The Creek Classic Tournament U12B Blue Division Champions

The Creek Classic Tournament U12B Blue Division Champions

The U12B - Blue entered the Creek Classic with high hopes of finally winning a tournament.  They had worked hard all year and wanted to bring home some trophies for the academy.  Their hard work paid off.  After 4 games in 2 days they were given the title "Creek Classic Champions."

 

The first game was against a familiar opponent that they had faced in a prior season, the Miami Magic.  There may have been some nervous DDL players before the game but once the whistle blew to start the game that all went away and the boys settled into a rhythm of good passing which led to good scoring opportunities of which 5 went in for a game winning score of 5 to the opponents 1.

 

The second game came with some surprises.  Not only had we not played this team before but this team, named Old Town Soccer Club, had 3 girls on it!  And they were good!  At first there seemed to be some hesitancy as to how to play this team but after the surprise and shock wore off (and after a few of the boys got knocked down by the girls) the U12B Boys -Blue got down to the business of scoring goals.  And scoring goals they did!  At the final whistle the score was DDL: 7 opponents: 2.  Winning this game ensured a trip to the finals but they had one more game to play before the championship.

 

The third game came early Sunday morning.  The unknown opponents called "Diamondbacks" had also won all their previous days games so everyone knew this was going to be a hard fought battle.  In addition, everyone knew, due to the the scoring, these two teams would meet together for the championship.  So this "friendly" was really more than a "friendly," it was to determine who had the all important momentum going into the final.  Shortly after the start whistle blew the two playing styles emerged, the Diamondbacks with the heavy kick  from the goalie/backs to their very speedy forwards up front and the Lions with the build-up-from-the-back attacking possession.  The Lions showed a little bit of nervousness throughout the game and couldn't quite find the rhythm that had come so easily the day before.  In addition, the Diamondbacks got some lucky bounces go their way that resulted in goals.  When the final whistle blew it was the Diamondbacks that came out on top with the score DDL: 5  Diamondbacks: 6.  One final game left...

 

Championship game time came quickly.  Familiar opponents took their positions on the field.  The start whistle blew.  DDL seemed to get off to a good start.  They handled the long balls, made good passes, kept their cool and got out to a good lead.  They kept the Diamondbacks on their heals and worked hard to shut down their forwards.  In the 2nd half the playing of four games began to take its toll and the Diamondbacks tied the game.  With only a few mins of game time left the Lions scored on a breakaway that turned out to be the game winning goal!  The DDL U12B - Blue coached by Koen Driessen were Creek Classic Champions!  Gooooo Lionsssssss!