Soccer Scores Big at the 2007 Georgia FC Invitational (U15-U19)
August 19th, 2007 Posted in tournament, Georgia FC Invitational, Georgia, Soccer[Click here for video and photo highlights]
For years, the Georgia FC Invitational has marked the end of a busy summer and beginning of the Fall soccer season. With its reputation for top-notch soccer and flawless tournament management, the Georgia FC Invitational is an annual event to which hundreds of fans, coaches and players look forward each year. Georgia Futbol Club Director of Coaching Lloyd White and his entire staff pulled off another great edition of the Georgia FC Invitational, one that will be remembered by many a fan, coach and player until the Georgia FC does it again next year.
Be sure to view our photo and video coverage here. Following is a brief recap of this weekend’s events (coverage of the 2007 Georgia FC Invitational (U10-U14) can be found here).
Under 15 Boys Gold
The Cobb YMCA Strikers White - CL II found themselves with 2 points in the standings at the end of Day 1, following a 1-1 tie with Inter Atlanta and a 0-0 stalemate with Georgia FC 93 Classic. However, the Strikers rallied in their early game on Championship Sunday to pull off a 1-0 victory in a classic against ASA Extreme U15 Blue and win Flight A.
The home club Georgia FC 93 Classic was the Day 1 points leader in Flight A, but their dreams of Georgia FC Invitational gold dissipated at the hands of eventual Flight B winner, Roswell Santos, in a 3-0 heartbreaker on Sunday. Santos enjoyed a remarkable clean slate, with 11 goals for and 0 goals against, as it cruised to comfortable wins over NASA - Gray, Inter Atlanta and the aforementioned 93 Classic.
And at 3:00 at Bethesda Upper Field 1, the Strikers brought their “A” game and came away with a 1-nil victory over Santos in a fine cap to a terrific U15 Boys tournament.
Under 16 Boys Gold
The Lanier Sharks Gold won first place in Flight B by the slimmest of margins, thanks to victories over the Atlanta Silverbacks Elite and CGSA U-16 Classic. Second place in the flight went to the Silverbacks, who did all it could on Sunday in a 5-0 victory over GFC Premier, but could not erase its earlier loss to the Sharks.
In Flight B, three teams were tied at the top of the division with 6 points. Silverbacks U16’s victories over the Stars Orange and the West Metro Freedom; the Stars Orange’s wins against GFC 93 Elite and the Freedom; and the Elite’s defeats of the Silver backs and the Freedom, provided for a lot of good soccer in addition to a lot of drama leading up to the division finals. The Silverbacks prevailed with the fewest goals against, and squared off against the Sharks in a quest to bring home the 2007 title. It was the Silverbacks continuing their winning streak in a 2-0 victory over the Sharks. Congratulations to the Silverbacks for their perseverance in a tough, tough division of futbol.
U17 Boys Gold
Buckhead FC came prepared to play soccer this weekend, and it showed in the standings. Buckhead worked hard to come up with large margins of victory over Blue Springs/Liberty United (5-0), DCSA U17 DC Force (5-1) and Georgia FC Classic (8-0), en route to the division championship game against the DCSA U17 DC Force. The Force’s road to the finals was a bit more difficult than Buckhead’s. The Force needed a Sunday 2-1 win over Blue Springs to send it to Sunday’s final game. Results of the final game were not available at the time this article was written. Please check back with us.
U19 Boys Gold
The FSCG Strikers overcame a strong Inter Atlanta FC Blue squad in Sunday’s early game, giving it 6 points and a place in the 3:00 championiship game. Georgia FC 90 Blue slipped into the finals thanks to a 0:0 deadlock with Alianza Premier and the Striker’s victory over Inter Atlanta. The Strikers prevailed in a 3-0 final game over the Blue.
U19 Boys Silver
The 90 Thunder Gold owned the division, mowing down Georgia FC Black (5-0), GFC Premier (3-1) and GFC Red Bull (4-0) on its way to 9 points in Flight A and a spot in Sunday’s finals. FC Black attempted to erase its Day 1 loss to the Thunder, racking up back to back victories over GFC Red Bull and GFC Premier; however the Thunder never wavered.
The Georgia FC Elite and the Atlanta Silverbacks Elite found themselves notched at 7 points each when the division play dust settled on Sunday. When the two teams met on Saturday, spectators were treated to 90 minutes of brilliant soccer that ended in a satisfying 0-0 tie. The Elite outscored home club rival Georgia FC Challenge (4-1) in Saturday’s early game, and took down the Fusion Silver (2-1) on Sunday, while the Silverbacks moved past the Silver (3-2) on Saturday and Georgia FC Challenge (6-1) at 9:45 Sunday morning. The Elite moved on to the championship game thanks to a 3-4 goals against differential, however the Gold turned back the Elite in a convicing 5-0 victory, to earn the Gold this year’s U19 Silver championship
U15/U16 Girls Gold
2 wins, 1 tie and 7 points in the overall standings - such were the records for each of Georgia FC 93 Elite (Flight A) and Augusta Arsenal Gunners (Flight B). The 93 Elite took down ASA XTREME Black (4-0) and AFUSA Silver (5-1), before locking horns with ASA Blue in a 1-1 thriller. The Gunners started off their tournament with a 1-1 deadlock versus the Atlanta Fire United Gold, before finishing with consecutive victories against Georgia FC Premier (5-0) and NASA 10 Black (1-0). In the championship game, the 93 Elite overwhelmed the Gunners to the tune of 5-1. It was evident from the championship game that the home club 93 Elite clicked as a unit, and were in tremendous shape to withstand the weekend’s heat and numerous games.
U15/U16 Girls Silver
Tophat Gold was the cream of the crop in Flight A, breezing through the field on its way to 9 points, 14 goals scored and 1 goal against. In their wake, the Gold left Atlanta United Fire U15 Bronze (6-0), Norcross Fury Gold (5-0) and Georgia FC Classic (3-1).
In Flight B, the final standings were much closer. NASA ‘10′ Royal and United 92 Girls White each finished with 7 points. One of the first matches on Saturday coincidentally pitted the Royal versus United 92, and resulted in a draw. Because the Royal’s goals against (beat Concorde Fire Elite 3-0 and Alpharetta Ambush White 3-0) was exactly equal to that of United 92 (beat Alpharetta Ambush White 3-0 and Concorde Fire Elite 3-0), Lloyd White and the tournament officials had to get together and discuss the rightful participant in the final game. Ultimately, the Gold faced off in a somewhat controversial final against the Royal, and took them down 3-1 to bring the big trophy back to Tophat country.
U17 Girls
The U17 Girls division had no controversy. Instead, it featured a Tophat 10 Gold squad that mowed down its competition on the way to a clean sheet of 3 victories and 9 points. Its victims included TYSA Green 1991 (2-1), GFC 92 Elite (5-1) and 91 Thunder Gold (3-0). The Elite fought hard to beat the Thunder Gold (5-2) and TYSA Green (1-0) to earn the second spot in the division finals. Results from the final game were not available at post. Please check back with us soon.
Click here to find official results.
Congrats to all participants in this year’s Georgia FC Invitational! We look forward to bringing you more coverage of amateur soccer in the future.
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[Where: Lawrenceville, Georgia]
