February 18th, 2013 - Randolph, NJ
At the fourth annual
New Jersey Indoor State Cup, Presidents' Day Weekend (in Randolph), SDFC enjoyed new and repeated success with its club teams.
On the girls side, the
Gu11 Samba (coached by Mark Gillon) improved on last years showing with a semi-final placing - losing narrowly to a physical NJX. The girls will get an opportunity to exact in future tournament and league play. Coach Gillon was pleased with the competitiveness of the girls and their desire to possess the ball. The
Gu9 Galaxy fell short of a championship, losing out to a quality World Class team in the final. The Galaxy played some great soccer along the way in their first ever indoor tournament.
On the boys side, SDFC enjoyed two teams that repeated success from previous years. The SDFC
Bu10 Boca (coached by Tom Bodily), battled through group play and came out of a nerve jangling penalty shootout against Teaneck in the final to win their second Indoor State Cup. The
Bu14 Rangers (coached by Kieran Patrick), won their 3rd Indoor State Cup in successive years. Playing in the u15 event of the tournament, the Rangers won all 5 games (scoring 12 and conceding 2) against older physical players. While the Rangers didn't always manage to play their brand of soccer, it was good to get the competitive juices flowing with 5 intense games.
Completing the SDFC attendance at the tournament were the
Gu10 Rage and
Bu9 Mercury. Both teams failed to get out of their group stage, but gave a decent account of themselves in tough groups. There will definitely be better days for them this spring.
Speaking of the tournament experience, SDFC Director, Mark Gillon said, "The success that our teams gain in these indoor tournaments is not defined by wins and losses, it is defined by the opportunity play in competitive games under tight pressure as we prepare our teams to play outside. Whether teams won or lost, we are able to take positive and negatives out of each game. The key for our players this weekend was to have the environment to express themselves and reproduce the efforts seen in practice through the winter sessions."