Outdoor Season Kicks Off With Preseason Tournaments
U15 Boys win Scorpion Bowl, U17 Storm win their bracket, U12 Girls reach finals
The Scorpion Bowl preseason tournament on the weekends of March 6th and March 13th began the outdoor 2010 spring season for many club teams, and New England Aztec was no exception.
The first weekend for U10-U14 girls on March 6th and 7th brought with it some great weather and equally impressive soccer from many teams. Aztec teams in attendance included the U11 Love (Championship Division), U12 Simpson (Championship Division), U12 Davison (Elite Division), U13 (Premier Division), and U14 Slack (newly christened "Cyclones", Elite Division) girls teams. The U12 Simpson girls (photo below) made an appearance in the finals, but all five teams played well and showed just how hard they'd been working to improve this winter.
On the second weekend, the good weather disappeared as torrential rain made for a cold and soggy affair for all teams. Nonetheless, the Aztecs taking part in the U10-U15 boys and U15-U18 girls events tried to make the best of it. On the boys side, the U13 (Championship division), U14 (Elite division), and U15 (Championship division) boys teams took part, while the U15 (Elite division), U16 White Flame (Elite division), U16 Red Raiders (Premier division), U17 Kersker (Elite division), and U17 Storm (Premier division) girls all competed in the college showcase portion of the event.
The U17 Storm girls finished first in their bracket in the premier division with a 3-0-1 record without conceding a goal, while the U15 Boys (photo below) won their group after defeating the 2009 Mass. State Runner-Up MPS Bulldogs 2-0. The boys went undefeated in the tournament, scoring 15 goals in the round robin stage of play vs. teams from MA, CT, and NY and earned a semi-final PK win over Nashua World Cup. Although the weather conditions were less than ideal, the weekend provided a good opportunity for the Aztec boys and girls to get in some competitive matches before regular season play commences next month.
Next up for the club is more preseason activity before spring 2010 State Cup action and MAPLE and NEP seasons begin. The Aztec U12 Simpson and U16 White Flame girls teams are heading to Virginia for the Jefferson Cup girls the weekend of March 19-21st while six Aztec boys teams are in the NEFC preseason tournament that weekend. The following weekend of March 26-28th, 11 Aztec girls teams are participating in the NEFC preseason tournament while the U17 Kersker girls are off to San Diego for the NOMADS showcase the same weekend. In addition, the NE Aztec U16 Kodiat boys will head to the MSSL Spring 2010 Showcase on April 2nd & 3rd in New Jersey.
The spring regular seasons kick off in early April. Good luck to all New England Aztec boys & girls youth teams in 2010!