NHB Futbol- North Huntington Beach Futbol Club

The NHB Black BU-13 squad completed a successful preseason tournament this past week after taking 3rd place with a win over Colorado Rush Swoosh by a score of 2-0.

The Pikes Peak Invitational tournament, held from July 19 – 22, was the first preseason tournament for the BU-13 squad. On day one, the boys faced a tenacious opponent from Colorado, PP Rush Swoosh. Despite the elevation (about 7,000 ft), spotty weather (the storms sirens stopped the game with five minutes left), and first-match nerves, the boys put forth a valiant effort. However, the boys fell short in their effort, losing 0-1.

Day 2 of the tournament revealed an NHB squad that showed a month's worth of hard work, discipline, and training. The first match of the day pitted NHB Black against another Colorado team, Colorado Rush PP Nike. This time the outcome was more favorable, 4-1. In what was to be a historic day for one of the boys, Pelon (Little Sergio) scored 3 goals of the four NHB goals. The second match of the day pitted NHB Black against Rushmore from South Dakota. The final tally was NHB Black 9 – 1. Even more amazing was the fact that Pelon scored 3 goals in that game also, for a total of 6 for the day.

Day three of the match was to be a tough day for the boys. The fourth game of group play matched NHB Black against the scoring machine NM Rush Nike from New Mexico. NM Rush Nike had won its first three games 9 – 1, 12 – 0 and 7 -0. Never one to shy away from a challenge, NHB Black stepped onto the field. The boys were rewarded by a goal in the first two minutes of play……by the way, the goal was scored by NM…..Soon after, NM took advantage of a defense that was still trying figure out what had happened and found itself down 0-2. Deciding it was time to play, the boys pressed the NM defense, and were rewarded with a cracker of a goal from forward David Vasquez. As the game went on, NHB Black was not able to play consistently and the match ended 2-5. Although ending in a loss, there were two positives that came out of the match. First, the two goals were the only goals allowed by the NM team during the run of play. Second, the two points gained from the goals propelled NHB Black into the semifinals. The match was a good lesson as to why one never quits, regardless of the situation.

So, guess what the reward was for the boys' efforts? A rematch in the semi's against the same NM squad. The first half was back and forth until the 28th minute, when a defensive lapse on a corner kick resulted in a goal for NM. The half ended a minute later. The second half was not as favorable for NHB. The game score should have read 3-2, since NHB did in fact score two goals…………instead it read 5 – 0 (If you think about it, you'll understand what's not being said……).

The third place game found NHB matched against yet another Colorado team, Colorado Rush Swoosh, the number two ranked team after the preliminary round. NHB was not to be denied a victory, winning handily by a score of 2-0, bring home the 3rd place plaque. President Mitton told the boys to bring back a trophy or not return.  Well, the tournament provided plaques instead of trophies. So, the boys brought back a plaque for George, and since technically he neglected to specify color of the trophy, they did comply with his requirement.

Next up for the boys is the SLO tournament, where they will do their best to bring George a silver or gold colored award.

Thanks for reading!