Fifteen (15) divisions were represented with a very high level of play. Below is a division by division wrap up of the tournament:
Boys U8 Gold
The Orion Comets from Burlington, NC came out on top of the 7-team Gold division that included 4 teams from GA, 2 from NC and 1 from SC. They entered Sunday 4-0 and received a bye into the semi-finals where they took on the Spider Monkeys from Cobb FC and won 3-2 in a tight game. In the championship match, the Comets were up against the Wizards from Henry County SC (GA) who had a tough 5-4 win against SCAA Gunners (Charlotte, NC). The Orion Comets with 2 girls on the team won the finals 5-1.
Boys U8 Silver
This 7-team division was a mixture of U6, U7 and U8 teams that included the U8 Girls Gold Grasshoppers from Birmingham, AL. Day 1 ended with the MUW 3v3 Wolves (a U7 team) undefeated 4-0 having beaten the Grasshoppers 5-3 early in the day. Sunday’s playoffs ended as expected with the same two teams playing for the championship. This time the talented and feisty Grasshoppers came out on top with a 3-1 victory.
Boys U9 Gold
The 6-team division featured the #1 U9 team in the tour, Chelsea from Charlotte, NC which had dominated the U9 Division all season long. They were also the defending U8 Gold champion from World Cup I. Group play included games against some of the U9 Silver teams of which there were (3). The Hilton Head Dominators emerged undefeated from Group A with a 4-0 record and headed into the knockout round on Sunday with a bye into the semis along with Chelsea. The surprise of the tournament, however, was the complete turnaround that the Zulu Warriors (Atlanta, GA) had from Saturday to Sunday. They struggled to an 0-3 record on the first day of play, but were able to start the day on Sunday with an upset 6-5 win against a good SASL Striker team from Sanford, NC in the quarters. Next up Chelsea which they lost to 7-3 in a hard fought match, but they finished the day with a 3-1 win in the battle for 3rd place and hardware for all of the players. Meanwhile, the Hilton Head Dominators squeaked out a 2-1 victory over the arch rivals, BC United from Beaufort, SC. In the finals Chelsea was too much for the Dominators and won 6-3.
Boys U9 Silver
On Sunday the (3) Silver teams competed amongst themselves. The group featured teams from NC, SC and GA. In the end, it was Las Nubes Gold that came out on top with a 5-3 win over the Blufton Sharks in the championship game.
Girls U10 Gold
The 7-team U10 Girls Gold division featured teams from AL, NC, SC, and GA and the defending champion Carolina Shockers returning to claim another World Cup title. The top two teams coming into the tournament were Fire Power (GA) and the Lady Sting (AL). After the first day of group matches it was the Lady Sting and Goalbusters (GA) that emerged unblemished at 4-0. Fire Power stumbled on Day 1 going an uncharacteristic 2-2 and ended up in the upper bracket with the Lady Sting, which had a bye straight into the semis. They took on the Dynamites (SC) in the quarters and showed some resolve winning 6-5 and a semifinal matchup with the Sting who had beaten them on Day 1. The result was different on Day 2 as the Fire Power found their game and won 4-2 and a spot in the finals. On the other end of the bracket the Shockers and Goalbusters matched up in the semis after both winning their quarter matches. The Shockers looking at a repeat won 4-2 and advanced to the finals. The finals was one of the best of day and the Fire Power were able to find their expected level of play and won 5-4.
Girls U10 Silver
With mostly GA teams in this group of teams, it was the Cobb Comets that were the dominant team in this division scoring 52 goals vs 6 allowed. In the finals they beat another Atlanta team, GSA Crush 7-1.
Boys U10 Gold
Another strong division, the 7-team Boys U10 Gold featured teams from NC, GA and AL. After Day 1, it was NC Champion Calvary United that stood at the top of the table at 4-0 and bye into the semis. Right behind them was the Jerky Boys from Birmingham, AL and Miami from Atlanta. The upset team in this group was the Predators from Macon Soccer Club which could only muster a 2-2 record on Day 1, but started Day 2 with a hard fought 5-4 win over VFC Thunders-MUFC from Charlotte to advance to the semis against the #1 seeded Calvary United. The Predators now on a roll, continued their spoiler roll and pulled the big upset with a 5-2 victory. In the other end of the bracket, the Jerky Boys rolled into the finals with solid 12-1 and 6-2 wins. In the finals it was the Jerky Boys who took home the World Cup II title with a 5-2 win over the Predators.
Girls U11 Gold
There were (5) teams in this division that played against U12 Gold teams in mixed group play on Day 1. Teams from NC, SC and GA entered Day 2 with one thing on their minds, win the U11 Girls Gold World Cup II title. The Intimidators from Lexington, SC advanced through the play-in game with a tough 5-4 win over the Coastal Crew from Jacksonville, NC to be matched up against another SC team, Freeze (Palmetto United FC). A common foe throughout the summer tour, the Freeze came out on top with a 4-3 victory to play in against the winner of the GA semi matchup between the Beasty Girls and Macon Triple Trouble. The Beasty Girls, runners up in the GA Champions Cup, won their first WFT World Cup title 4-2.
Boys U11 Gold
This was a 4-team group with teams from NC, SC, and GA including two of the top U11 Boys 3v3 teams in the Southeast: the Statesville Crew (NC) and Spider Monkeys (GA), which both won their respective state Champions Cups. 99 White FC Bayern from Lexington, SC had just started playing 3v3 a few weeks prior to the World Cup by winning their local tourney and then following up with a SC Champions Cup title. Going up against the highly ranked teams from NC and GA was their next test and although they did not beat either team, the Lexington boys showed that they will be a team to be reckoned with next year. It was the Spider Monkeys tournament as they were able to get by the Statesville Crew on both days by 1-goal margins taking home the title on Sunday with a 3-2 win.
Girls U12 Gold
Only (3) teams entered this usually popular age group, due to many conflicts with club soccer commitments for the GA and other NC teams. That said, there were (3) very talented teams on hand to battle it out. All three teams had their way against the U11 teams on Day 1 in mixed group play. On Sunday the Weddington Speed (NC), the SOCA Warriors and Space Invaders both from Mt. Pleasant, SC played a round robin followed by a semi and final match. Group play was tight as each team won and lost matches. In the finals, the SOCA Warriors came out on top 3-1 over the Speed.
Boys U12 Gold
This was the first “international” division with 6 teams from NC, SC, GA and Mexico. In this competition group play consisted of a 5 match round robin. Arch rivals, DSA Sting (Charlotte) and Lock 3v3 Longhorns (Winston-Salem) took the top 2 spots and received byes into the semis on Sunday. There were no surprises in the knockout rounds as both the Sting and Longhorns advanced to yet another final match up. Their most recent 3v3 battle had been in the NC Champions Cup where Sting won in PK’s. In the WC II finals it was the DSA Sting once again that came on top with a 3-2 win over the Longhorns.
Girls U13/14
With only two teams in this category, the U13 Weddington Bulldogs (NC) and U14 Triple Threat (TN) were placed in the Boys U13 division, but they were scheduled to play each other in group play in what would be their World Cup II championship match. The Weddington Bulldogs were victorious 7-1.
Boys U13 Gold
The 7-team division featured (3) teams from NC and (4) teams from GA including the GA Cup champs, Our Name is Secret, and the NC Cup champs, the Sanford Falcons. The Falcons entered Day 2 undefeated with a 4-0 record from group play on Day 1. The surprise team of this division was the Kicking Koalas, only because no one knew who they were. They had only played in one WFT event and it was a small indoor qualifier in Charlotte back in January. And although they stumbled once against Blue Lightning from the host club GA Rush on Day 1, it was clear that they were a talented team of 4 players from Charlotte United FC. In the finals they met up against the Sanford Falcons and on this day got the best of the Latino team with a 7-4 win.
Boys U14 Gold
Another “international” division, the Boys U14 Gold group was also the largest with 10 teams from NC, SC, GA and Mexico. The (2) 5-team groups played their group matches on Day 1 and going into Day 2 it was FFC United (GA) and River Plate (NC) the GA and NC Cup champions that entered the knockout phase with 4-0 records. FFC United had beaten the Rhinos from Juarez, Mexico in group play 5-4. The semis included teams from each state and Mexico and a matchup of River Plate and the Rhinos in the bottom half of the bracket. The Rhinos won 4-2 setting up a rematch against FFC United which beat the Airheads (SC) 5-2. No different than Day 1, the final was a hard fought match between two very talented 3v3 teams. The Rhinos ended up winning the game 6-5 and claimed the first World Cup title for the San Patricio Club from Juarez, Mexico.
Boys HS Gold
The 5-team HS division, the last “international” division, featured two veteran and successful 3v3 teams in the Goaltenders from GA (undefeated since the summer of 2009) and the Rhinos from Mexico. In their first encounter in group play on Saturday they played to a 4-4 draw. On Sunday it was no surprise that the two teams met again in the championship match. But unlike Day 1, it was the Rhinos that were the dominant team as they won 7-1. It would be the 2nd World Cup II title for the visiting Rhinos team.
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The World Futbol Tour will be announcing its 2011-12 Fall/Winter schedule in September as teams begin their journey to the World Cup III which will be moved back one week to July 28-29 to accommodate more teams before their club pre-season get started. Location TBA.
Best Regards,
World Futbol Tour Team
