Courtesy: SoccerNation News


Coast Soccer Adult Teams Shine in Futsal Tournament

Sunday, March 17, 2013

LA Hotspur FC and PSA Elite Successful in Soccer Nation®Expo Futsal Tourney

Hotspur FC yellow squad battled for first place while PSA Elite reach semifinals

The women of LA Hotspur FC's yellow squad were faced with an uphill battle from the get go in the Soccer Nation®Expo futsal tournament. Many of them had never played futsal before, so the first game against Long Beach Futsal, a well-experienced club, was a 5-1 eye opener. Game 2 was a completely different story. Hotspur FC was able to get organized and build an early lead over Outbreak FC, which led to a 7-2 victory. Next they faced familiar faces in the Hotspur FC green squad. Each team was 1-1 and needed the win to have a shot at the finals. Yellow squad finished the game with a 3-1 victory.

Hotspur FC's yellow squad battled its way to the final game on Sunday where they were set to face Long Beach Futsal again. This time they were much more prepared and were able to get two goals early from Erin Foye and Mary Ronau. Adding one more goal in the first half, Hotspur FC was up 3-1. The second half lent itself to many opportunities for goals, but Long Beach was able to save the ball from crossing the line several times. Long Beach scored one more to put them within tying range, but the women in yellow kept the wolves at bay in the final minutes to win 3-2.

The PSA Elite men were also tested against the best in the tournament.

Going from outdoor to futsal was a huge difference and caused the men of PSA Elite, and executive director Alex Lujan, to wonder if they would make it out of the first round. Down 3-1 at half time to Real Pheonix FC, a professional indoor team, it was not looking good. However, PSA Elite made some adjustments and were able to score 4 unanswered goals to win 5-3. After surviving the shark tank, PSA Elite honed in and beat the next two teams 4-3 and 6-0.

Sunday brought a new set of challenges, as many professional and semi-professional teams were in the hunt for the trophy. The quarter final test came against a local futsal team from Goals Soccer Center, but PSA showed their strength and won 5-1. The semi-finals held the biggest test of all versus the LA Galaxy Center's futsal team. It was a tough battle that ended up going into overtime. PSA Elite wasn't able to hold off the unrelenting attacks and suffered a 4-6 loss. Although it was a tough loss, heads were still held high as LA Galaxy Center went on to win 6-0 in the final, so PSA Elite's men knew they had accomplished something great.

“We have the best Adult soccer league in the country, with teams regularly advancing far in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup,” said Matt Morse, President of SoCal Premier and Cost Soccer League – Adults. “For over 35 years we have had men’s and women’s divisions with players who have come from or advanced to play in FIFA World Cups. We are excited about new opportunities to grow our league, such as our new U23 division and a possible futsal division, which allows new opportunities for our players.”






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com