NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS   |     October 12, 2018 3:03 pm   |     Matt Murray

Needham Leaves Mark on 2018 Natick Columbus Day Tournament!

12 BAYS teams and 2 NSCCL teams, joined the nearly 300 teams from around the area that invaded Natick this past weekend for the 37th annual Natick Columbus Day Tournament. GU10 Needham Sharks (not pictured) had a successful Columbus Day Weekend Tournament in Natick, going undefeated over the weekend after beating Newton (4-1), Arlington (3-0), Waltham… View Article

12 BAYS teams and 2 NSCCL teams, joined the nearly 300 teams from around the area that invaded Natick this past weekend for the 37th annual Natick Columbus Day Tournament.

GU10 Needham Sharks (not pictured) had a successful Columbus Day Weekend Tournament in Natick, going undefeated over the weekend after beating Newton (4-1), Arlington (3-0), Waltham (3-1) and drawing with Natick (1-1). No play-offs for the girls in the U10 age group – but they played some great soccer, scored great goals and had A LOT of fun along the way!!

Blue Furry (pictured above) had some great play and went 2-0-1 in the group stage and tied for the top seed in the group with the Arlington Athletes.  With the two teams tied on all tie breakers, the Blue Fury won the outright number one seed from the group on penalty kicks. In the semi-final against Hopkington ended regulation in a hard fought and physical 1-1 tie with, with the Blue Fury gritting out a golden goal victory in the 2nd overtime. The finals were against a very tough and disciplined Framingham team.  The Blue Fury played strong defense and had some good offensive opportunities, but the game was ultimately decided in Framinham’s favor with the lone goal coming on a set play from a free kick awarded in the Needham half. Congrats to the Blue Fury players on a well played tournament, taking their game up a notch and setting up for a strong second half of the BAYS season!

The GU12 Aces (pictured above) of our NSCCL League really enjoyed the opportunity to face three new teams at two different locations at this year’s Natick Columbus Day Tournament. The Aces played competitively in the GU12 Delta Division against Martha’s Vineyard, Natick and Hopkinton. We were joined by two alums from last year’s team, who helped with several key contributions. We’re looking forward to continuing our development in the second half of the NSCCL fall season!

The GU11 Rhinos (pictured above) had a lot of fun this past weekend, improving in each game and ending with a 1-1-1 record against some tough competition in a highly contested top division. Unfortunately for the girls a tie breaker saw them just miss out on advancing to the semi-final round. Regardless of the results the team saw a lot of improvement over the weekend as they were able to take advantage of the opportunity of the quick turn around time from one game to the next that allowed them to address certain areas and see improvement in short order. The extra games will certainly pay off in the second half of the season as the girls play on the field continues to improve as they build on their solid foundation and team chemistry to play the game the right way!

BU14 Force (pictured above) finished as runner ups, losing a tough game in the finals to Arlington. Congrats on another great tournament weekend boys!

GU14 Blaze were finalists in the Natick Tournament, losing 1-0 in a very competitive finals. Congrats on a great weekend of soccer girls!

BU12 Bulldogs (pictured above) went 1-1-1 and played “the best soccer I have ever seen the them play as a team” according to Coach Schuller adding “So I am very proud of the boys for how they moved the ball and played together, it was an awesome weekend all around for us.”

While all of our teams had a tremendous weekend, we had one team walk away from the weekend as Champions. Our Girls Under 14 United won a hard fought and heavily contended top division, defeating the host town Natick 3-1 in the Final on Monday afternoon! While our team’s do shake up a bit season to season, especially at the U14 age group when 8th graders graduate to the High School the following season, the final result for the weekend was nothing new for many of the members as the core of United set up a bit of a dynasty in Natick having made it to the Final’s the past 4 years, winning 3 championships! Congratulations girls! You continue to leave your mark on NSC!

Our favorite news of the weekend was from the newly formed U10 Nitro girls (Pictured Above) who went an impressive 2-1-1 over the weekend in their first ever tournament as a BAYS team. What make’s this experience so awesome is that these girls not only played well on the pitch all weekend but more importantly they did it with class! The team represented all of what Needham is about as they were awarded the Sportsmanship Award for the entire age group and showed stand out character in the face of serious competition. Congratulations girls!

A Very BIG thank you to all of our teams, coaches, parents and players who participated in the Natick Tournament this past weekend! Regardless of the results these tournaments are where memories and special friendships are made as teams bond over team lunches, dinners, long breaks in between games and all the extra fun that comes with spending the weekend together.

 We look forward to creating more memories like these in the future!