Coyote Cup: Day 3 – Championship Day!
What a day! Semi-finals and finals took place today, you could feel the excitement in the air. It was a pretty fare day of weather in Mesquite but the wind was a constant reminder to all teams that continued focus and dedication to the current game. Simply to say, what a weekend of soccer! So much young talent was showcased which made me personally so excited for league play and future tournaments, just so I can be dazzled once again.
Boys U13
Gold: Liverpool F.C. 05B SG vs. HVSC B05 Black Diamond LC faced off in the Boys U13 gold final this afternoon began with a bang. Liverpool FC showed their dominance early and never let up during the duration of the entire game. Taking home the cup with a 5-0 victory over Heber Valley SC.
Silver: Wasatch SC 05B vs. HVSC B06 Black Diamond. With Two HVSC teams making it to their bracket’s final, HVSC was sure to be pleased with the turn out of this tournament. Wasatch and HVSC seemed to be a very evenly matched final, ending regulation and extra time with a 0-0 draw, which lead us to one of our PK shootouts of the day. With a tight shoot out score, each shot made or saved mattered. After five kicks from the mark, HVSC took home the win with a 5-4 advantage over Wasatch.
Boys U14
Gold – Sparta 04 Premier (3-PK’s4) vs. Liverpool F.C. 04B. (3 – PK’s1) Another exciting match up during our final time slot of the evening, kicking off at 5pm, Sparta and Liverpool were pound to put on a show. Sparta began the scoring early in the game but Liverpool didn’t let that slow them down. After 60 minutes of regulation play, the teams were tied up at 3 goals a side. After both 5-minute overtimes, we were still tied up so to determine the winner, we went to PK’s. Liverpool fell short to Sparta during kicks from the mark. Sparta won their bracket 4-1 in pk’s, no shortage of excitement during this game.
Silver – UDA 04B vs. Razzia 04B Rebelz. Both teams came out strong and ready to play a highly competitive game. UDA outscored Razzia 2-0, in a close game like this one you could feel all the emotion and drive to make every shot matter and ensure that all passes were made with a purpose.
Bronze – Heat FC 04 (0) vs. Wasatch SC 04B (2). Two teams representing a wide geographic area of UYSA’s reach, these two teams would only have an opportunity to meet up at a tournament, just like they did today. Wasatch drew first and only blood. Heat FC couldn’t find an answer for Wasatch today, with the team from the north putting away 2 goals against the home Heat FC.
Boys U15
Gold: UDA 03B White vs. Utah Surf 03. Fighting against or using the wind to aid your attack, made todays play exciting to watch. The ball seemed to defy laws of physics during some of the games, wind has a great power of a leather orb. UDA was able to slip 4 goals past the Surf defense. Surf was able to seemly stop the bleeding but they just didn’t have enough to answer back, falling to UDA 4-1.
Silver: Utah Glory B03 Black LG vs Razzia 03B Rage. With a match up of Razzia and Glory, I was excited to see what would occur during the two 35-minute halves. These two teams already met up early during pool play of this tournament, Glory bested Razzia (3-0) in that showing. I was excited to see if there was redemption for Razzia. With a complete flip of the previous score line, Razzia was able to show what they’d learned from their previous encounter with Glory. Razzia defeated Glory 3-0.
Girls U13
Gold: Liverpool FC 05G Red vs. L30 Extreme G05. Playing in our first sets of finals of the day. Our 13’s are perfect examples of excitement in an experience and they take in the whole experience. Liverpool and L30 Extreme already faced off in pool play but it was round two, the past game didn’t matter. Liverpool pulled ahead of L30 with a single goal, that was enough to carry Liverpool to a victory today.
Silver: Celtic East 05 Premier (0-PK’s3) vs. Utah Storm 05 (0-PK’s2) A post lunch game is always a good time slot for a final, that was the case for our game between Celtic East and Utah Storm. A good possession-based battle on the field lead to a 0-0 draw after regular time. Going into extra time, both teams had good looks at goal to take home the gold but we’d have to go to shots from the mark to ultimately determine the winner. Celtic took home the win with a 3-2 victory in pk’s, Celtic players swarmed the field once that whistle blow.
Girls U14
Gold: Wasatch Elite 04G – CS vs. Wasatch Elite 04G-MP. Our interclub final, you could feel the electric emotion from the sidelines of this game. Previsouly playing, Wasatch CS took the “w” so it was time to see if Wasatch MP had figured out their sister team’s kryptonite. After drawing 2-2 after extra time, shots from the mark were needed to crown a winner in this rivalry. Neck and neck, each shot mattering, Wasatch Elite MP got their redemption. Coming out the conquerors of the pk’s, 4-3. I hope to see this match up again, what an emotionally driven show of skill and passion. This is what UYSA soccer is about.
Silver: Galaxy Elite (1) vs. Celtic East 04 (4) Galaxy having a home field feeling, coming out of St. George made this game a loud showing of fans and supporters. That didn’t scare Celtic away from this fight, Celtic scored a quick goal against Galaxy but the Galaxy wasn’t done fighting, scoring their own. The excitement from both teams was incredible. Celtic pulled ahead later in the game, winning with a 4-1 margin over Galaxy. One plug I’d like to say about this game was the incredible sportsman on both sides of the ball, it was extemporary. The pure joy that was shown from both sides was incredibly infectious.
Girls U15
Gold: SWAT Crush White 03G (L30) vs. Arsenal RE 03. “Crushed It”, the motto of this final. Swat Crush White proved that sometimes only 1 goal is needed to ensure a win. Arsenal played very well but just could find the back of the net but connecting passes seemed to be the secret weapon for this match up.
Silver: L30 XBOX SC G03 vs. Celtic East 03. Sitting atop the bracket before heading into the final, L30 XBOX was looking to leave the tournament forever atop of the bracket but they had to make it past Celtic East 03 to get there. A tight game with aggressive tackles, threatening corners, and shots from multiple angles on the pitch. Celtic tumbled to L30 XBOX, 1-0.
Girls U16/17: Utah Celtic FC 02 Green vs. Liverpool FC 01G SG. With a combined age group, 40-minute halves were played, giving both teams more time to cultivate more opportunities to strike. With multiple saves from both goalkeepers, this game had no shortage of looks at goal. Liverpool was able to capitalize on two of those opportunities, creating a 2-0 lead over Celtic that would prove to be enough to carry Liverpool across the finish line during this final match of the tournament.
Girls U18/19: HVSC G99 Black (0) vs. Murray SC Black (1) Our oldest aged players at this tournament didn’t disappoint, playing with an extremely high amount of skill and a sense of sisterhood on the field, it was simply captivating. Heber Valley Black was ready to make their mark against Murry SC Black, both teams leading their groups during pool play meant for a well-matched game on field 5. Watching this game, you forgot about the wind and the fact that Monday is a looming reality. It just sucked you in, completely. Movement off the ball, the sounds of the game, the whip of the corner flags. Created a perfect experience for view and player. Precision and experience drove this game to a battle of the center third, a continual game of keep away. Presented with a scoring opportunity, Murray SC took it. Scoring the lone goal of the match.