Crossfire Stopped in Surf Cup Finals

 

The Crossfire Premier U16 boys capped off an exciting summer by reaching the finals in the San Diego Surf Cup. Tied at the end of regulation a golden goal in the 18th minute of overtime, resulting in a 1-2 loss to Dallas Solar, took away what would have been a magical ending to a fast three months that has seen the team being the first from the Northwest ever to win the NIKE Manchester United Cup, a finalist in the Western Regional, the first US team ever to reach the quarterfinals in the NIKE Manchester United World Championships and now a Surf Cup finalist.

The four-time Washington State Champions went down to San Diego cautiously optimistic missing star forward Ellis McLoughlin who was traveling with the US 1989-90 youth National Team in Japan. Behind forwards Estaban Reyes and the team’s tournament MVP Fernando Monge the boys proved up to the task but it was not without some challenging moments.

First Crossfire had to get out of “the Group of Death” which had two powerful Southern California teams from the renowned Coast League and both the teams that would be this year’s tournament finalists. They opened play against Arsenal. The game was nip and tuck until midway through the second half when Estaban Reyes penetrated deep into the Southern Californians box and with a great individual effort turned around his defender to peg the ball low into the far right corner of the goal. The point stood up and due to a tie between Solar and VSU Blast in the bracket’s other game Crossfire lead the group with eight points at the end of the first round of games.

Their second match was against Dallas Solar. A close game quickly became a blowout twenty minutes into the first half when defensive mistakes aided by a strong wind gave Solar three quick goals. Crossfire had the wind in the second half but was unable to respond and the game ended 0-3 in Solar’s favor. The lost put Crossfire in third place in the group after two games and made their next game against Southern California’s VSU Blast a must win.

In the third game Coach Bernie James made some lineup adjustments moving Anthony Arena to center midfield, Ty Klein to sweeper, Fernando Monge to forward and Kellan Brown to attacking midfield. This proved to be the correct formula as both Monge and Arena scored goals along with David Sifuentes in a resounding 3-0 victory. On the other field Arsenal defeated Solar which left the boys from Washington first place in the bracket. This was the second year in a row where Crossfire had came out on top in group play. Last year they had won their group and beat the eventual champions, the La Jolla Nomads, but were unable to advance past the quarterfinals.

This year waiting for Bernie James’s boys in the quarterfinals was FC Reston from the Washington DC area. The Virginia boys, one of the top-ranked teams in the country were coming off a strong summer and a convincing win against the FC Aztecs. Both teams came out strong in a ferociously paced game. A scoreless game was broken late in the first half with a goal by Fernando Monge. Two more were added in the second half giving Crossfire a 3-0 lead. A late and controversial goal by FC Reston, where goalie Brooks Hopp was knocked down by a Reston forward, ended the game with a 3-1 Crossfire victory and put them in the semifinals.

The Washingtonians had little time to celebrate because next up was the Rampage from Los Angeles, CA. The team, formerly known as FC Barcelona, had breezed through Group D and then chalked up an easy 3-0 victory against the Concorde Fire from Atlanta, GA. They came out confident but were met by a determined Crossfire group that immediately set the tone with some physical tackling. The Washingtonians opened the scoring five minutes into the game with another goal by forward Fernando Monge that was set up by some fine dribbling from his counterpart Estaban Reyes. The point held up for about ten minutes when Rampage responded with a goal of their own. This ended the half at 1-1. In the second half Avi Castro broke free on the left side and sent a cross across the field to David Sifuentes who headed the ball to “Johnny on the Spot” Fernando Monge. Monge quickly converted the ball into the winning goal giving Crossfire needing one more win to get the championship trophy.

The finals presented a rematch with Dallas Solar who had a PK overtime win against the Houston Texans in the quarterfinals and a 2-0 win against the Houstonians in the semifinals. The game started badly and it looked like it would be a repeat of the first when Solar scored an easy goal in the first ten minutes to go ahead 1-0. This was a culmination of constant pressure that the Dallas squad had been putting on the Crossfire defense.

After the goal Coach James made some positional changes moving Anthony Arena back to sweeper from midfield, Ty Klein to marking back from sweeper, Alexander Klein from left to right midfield, David Sifuentes from right to center midfield and Avi Castro to left midfield from marking back. This proved to be the perfect recipe as Dr. Jeckel turned into Mr. Hyde with Crossfire responding offensively and immediately making a game of it. With 30 minutes into the half Anthony Arena put a free kick over the Solar wall and on to the waiting head of Ty Klein who flicked it to Fernando Monge. Monge scored another clutch goal to tie the score at 1-1. The half ended with an Estaban Reyes header banging off the post as the Crossfire team continued to threaten.

The second half was a war with both teams getting opportunities but neither team being able to push the ball past the goal. Crossfire was found success advancing the ball with crosses from outside midfielders, Avi Casto and Alexander Klein, and throughballs from center midfielders, Kellan Brown, David Sifuentes and Brandon Zimmerman. Solar continually threatened on set plays and corner kicks. Brooks Hopp was a giant in the goal as he snatched cross after cross from the heads of the giant Texan forwards. Ty Klein, Aaron Becerril and Anthony Anthony Arena closed off the Crossfire goal from any substantial attacks. The tackling of was brutal but clean as both teams refused to retreat. At the end of regulation to scored stood at a justified 1-1 in a game neither team deserved to lose.

The pattern of the game continued in the sudden death overtime. In the first ten minutes both teams saw powerful shots go off the posts. The battle in the midfield hardened and neither team seemed to tire. At the end of the first overtime half nothing had changed, Crossfire had the better chances from the field while Solar remained ever so dangerous on set plays and corner kicks. The second overtime period reflected the first until late in the 98th minute when Solar had yet another corner kick. The Dallas boys brought all ten field players up in the box. The corner kick went short to the front post and was flicked on with the head to the middle of the goal where Steve Trejo adeptly headed the ball just beyond the outstretched hands of goalie Brooks Hopp to deliver the golden goal victory.

After the game Solar coach Kevin Smith, whose son Keegan scored the first goal, said, “I told our boys Crossfire was the team we did not want to face in the finals. I knew this was going to be a tough match-up. I played against their coach, Bernie James, in the pros. His boys are a reflection of the way he played, unrelenting, never giving an inch and making you pay for everything you got. It was a great final that neither team deserved to lose.”

Coach Bernie James echoed those sentiments, “I am really proud of the boys. Everyone of them played a great game. We love coming down to Surf Cup because you always get good matches and the opportunity to play against the best teams in the country. This team has had a great summer. I want to congratulate them all.”

It truly has been a fantastic run for the Crossfire boys. In talking to the players after the match it was clear that the Surf Cup was particularly sweet because this was their first tournament without leading scorer Ellis McLoughlin. None of them really knew what to expect. Forward Estaban Reyes commented, “We are going to miss Ellis but this tournament showed that we can all work together to make up for his loss. It forced us to play pass the ball around more and find other ways to win. We did it and I am very happy.”

Thanks Brian for the email, without people like yourself. I would never have these stories to post and share. WPS Socccer encourages all parents and players to send in their story.