DIVISION SUMMARIES
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.