BCWP with a Strong Showing at PowerBar By Trip Gintz, 09/02/16
On Saturday morning, while friends and family back in Memphis were still sleeping, a (not so) bright-eyed Blues B squad entered the pool for the first match of the U18 group stage facing tournament favorite and ATL powerhouse, Saint Pius the Tenth (SPX). The young Blues B squad never quit, showing heart and perseverance in a 2-12 defeat.
The A squad played next, looking to begin competition on the right note. Paced by 3 goals from Jonathan Bilson and some downright stingy team defense, the Blues surged to a 6-2 lead at halftime, and held on to defeat Southern Crescent 7-6 in their first group stage match.
The Blues B squad showed much improvement in their second game, scoring 10 goals! Arman Abdul led the Blues with 4 goals, and “Little Mark” Addison notched a hat trick in the 10-15 loss to APS.
Next up, the A squad looked to secure a spot in the semi-finals with a victory against the GAC Spartans. Jonathan Bilson scored 4 goals, Ray Wynne & Joe Addison added 3 apiece, and the Blues cruised to a 12-7 victory. Jacob McNeely was a thorn in the Spartans’ sides, winning 3 of 4 sprints and recording 4 steals, as was goalkeeper Kenny Pratt with 3 steals and 2 saves. The victory secured the top seed in their group for the Blues, and earned them a semi-final match against SPX.
Alas, a berth in the championship game was not in the cards for the Blues this year. Despite solid defense that saw them hold SPX to their lowest scoring output of the tournament, the Blues struggled to score, and fell 1-7 to the eventual tournament champions.
Saturday’s matches concluded with the B squad falling 6-12 to the Spartans of GAC. Marc Piadade scored 3 goals, and Joe Addison tallied 10 saves and 2 assists as goalkeeper!
On Sunday morning, the Blues B squad was up before the sun and in the pool to face the Collins Hill Girls. Joe Addison was again brilliant in goal, recording 13 saves! Arman Abdul scored 3 goals, and the Blues defeated the Lady Eagles 6-1. The victory earned the B squad one more match, against North Springs. The young Blues showed heart throughout the tournament, but North Springs prevailed 7-3 in this final match for the B squad.
The Blues A squad returned to the pool on Sunday morning to face the Lakeside Vikings in the 3rd place match. After playing the Vikings level in the 1st half, the Blues lost the 3rd & 4th quarters by 1 goal each, and conceded the match to the Vikings 8-6, finishing the tournament in 4th place. Despite falling short in the final two matches, the Blues A squad left Atlanta having greatly improved upon last year’s results and serving notice that they are a club on the rise.