Stephen Prendergast
Posted: Friday, August 17, 2012 7:28 pm

Youth Soccer News: San Diego Surf Club Teams Shine at 2012 Surf Cup

Youth Soccer News: San Diego Surf Soccer Club had a successful run at the 2012 Surf Cup, coming away with four Championship finishes and five Finalists in the annual tournament.  Directoir of Coaching Colin Chesters speaks out on his youth soccer club's performance. Plus Ada Greenwood,  Chris Lemay and Dave Currie on their teams making it to the Finals.

SURF BU11 after scoring a goal against Barcelona in the Surf Cup XXXII Final

San Diego Surf Soccer Club teams showed off their talent and toughness at the 2012 Surf Cup competition. Over the span of two weekends the club took four Championships and five Finalist spots against some of the best teams in the country. From the Girls U18 Super group to the Boys U11 division, San Diego's Surf teams showed why they are part of one of the top clubs in the United States.

Surf Coach Mike ‘Nico’ Nicholson, Surf Cup Tournament Directot Mike Connerley and former MVP of Surf Cup and now Surf parent Joel Kosakoff

Coveted Surf Cup Trophies and Medals by Sport Pins International Inc.

Surf BU11 Henrique Bueno is Congratulated on his Goal

Surf BU11 Pancho Gomez surrounded by Barcelona players

Surf BU11 Michael Scavuzzo heads the ball to score

Surf BU11 Derrick Stephenson and Chris Hegardt

Surf BU11 Kai Haseyama

Realted Article: Surf Cup XXXII Champsions and Finalists

“It was a great showing by the club and teams this past two tournament weekends,” said Surf Director of Coaching Colin Chesters. “Four Champions and five Finalists is a tremendous accomplishment by the Surf Club at Surf Cup; the summer’s most competitive youth soccer tournament in the nation. It really says a lot about the direction the club is heading with results like this.”

This year, because of an earlier start to the college soccer season, the Olders took the first weekend of Surf Cup XXXII. It was one last chance for many of these high school athletes to show off for top college coaches, and they did not disappoint. The girls in particular showed what the club had to offer, taking two championship finishes and one finalist spot.

Ada Greenwood, who also heads the women’s soccer program at the University of San Diego, led his Surf SC White ECNL to a Finalists finish in the Girls U18 Super Division, taking top spot in Bracket C with a 3-0-0 record. The team then defeated Elite Girls Academy BOOYA in the quarter-finals (2-1) and Mustang SC Blast in the semi-finals (1-0) before falling to Real So Cal ECNL 1-0 in the finals.

“I was very proud of the U18s because they graduated six or seven starters and two of them were goalkeepers,” said Greenwood, “so it was a different look all around. I felt they struggled a little in the first half of the first game, and then they became more efficient and played better together. One little mistake in the final cost us the game, but they played well. I was hoping that they could make it to the quarterfinals and making it to the finals was gratifying.”

Greenwood’s San Diego Surf SC 95/96 ECNL team had a tougher road to travel in the U17 Super Division but a sweeter destination. After going 1-2-0 in Bracket D play and finishing second to So Cal Blues Draluck, a team they played to a 0-0 draw, Surf moved on to the playoff rounds.

Following a tight 1-0 win over FRAM G95 Premier in the quarter-finals and an equally tough 2-1 defeat of Real So Cal White ECNL, Surf again faced. So Cal Blues for the title. This time there was no question of the outcome as Greenwood’s girls took a 3-0 win to claim the championship.

“They are very talented,” said Greenwood of his U17 team. “They should ultimately be winning or near the top at every tournament. They have all the tools and one of the top goalies in the country. The back line and midfield are both very strong. When they are on there are not many teams that can match up with them.”

While Greenwood’s U17 team was winning the Super Division, coach Chris Lemay (who recently joined the coaching team at the SDSU' Aztecs while still maintaining his position at Surf) was leading a specially organized Surf SC 95/96 ECNL II team in the U17 Gold Division.

This team was made up of players from the club’s U16 and U17 ECNL teams who were not able to make the regular rosters for Surf Cup, along with several U14 and U15 players.

As Lemay explained, while ECNL allows anywhere from 24 to 30 players on a team, depending on age level, Surf Cup has a maximum of 18 on the roster. That left a number of very talented girls without the opportunity for exposure to college coaches or the chance to experience Surf Cup.

“We basically had two options,” Lemay explained. “The first option was to name only the best players to our U17 team, which would mean some very good players would not get to be in Surf Cup. Our second option, which is the one we chose, was to take some of the best players not on the U17 Super team and put them together on a U17 Gold team.”

Although the girls had only one full practice as a complete squad, they came together to prove Lemay’s faith in them. After taking the top spot in Bracket A with a 3-0-0 record, Lemay’s girls faced Heat FC 96 ECNL in the semi-final round. A 2-1 win propelled Surf into the final where they defeated Weston FC ’95 Premier Black, a top team from Florida, by a 2-0 margin to earn the club a second championship for the weekend.

In the Youngers competition Surf teams again showed off their talent and skills, earning two more Champions finishes and four Finalists. This weekend the boys got in on the fun as well, with two of the Finalists positions.

Lemay topped Greenwood’s record from the Olders’ weekend and led two more teams into final matches at Surf Cup. After finishing second in the Girls U12 Division’s Bracket D with a 2-0-1 record, Lemay’s Surf SC 00-01 White team defeated Arsenal FC-Brown 1-0 in the quarter-finals and then took a 1-0 win over Legends FC 00 in the semi-finals. In the final match the Surf girls took on So Cal Blues – Otto, the only team to have beaten them in bracket play. The two sides battled hard, ending regulation and overtime in a tie. Eventually Surf lost 2-1 in penalty kicks, but they had shown their quality on the pitch.

“The team lost their opener to So Cal Blues,” said Lemay, “and then battled back and did what was needed to get a wild card spot. They took full advantage of that second chance and ended up beating Arsenal, a team many would say is the toughest team in Southern California.”

At the same time his U12 girls were playing, Lemay had his Surf SC 98-99 White team competing in the U14 Division. This talented group posted a 3-0-0 record in Bracket D, earning 26 points in play. Moving on to the playoffs, Lemay’s team won a hard-fought 3-2 match against Eagles SC in the quarter-finals, then defeated De Anza Force SC 98G Blue 3-1 in the semifinals. In the final match Surf took a 2-0 win over So Cal Blues Draluck to earn the Championhsip.

“I was very impressed with my three Surf Cup team – two Championships and one Finalist – that I coached over the two weekends,” said a proud Lemay, “I think the U12s achieved the most out of the three in regards to having to beat teams that were a little bit better. We grinded it out and we got results.”

The final Championship finish came from Gabe Arrendondo’s Surf SC 02/03 White team in the Girls U10 Division. After going 3-0-0 and earning 29 points in Bracket A, the girls took on Legends 02 Lawlor in the semifinal game. A solid 3-0 win propelled them into the finals where they defeated Eagles in a close 3-2 match. The win gave Surf their fourth Championship finish of the tournament.

The Surf boys also showed well during the Youngers weekend, coming up with two Finalist finishes. In the U15 Division, Richard Simonyi led the Surf SC 97-98 Academy team to the top spot in Bracket C with a 2-1-0 record. Surf then defeated New York’s Black Watch Premier Academy 3-1 in the quarter-finals and Juventus SC Heat 2-1 in the semi-finals. In the finals Simonyi’s boys took on a tough CV Manchester Academy team, falling 3-0 to finish as Finalists.

Dave Currie’s Surf White team has just made the leap to the larger 11v11 fields and took on the pitch in the Boys U11 Division, winning Bracket C with a 2-1-0 record. In the semi-final game the boys handily defeated Albion SC White by a 5-0 margin. The Albion team was coached by Noah Gins, the Director of Coaching for Albion.

In the final, Surf fell behind a strong Barcelona USA Academy team but fought back to pull within one goal. The boys played great soccer, finally talking advatange of the larger field and finding their stride. However, the championship title was not to be as the game ended with Barcelona on top 3-2.

“The Surf Cup was a great experience for the BU11 team,” Currie said later. “We deserved to be in the final after some close games. The boys played as a team and played their part in an exciting final against a strong Barcelona team. Once we got the score to 3-2 we pushed them to the final whistle. The boys showed great desire and lots of technical skill during the tournament.”

DOC Chesters gives a great deal of credit for Surf’s success to the clubs philosophy of play, even when the results seem to go against them. However, playing the “right way” in a major tournament brings its own reward.

“We believe in trying to play the right way, and sometimes that can lead to getting a few unfair results,” Chesters said, “but at Surf Cup we were firing on all cylinders and coaches and teams played with that little extra determination that at this level can help make the difference.”

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