Struck again

Last year we hosted the U18 Strikers soccer team from Utah for the Pikes Peak Tournament. This year they struck again ... but as UT FC (futbol club = FC). The Strikers merged with another club earlier this year and took the opportunity to change their name and their uniform (from Red to striking Black)

They were wonderful young men; their moms would be proud. Several boys came up to me daily to see if they could help with fixing food, cleaning the dishes, etc. I was touched. They were very courteous and kind.


We had several repeats from last year which made "breaking the ice" so much easier (Sam, Renzo, Emma, Javi and Brad). Kendall's best buddies were Emma and Brad. He would ask for them (and still does). Jaley offered to take Kendall to the park one morning. Kendall said, "NO, Emma take me."

We went to all of their games at the beautiful grounds of the Air Force Academy.
They won their first game against the Pueblo Rangers Maroon (5 -0) - they only played a few minutes into the first half when a crazy Colorado storm hit.

They won their second game (5-1) against Rush Pikes Peak Nike.

The third game was lost to Celtic Black from Oklahoma (2-1).

The final game was the championship game against Celtic Black.

The girls joined in on their warm-ups ....

and crashed their team photoshoot

The Championship game against the Celtic Black (from Oklahoma) was a nail biter. Emma tied the game in the second half with a free kick.

UT FC and Celtic Black went into 2 ten-minute over times (sudden death) which ended with no scores. That led to a shootout. 5 players (Renzo, Hanson, Nicco, Sam and Emma) from each team alternated turns to score one on one against the goalie.

Brad, our goalie set the mood by blocking the first shot taken again them.

Emma made the final goal as shooter #5.

What a celebration!

That evening the team presented us with a signed jersey, a medal AND THEIR CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY! I am working on framing the new jersey, trophy and medal in a jersey shadow box. I will post pictures when it is done (soon!).

It was a great experience to host these young men for this tournament. We hope to see them next year! Go UT FC!