This month the West Coast 2013 Terremoto teams added more medals and another trophy to the case. West Coast Soccer Tracy Terremoto Black ‘13 PreNPL combined with players from its Terremoto Gray and Green teams took 2nd place at the prestigious San Mateo County Thanksgiving Classic this past weekend in Redwood City, California.
The result was somewhat surprising because this combination team entered the competition not only playing 11 versus 11 for the first time (rather than 9 versus 9 a side), but also “playing up” a year in age group. In another words, the team played for the first time with more players and on a larger field, against good teams that were actually a year older in age. They also had to use a bigger ball.
“We wanted the team to be able to get a headstart and experience the 11 v. 11 game they will play in next season, so we combined players, but in order to be able to do that we had to play up in the older division despite the size difference and maturity of the older players. We were really pleased with the results as the boys rose to the occasion and played with so much heart … wanting to win another trophy we kept talking to them about,” said Coach Jim Langford.
“Yes,” Coach Curtis Aycock added, “After winning the NorCal State Cup the last two years in a row, increasing divisions as we went, then losing only on penalty kicks in the State Cup quarter-final this year, this was not only a great victory, but more than that, signs of good things to come for all of our teams next year!”
True enough, the team was able to reach the State Cup quarter-finals this year before bowing out in a penalty-kick heartbreaker, with no substitutes and key players unable to play due to injuries. And, in league play, the team still finished one win away from 3rd place in the tough Pre National Premier League (NPL), despite three one-goal loss differences in the ten games, and improving over the course of the season while succumbing to those multiple player injuries and absences particularly in the final two games of the season. The team had only had one game with a full squad, the entire season.
So this tournament finish was as pleasing as it was exciting. After an intense 1-1 tie to the home San Mateo team, then a loss to the eventual champions, the team came back strong and improved the next day to win two crucial matches in its first foray into the full-size 11 versus 11 soccer play.
In the first game Sunday, the team battled back from a 1-1 tie to score twice more against a 1974 Newark team, with the quick and dangerous Amaziah Girron scoring a nice breakaway goal first, assisted on a great through pass by central defender Jaxon Horton.
In the second half, after a long throw-in by speedy striker Grayson Ryan, Brayden Aycock raced down the line to cross the ball from the right to a streaking left mid Itzae Poblano, who had scored the goal in the earlier tie the previous day, assisted by the shifty Ryan. With the goalkeeper charging out to block him, Itzae wisely simply one-touched the ball back to the center mid Luke Achziger, who banged the shot into the goal for a 2-1 lead.
With fifteen minutes left, after the teams were back and forth like a tug of war, striker Phoenix Faataualofa collected a pass from defender Gavin Su, turned on his man, took three dribbles, and laid out a perfect pass out in front for the gifted playmaker Girron to run onto, drift slightly to the right, and again fire the ball nicely past the Newark keeper for what was certainly a tough blow to the bigger Newark team for a 3-1 Terremoto lead.
However, Newark was not done. Newark gained momentum by scoring with five minutes left. Goalkeeper Ian Flores had made several outstanding saves to keep his team in this exciting game. The five minutes seemed like a longer time as the diving and athletic Flores and the stellar defense was able to hold on for another tense 3-2 victory, anchored by speedy sweepers Gavin Su and Colton Vieira, and gritty backs Horton, Wyatt Avila, Jasman Cheema, Nick Brown, and Grayson Ryan.
Good thing the midfielders were in shape! Good passing was seen by Achziger, Poblano, Aycock, and Jayce McFarland. The various forwards who were able to outrun or outmaneuver the opposition were Ryan, Girron, Aycock, Faataualofa, and Dylan Flores, all of whom also played different positions during the 2-day tournament. Other coaches commented about the overall team speed exhibited by the Terremoto team, both in offense and defense as the team played an attacking style that also caught other teams offside many times.
In the final game, again the Terremoto team had to battle back after the Ceres Rush team tied the game at 2-2. Amaziah Girronhad three good mostly breakaway goals for a well-deserved hat trick, with good assists by the team, Luke Achziger with two goals, one long range and a well-placed penalty kick after Girron was tripped in the penalty area, and Itzae Poblano another, to seal the medals and trophy the team was so excited to have been thinking about.
The age group combination Terremoto team were very excited about their performance. The Terremoto Gray team for example had recently won the championship of the IR Academy Elk Grove Fall Cup. There are more upcoming tournaments that the Gray and Green teams will play in later this month.
Although the season is almost officially over, all the Terremoto teams and 2014 group teams are looking for players to help fill in spots on the various teams as they move from 9v9 to 11v11 and larger roster size expected in 2025.
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