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NHB Black BU-17 Win West Coast Tournament
08/23/2011, 12:00am PDT
By Francisco Flores
NHB Black BU-17 Win West Coast Tournament
For the second time this summer, the NHB Black BU-17 and GU-14 squads reached the finals of the same tournament. The first instance occurred in the Huntington Beach Sand Soccer tournament, where both squads earned the top spot in their respective flights.
NHB Black BU-17 opened the West Coast tournament play Saturday morning against Real SoCal Blue with a 2-0 victory. The match began with a less than elegant display of futbol, but once Sergio “Pelon” Tapia notched the first goal at the 23rd minute, the boys settled down and began playing better futbol. A second half goal by Josh (Banamas) Madrid in the 49th minute sealed the deal and the boys were off to a good start. The second match of the day pitted the NHB squad against a spirited team from San Diego SC. The match provided a nice example of two different styles of play. At first NHB found it a challenge to maintain possession against the high pressure and direct play of from San Diego. Finally the boys figured out that the best way to counter the high pressure play was to score, which they did at the 31st minute from an early service into the box by Garrett “Turbo” Stiffler-Greasby that was deftly headed over the onrushing keeper by David (You-Don’t-Want-To-Know-His-Nickname) Vasquez. A second half penalty kick hammered home by Pelon in the 48th minute seemed to finish off the match. Unfortunately some sloppy play in the midfield resulted in a San Diego goal in the 59th minute. After some pointed instruction from the NHB coaching staff, the boys were able to manage the rest of the match and finish with a 2-1 victory. Sunday afternoon the opponent was Gilbert Arsenal from Arizona. NHB started the match with all pistons firing, opening the match with a second ball finish by Turbo in the 8th minute. A second goal by team rookie Connor (no-nickname-yet) Johnston in the 25th minute seemed to take the wind out of the Arsenal squad. Two more second half goals (Old Oscar, 46th min., Pelon, 47th min.) left no doubt as to the final outcome. The 5:30 pm final match was a rematch of the NHB vs. San Diego Saturday game. Unlike the first encounter, NHB controlled the flow of the game from the outset. An intelligent service from Old Oscar to Pelon found the back of the net in the 41st minute. A preplanned tactical changed was put into effect, and worked to perfection. A second goal by Gabriel (Heathen) Flores in the 59th minute took whatever last bit of hope San Diego had of a comeback. This time NHB took care to lock down defensively and finish off the game with the clean sheet and the tournament trophy.
For the second time this summer, the NHB Black BU-17 and GU-14 squads reached the finals of the same tournament. The first instance occurred in the Huntington Beach Sand Soccer tournament, where both squads earned the top spot in their respective flights.
NHB Black BU-17 opened the West Coast tournament play Saturday morning against Real SoCal Blue with a 2-0 victory. The match began with a less than elegant display of futbol, but once Sergio “Pelon” Tapia notched the first goal at the 23rd minute, the boys settled down and began playing better futbol. A second half goal by Josh (Banamas) Madrid in the 49th minute sealed the deal and the boys were off to a good start. The second match of the day pitted the NHB squad against a spirited team from San Diego SC. The match provided a nice example of two different styles of play. At first NHB found it a challenge to maintain possession against the high pressure and direct play of from San Diego. Finally the boys figured out that the best way to counter the high pressure play was to score, which they did at the 31st minute from an early service into the box by Garrett “Turbo” Stiffler-Greasby that was deftly headed over the onrushing keeper by David (You-Don’t-Want-To-Know-His-Nickname) Vasquez. A second half penalty kick hammered home by Pelon in the 48th minute seemed to finish off the match. Unfortunately some sloppy play in the midfield resulted in a San Diego goal in the 59th minute. After some pointed instruction from the NHB coaching staff, the boys were able to manage the rest of the match and finish with a 2-1 victory. Sunday afternoon the opponent was Gilbert Arsenal from Arizona. NHB started the match with all pistons firing, opening the match with a second ball finish by Turbo in the 8th minute. A second goal by team rookie Connor (no-nickname-yet) Johnston in the 25th minute seemed to take the wind out of the Arsenal squad. Two more second half goals (Old Oscar, 46th min., Pelon, 47th min.) left no doubt as to the final outcome. The 5:30 pm final match was a rematch of the NHB vs. San Diego Saturday game. Unlike the first encounter, NHB controlled the flow of the game from the outset. An intelligent service from Old Oscar to Pelon found the back of the net in the 41st minute. A preplanned tactical changed was put into effect, and worked to perfection. A second goal by Gabriel (Heathen) Flores in the 59th minute took whatever last bit of hope San Diego had of a comeback. This time NHB took care to lock down defensively and finish off the game with the clean sheet and the tournament trophy.
