Sac United's America Team Wins US Club National Cup X Seattle US Club Regional Tournament in June

July 11, 2011 - In a display of grit and determination that reflects well on the Sac United Club, our own America traveled nearly 800 miles last month and won the US Club National Cup X U16B Super Group Regional in Seattle. With injuries and summer commitments the boys only had 13 players available, so three players from the Reds team (coming off their own Regional victory in Modesto) made the trek to the Northwest. Unfortunately, an obscure and unfair US Club rule prevented the boys - Kaba Alkebulan, Cameron Spencer and Andrew Gosselin - from playing in the tournament. Despite this setback the Reds boys participated in all team events including joining 36,000 passionate soccer fans at a Seattle Sounders MLS soccer match.

On the pitch the boys proved determined to make up for the slight and played determined football in the 5 games over 4 days. In the opener, the boys trailed 3-1 late in the second half but equalized on a late goal by Rob Belme to finish 3-3 against Greater Renton from Washington state. In the next match the boys beat the Crossfire Premier Club from Washington 2-1, with a Jared Maas PK providing the winning margin. A 4-0 win followed in the last pool play match against a Federal Way United team from Washington. In the semi-final match, the boys defeated the Idaho Thunder 4-2. The final was the best game of the tournament, as America drew the FC Portland Navy team. Alex Herman led off the scoring for America. The boys went down 2-1, but Luis Acosta tied it up. With just minutes to go, Portland pulled ahead 3-2. But once again the boys wouldn’t quit and Javier Munoz tied the score just before the full time whistle blew. After two scoreless overtimes, the match was decided from the penalty spot, where the boys prevailed 4-3, thanks to the stellar goal keeping of Francisco “Bubba” Reyes.

Overall, the boys scored 16 goals for the tournament and played quality soccer throughout. In addition to the goal scorers above, Castulo Carvajal, Justin Childs, Ryan Nevis, Ernesto Lepe all found the net in the tournament. Great defense from Alex Gulseth, Matt Rutledge and Trever Mallicoat, among others, completed a top to bottom impressive performance. All in all, it was a great experience for the boys, Coach Shawn Blakeman and the families that made the trip.