The boys got started bright and early Sunday morning with mixed rosters for the final day of 11 vs 11 matches.
Green vs Yellow, Game 1
Green Team- Andres Jasson, Jeremy Shortt, Michael Maunsell, Jorge Avalos, Julian Gaines, Jesus Frias, Ethan Szudarski, Sean Traynor, Ivan Lopez, Aidan O’Toole
Yellow Team- Connor Sweeney, Harris Street, Luke Rohleder, Tyrese Hebert, Luke Pompliano, Nicholas Allard, Cuauhtemoc Ortiz, Grant Gardner, Jovani Casillas
Jeremy Shortt got the offense kicked off right away, dribbling past defender Grant Gardner and rolling the ball past the keeper to give Green a 1-0 lead in the 4th minute. Green would dominate possession in the first half, with Yellow’s four shots all coming in transition.
Team Green’s Jesus Frias provided the entertainment in the first half, as he had spectators jumping out of their folding chairs when he took a pass at the top of the box, turned his back to three oncoming defenders, and lifted the ball to himself for a bicycle kick that nearly made it past the keeper. Frias missed all three of his first half shot attempts, but made an impact nonetheless.
At half, Yellow decided to sub in Andres Jasson into the game at forward. The subsitution paid immediate dividends, as he scored from the left corner of the box seconds after the half began. With the game tied at 1-1, and Green’d defenders struggling to communicate with each other, Yellow took a 2-1 lead on a perfect pass from Cuauthemoc Ortiz over the head of Ethan Szudarski to Tyrese Hebert, who scored the go-ahead goal.
Yellow maintained their 2-1 lead throughout the second half until Aidan O’Toole took the ball from midfield to the top of the box, gave the ball off to Jesus Frias, who then crossed it back to O’Toole for the game-tying give-and-go goal as the final whistle blew. The final score was 2-2, with Green having a one shot advantage, 9-8, over the course of the game.
Green vs Yellow, Game 2
Green Team- Paul Elliott, Jonathan Ned, Judson Burns, Leonardo Sepulveda, Axel Picaso, Jalen Anderson, Jesus Esparza, Sean Molloy, Mario Rocha, Takumi Ikeda, Luis Arriaga
Yellow Team- Azriel Gonzalez, Luis Arriaga, Eduardo Blancas, Julian Anderson, Ethan Bryant, Damian Searchwell, Luke Hansen, Anthony Cousins, Bryang Kayo, Ethan Beck, Maxamillion Goeggel, Jacob Azah, Brendon Foster
Game 2 started as a clear mismatch, but due to some inspired play by keeper Neil De Jesus, as well as a halftime jersey trade, the final outcome reflected a much closer game.
Team Yellow got off 14 shots in the first half of the morning’s final game, all while holding team Green to zero shot attempts of their own. Niel DeJesus, Green’s goalkeeper, made diving stops on shots by Azriel Gonzalez, Brendon Foster, Luke Hansen and Luis Arriaga as part of nine consecutive stops before the dam finally broke and Yellow started pouring in goal after goal.
Yellow scored it’s first goal on a shot by Arriaga on the left side of the box that timidly rolled to a stop just inside the right goal post. Moments later, Gonzalez scored his first and second goals of the game, the latter coming on a penalty kick, and the half ended with Yellow leading 3-0.
The coaches saw a second half of complete dominance wouldn’t make anyone a better athlete, so they made a couple of roster switches, including sending Luis Arriaga over to the green team. Arriaga’s contribution was obvious, as he immediately helped create shots for Sean Molloy, Axel Picaso and Jalen Anderson. Arriaga scored a goal himself, and assisted on a second goal by Molloy, and helped turn a 14-0 first half shot attempt deficit into a second half 12-2 advantage. Yellow still pulled out the 3-2 win over Green, but the adjustments at halftime and Arriaga’s presence on the opposite side of the ball than he started on created an exciting and entertaining final outcome.
These are the players that caught our eye:
Tyrese Hebert: When he got a chance to make an impact, Hebert made sure it was a big one. Hebert cashed in on a perfect pass from Cuauthemoc Ortiz to score what was the go-ahead goal for team Yellow.
