velez1991.com

Vélez boys placed third at Disney having played  three USSF Development Academies.  The boys tied Lonestar 2-2 to force a PK shoutout to decide the group winner as they were tied in every other category.  Lonestar went on to win our half of the event beating YMS 1-0.  Lonestar was extremely physical especially given the lax refereeing.  Down 2-0 after a PK, the boys fought back to 2-2 tie.  There was an obvious hand ball in the box at the end of the game that would have given us the chance to win but the referee explained that the time had expired.  Hmmm.

Boys also had a tie against Concorde Fire Elite from Atlanta, GA (1-1) but honestly, that game should have been won by the boys.  They also had another win against Solar SC Academy after YMS had beaten them the day prior.

The lone club game came against a really good Beachside team which the boys won 2-1.  That game could have gone either way.

Coach's reflection after this event is that USSF DA's are focusing too much on brutus violent soccer instead of creating magicians.  Concorde Fire Elite is loaded with huge athletic players all bound for the ACC.  Our little Ivy and D3 defenders caught them offsides about 15 times and completely negated their size and speed.   Lonestar was far too dirty and violent and reflective of why so many Americans get red carded so quickly in international play.  However, they played some very attractive soccer when they were not fouling.  Solar played pretty attractive non violent soccer but were outwitted by both Vélez and YMS.  But the personal development was obvious.