Youth Soccer News: Diablo FC 95 Boys Team Crowned 2011 Surf Cup Champions

When the players of Diablo Futbol Club’s U16 boys team made the long journey to San Diego to play in the Surf Cup, held at the Del Mar Polo Grounds on July 30 through August 1, they knew the competition was going to be fierce. While there are hundreds of competitive youth soccer tournaments held across the country, Surf Cup stands head and shoulders above the crowd and is ranked as the #1 tournament in America.

Surf Cup XXXI Champions Diablo FC 95 Boys

Often described as the crown jewel of competitive soccer tournaments in America, Surf Cup is in its 31st year and has become the premier talent showcase for youth soccer. The tournament’s motto is the “Best of the Best” and for the last weekend in July, the San Diego Polo Club in Del Mar is transformed into a magnificent 18-field soccer complex where players and their families travel from across America to compete in this elite, prestigious, invitation-only tournament.

The Diablo FC U16 boys had been there before, making it all the way to the finals in their first appearance two years ago and into the semi-finals last year.  This year they were coming to win it. However, it quickly looked like their dream of hoisting the Surf Cup trophy was not to be. In their first game against Georgia’s highly ranked Concorde Fire Elite, the boys dominated play, scoring on a breathtaking play when keeper Andrew Konstantino launched a soaring kick deep into Fire territory.

The ball bounced one time high into the air, while below Esteban Berumen tracked the ball like a center fielder at a full sprint, volleying it out of the air and launching a rocket 20 yards into the goal. Diablo FC held their lead for most of the game only to see it turn into a 1-1 tie in the closing minutes of the match.

In the second match against one of the top ranked team in the country, Arsenal FC from Southern California, they again dominated play through much of the game. Diablo FC took a 1-0 advantage on a second tournament goal by Esteban Berumen, only to see their lead slip away in the last ten minutes of the game as Arsenal scored two goals to win, the first being on a penalty kick awarded for an accidental handball in the box. 

With one game left in bracket play, it seemed certain that the Diablo FC 95 team would be making an early exit from the tournament. At the end of their first day of play, this reality weighed heavily on the minds of the players and their Coaches, John Badger and Brian Voltattorni.

But then one of the Diablo FC players, Kian Maghsoodnia, started doing the math. If the team won their last game of bracket play, and if the results of six other matches to be played the next day had very specific and exact outcomes, then they could clinch the wild card spot and advance to the semi-finals.  The odds seemed insurmountable, but at least there was hope. 

The next day of play seemed to last forever. First they had to win their third match against Washington State champion Crossfire Premiere and score as many goals as possible. The game started off on an ominous note with uneven play and an injury. But in the latter part of the first half Diablo FC took charge.

Surf Cup XXXI Game Highlights

On the strength of goals by Sho Silvan and TJ Hogan, and the stellar play of goalkeeper Andrew Kostintino, Diablo FC defeated Crossfire 2-1 shortly before noon.  Then the team had to watch and wait. The Diablo FC players, coaches and families would not know their fate until after all the day’s games were complete, well after 6pm.  One by one, sometimes in nail biting finishes, the results came in exactly the way Diablo FC needed them to.  It seemed like a scene right out of a movie when Diablo FC’s name was added to the leader board as a semi-finalist.

To the players, coaches and families, it felt like it was Diablo FC’s destiny to make it through to the finals when they took the field early the next morning for the semi—final match.

Their opponent was a long time rival, an all-star tournament team also from Northern California, Milan FC, who were ranked in the top 10 nationally. It quickly looked as if this was the end of the road for Diablo FC as they found themselves down 0-2 early in the second half.

But the players didn’t give up and scored on a goal by Izzy Murguia, assisted by Esteban Berumen. And then, unbelievably, less than a minute later Murguia did it again, scoring on an assist by Kian Maghsoodnia. Suddenly the team was on fire and had Milan FC back on their heels. 

Over the next 10 minutes, they scored two more goals.  First Berumen got his third goal of the tournament off a heroic assist by Edgar Damian. Then TJ Hogan scored by nutmegging an Arsenal defender in a play set up by Damian and Murguia. It looked like Diablo FC was on their way to the final, but then Milan was awarded a penalty kick which they converted to bring the score to 4-3.

For the final 10 minutes of the match, Milan relentlessly attacked the Diablo FC goal, but the Diablo FC defense, led by keeper Konstantino, held tough and when the final whistle blew a tired but elated Diablo FC team was on their way to the Surf Cup final.

The championship game was a rematch between Diablo FC and Arsenal FC. Both teams had to be exhausted, having played in tough semi-final matches just three hours earlier.  On top of that, both teams were playing their fifth game in just three days.  Diablo FC took to the field eager to avenge their narrow loss to Arsenal in bracket play. It was a beautiful exhibition of soccer by two highly skilled teams.

A number of D1 NCAA coaches were in attendance, including the coaches of Cal and UC Santa Barbara who both commented on the beautiful exhibition of soccer they witnessed. 

Diablo FC scored first when Edgar Damian sent up a beautiful through ball to Izzy Murguia, who one-touched it to Javier Valencia. Valencia, at a full sprint, beat the Arsenal defender and deftly shot it on the ground past the Arsenal keeper and into the back of the net. 

Diablo FC’s one point advantage was short lived, however, as Arsenal struck back to even the score. Regulation time ended with the two teams tied 1-1.

You could see the determination in the eyes of the Diablo FC players as they returned to the pitch for the first of two 10-minute overtime periods. Ten minutes went by with no change in score. When the second overtime period ended, the score was still tied 1-1. The 2011 U16 Surf Cup championship was to be determined by the drama of a penalty kick shootout.

As both teams made their plans and determined their line ups, Diablo FC keeper Andrew Konstantino could be seen with a big confident smile on his face, looking like this was the moment he was born to play in. 

As Arsenal set up to shoot first, Konstantino clapped his hands loudly and jumped about the goal line, making himself impossible to ignore. The Arsenal player took his shot, sending the ball wide and to the right of the post, holding his head in anguish as he watched his shot miss. 

Then Diablo FC playmaker Edgar Damian calmly buried his shot into the goal. As the next Arsenal player prepared to take his shot, Konstantino continued his preparation ritual. The Arsenal player struck, sending the ball to the right post, but it was if Konstantino was reading his mind. He dove and blocked the shot, making the stop look easy.

The next Diablo FC player, Kian Maghsoodnia, again calmly took his shot, slipping the ball past the Arsenal keeper and into the net.  The pressure must have weighed heavily on the next Arsenal player as he placed the ball on the grass and prepared to take his shot.

The crowd reacted almost in disbelief when he sent his shot sailing over the top the goal. Arsenal had missed all three of their shots, so all Diablo FC had to do was convert their next shot and The Surf Cup was theirs. Given their almost unbelievably dramatic journey to the final match, it seemed almost too easy when player Nate Grixti expertly drove the ball out of the reach of the Arsenal keeper and into the net for the winning PK. 

As the Arsenal players soberly walked off the field, the Diablo FC 95 team came together in celebration, first mobbing their keeper and then in a tight huddle jumping and singing “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole… We are the champions!” – the traditional chant of soccer tournament winners.

Coach Brian Voltattorni and Coach John Badger

At the award ceremony, the players collected their Surf Cup, gold medals, and custom jackets that proudly proclaim on the back that they are “Surf Cup Champions,” which every player promptly put on and are likely still wearing.  Surf Cup officials spoke of Diablo FC 95’s Cinderella-like journey to the championship. But to many other observers, it was more like the 1984 US hockey team’s miracle on ice.  

Do you believe in miracles? The players, coaches, family and friends of Diablo FC 95 certainly do.

Addendum

Diablo FC 95 Wins Santa Clara Sporting Tournament

Earlier in the year, the Diablo FC 95 team had made the decision not to attend the San Clara Sporting Invitational Tournament this year, as there would only be 3 days of rest after the Surf Cup. This even though the team had won this tournament in 2009 and 2010. But they changed their minds after a call from Sporting asking them to reconsider. Battered, bruised and tired from Surf Cup, and with a number of players nursing injuries, the team got off to a shaky start by playing to a tie with Eastside FC from Washington State. But then the players dug deep and found the strength and courage they needed to defeat Heritage Manchester 2-1 and De Anza Force Blue 2-1 in bracket play. The Diablo boys then beat Almaden Valley 1-0 in a quarterfinal game that was decided by a penalty kick shootout. The team faced host Santa Clara Sporting in the semi-final game, scoring early in the match and then hanging on to win 1-0 in what was a truly beautiful game of soccer by both teams. It was the only point scored on Santa Clara in the tournament. Diablo FC then faced Mustang Hotspur in the final. Mustang got up 1-0 early in the first half and stayed there until the middle of the second half when Diablo FC scored on a header set up by a free kick.  It looked like the match was headed to overtime, but with less than two minutes left to play, Diablo FC 95 player Esteban Beruman ran down a Mustang pass-back to their keeper and used his body to deflect the keeper’s kick into the goal.  The Diablo FC 95 Boys had won their third consecutive Sporting Invitational championship, and they had done it just six days after hoisting the Surf Cup trophy in San Diego.  The post-championship celebration was more muted than in San Diego because everyone – both the players and their families – was exhausted. Everything they had, they left on the field.

The Diablo FC 95 Boys soccer team is one of the premier teams of the Concord-based Diablo Futbol Club. Players come from communities that include Concord, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Walnut Creek, Hercules, Pittsburg, Antioch, Oakley, Moraga, Benicia, Lafayette, San Ramon and Livermore to play on this elite team. Coach John Badger has been leading the team since its inception three years ago and has coached three of the players since they were 10 years old. 

Winning the Surf Cup was especially poignant for John as this was his last tournament as coach of the team. He is taking a well-deserved vacation from soccer in order to spend more time with his family.

Assistant coach Brian Voltattorni, who is the Diablo FC coaching director, is excited about the future of this talented team and will ensure that there is smooth transition to the new coach.