Phoenix, AZ (1/9/2018)
Finals
05 Girls
The final featured a rematch from group play as Utah looked to avenge their 1 loss on the tournament against perennial tournament favorites Cal South. While the game was closer than the previous meeting, Utah was once again unable to find a goal and Cal South scored twice to secure the 2-0 victory. While not ending in a championship the tournament was a success for the 05G who battled back from a tough first game to make the finals, and featured age group leading scorer Sadie Beardall with 6.
01 Boys
Throughout the tournament, Ryen Jiba came through clutch for the 01B and the final was no different. A member of last year’s team who lost to Cal South on pks in the semi-final, Jiba scored the games only goal in the revenge match of last years loss and the defense pitched a shutout for Utah’s only championship this year. Jiba was particularly impressive scoring 56% of the team’s goals in the tournament including 4 in the knockout rounds.
03 Boys
In another rematch from Group play, and last year’s semi-final, Arizona took on our 03B. Last year’s game is remembered as a tight affair that was won by Arizona. Group play showed that these two teams are evenly matched as they came to a draw. In the second game of this year, 90 minutes was once again not enough to separate the two teams. Neither was overtime. Finally the game was decided on penalty kicks which were won by Arizona. The 03B had a successful tournament with this penalty kick loss being their only defeat. Look for them to come back strong next year for another shot at the Arizona 03s.
Notable Tournament Goalscorers (as listed by the region)
01B Ryen Jiba-5
02B Eli Nixon-3
03B Ken Bellini-2
04B Zach Booth-3
01G Brecken Mozingo-5
01G Rachel McCarthy-4
02G Lily Haskins-4
02G Jenna DiGiandomenico-2
03G Bizzy Arevalo-2
03G Presley Devey-2
04G Seven Castain-3
04G Avery Frischknecht-3
05G Sadie Beardall-6