had the first opportunities courtesy of Nico Lemoine, who was active and around the ball the entire game. In the ninth minute, Lemoine worked to get space against Zico Bailey to shoot from 18 yards. But the shot flew well high above the crossbar. A minute later, he worked a 1-2 combination pass with Jesus Ortiz but before he was able to pull the trigger, Colton Farley; a tough, smart center back; stepped in to thwart the attack.

David Ortiz could have opened the scoring in the 14th minute after a wayward goal kick went straight to him, but his shot from 17 yards didn’t hit the frame. No matter, Yellow still got its goal two minutes later off a corner kick. Ortiz’s corner kick deflected out to Farley, who settled the ball from 13 yards out and passed it to an open Ivan Loncar, who finished near the left post.

Bailey again impressed when he was given the ball and was could hard twice for his trouble. Jalen James couldn’t find the ball for much of the first half, but showed he could give the defense trouble when he did. In the 30th minute, he showed off quick feet and ball control to almost squeeze through three defenders. Kelee Cornfield showed again that he’s a player who’s comfortable at the back or venturing forward, even at the center back spot.

SECOND HALF

YELLOW First XI (4-2-3-1): GK Green, LB Weber, LCB Farley, RCB Ofeimu, RB Bailey; LDM Campos, RDM Loncar, LM Iwe, CAM Ripey, RM Ortiz; CF Arriaga.

GREEN First XI (4-3-3): GK Gallina, LB Ortiz, LCB Cornfield, RCB Wrona, RB Berumen; LM Parente, CM Foe Nuphaus, RM Muchnick; LF Lemoine, RF Cruz, CF Mendez.

Whatever Ricky Mendez was told or whatever he did at the half, it needs to be repeated every time the kid steps onto the field from this point forward. Mendez had an up-and-down first half. He showed good hold-up play but also had moments where he held onto the ball too long and had it stripped away. Then came the first 11 minutes of the second half. Anything he did worked. Mendez scored two goals and assisted another.

In the 41st minute, he settled a flick from Jacob Muchnick and scored from 11 yards out. Four minutes later, he kept the ball well against two defenders, worked a 1-2 combination with Lemoine, collected the ball near the end line and chipped the ball over Gabriel Green on a very tight angle for a fantastic goal. A minute later, he made Yellow pay for a bad turnover. He showed good hold-up play again near the end line and found Muchnick all alone in front of goal. Muchnick, one of the smaller players in camp but the loudest, easily scored.

The Green team would score its fourth unanswered goal in the 52nd minute when Jean-Julien Foe Nuphaus drew two defenders on a counterattack to spring Sebastian Cruz, who would lay the ball off to Lemoine who scored.

Yellow could have scored in the 51st minute if it wasn’t for Thomas Gallina’s diving effort to save Benjamin Ofeimu’s header off a corner kick. Emmanual Iwe, the lone Arizona boy in camp, showed good skill and had good ideas from the wing. He also had two quality chances to score in the second half, but didn’t hit the frame on either attempt.

Tristan Weber, a forward who played defense on Sunday, showed his good touch, vision and crossing ability can be utilized anywhere on the field Timothyy Bielic rebounded from an roller coaster performance on Friday with good showings on Saturday and Sunday.  

HIIGHLIGHTS/OBSERVATIONS FROM 9v9 SESSIONS:

Keshav Bhatnagar and Nicholas Schimbeno were a good defensive pairing and worked well together to eliminate scoring threats. … Alan Piceno forced Gabriel Green to come out and trip him in the penalty area. Piceno scored on the ensuing penalty kick. … Diego Ibarra and John Lynam, who had a goal and at least one assist, had their way in dribbling through defenses. … Adonis Diaz had a few good passes and also scored an unassisted goal. … Alexander Castrilli showed some great skill in the middle of the field and also scored a goal. … Juan Estrada scored after dribbling through two defenders and finished a chance created by a good dribbling run from Carsen Smith. … Miguel Ibarra showed good speed to recover defensively and positions himself well. … Sammy Tojaga showed good ball control in traffic. … Bishop Washington, who had a goal, and Collin Turner were great outlets for teammates and were creative on the ball. … Nick Fernandez used a nice move to beat a defender then passed to Alex Mendez who found Philip Kendler for a goal. … Gabriel Brandao and Luke Hansen were smooth on the ball and had some highlight dribbles. … Christian Marion, a forward, has good soccer IQ and showed he’s a capable defender.

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