West Pines United Boys U13 were elated in their victory during the FYSA State Cup Finals held May 17th and 18th in Pensacola, Florida.
During all three stages of the competition the boys trained hard and were motivated always with their eyes on the prize. In the first round of the State Cup they prepared for a competitive game against CFU Stingrays in Weston, but the competition was too much for the Stingrays and the game was shut down 6-0. West Pines, never underestimating any team came back into the competition against HC United just as strong and with a vigorous defense back, shutting out HCU boys 3-0. The game against Kendall Soccer in Sarasota, did not go uneventful as players unprepared for the vigor the West Pines boys brought to the competition and were in awe as WPU held steady even with one of our key players out of the game due to a second yellow card. At that point WPU boys stepped up the game to finish strong. HC United came to Sarasota more prepared to win after their first loss against the WPU boys in the first round. Again, our boys stood their ground in the game and defeated HC United 2-1.
At the Final Four round, the boys overpowered and eliminated the undefeated Countryside Soccer Club 2-1 to move onto the Finals. The following day, the team held steadfast against competitor Braden River Soccer Club during the 70 minute game where neither team was successful in scoring any goals. The game ended in 0-0 tie, however, the WPU boys came into the twenty minutes overtime with will and determination. Eager to defeat Braden River, they successfully scored during the first 10 minute half, when Jordan Gallardo assisted by Andres Payne, maneuvered and conquered Braden River’s defense to score the game winning goal, earning the West Pines U-13 boys their first State Cup Title with a 1-0 win.
West Pines U13 boys are: Diego Aguirre, Alex Borimoff, Cameron Brice, Brian Caufield, Renzo Edery, Jordan Gallardo, Myles Holgate, Damion Lewis, Lucas Mondino, Nicholas Nelson, Andres Payne, Nicholas Polanco, Gabriel Pedraza, Andres Pereira, Tommy Kosoko, Juan Diego Sicco, Andrew Villafane, and Shane Moo-Young. The Team is Coached by Henry Pedraza.
