Week 3 - Disney Part I - Six n' Sun Soccer Tournament

So the REAL reason we headed to Disney this year... C was playing once again in the Disney Six n' Sun Soccer Tournament. It's a special 6v6 format with smaller fields, smaller goals and a protective "ring" around the goalie so no one can hurt the goalie. (As the goalie mom I LOVE that!!)

Our team took silver last year, but this year we had a few different girls playing, plus we were playing in an older bracket. Given that the spring season didn't go well, we didn't really expect much from the girls.

Oh how wrong we were.

They played pretty well the first game, better the second, even better the third, so that by the 4th and last "guarenteed" game, we were playing for a chance at the championship. We couldn't believe how well they played, the shots on goal they took (not many went in but still...) and how great C played (only REALLY good shots got by her - 2 for all 4 games).

The fourth game was hard - we played girls from FL who were a year older. Bigger. Faster. And in order for them to go to the championship game, they needed to beat us. They had won all their games.

Until they played us. Our girls, who had been consistently playing better (better than we ever dreamed, better than they played all spring season), played their hearts out and won the game. We were in shock and joy!! They were in shock and sadness. Some of their players stared at the overall scoreboard to see if there was any WAY they could play in the finals.

Tournament championship games always start with the line up of the two final teams. The goalies always lead their teams to the field. It's pretty cool - and I must admit I always tear up when I see her and her team line up.

We played a team from the West Side - not too terribly far from where we normally play. Too funny that we had to travel 10+ hours to play another local team. But the parents were really nice and we all had fun playing it up. The team we played was GOOD - an elite team of girls a year older than us.

In the end, it took overtime for them to get 1 shot past my awesome goalie. And it was a GREAT shot. So they got the gold, we got the silver - for the second year in a row. The girls were a bit disappointed, especially my goalie, but they earned their 1 goal. And letting a total of 4 goals by out of 5 games is pretty excellent playing!! Way to block, C!!

Playing against teams from FL, OH, and Miss is amazing. We had a great time. It's probably the last time we'll ever play in the tournament, so it was pretty cool that the girls won the silver.

Saying we're proud doesn't begin to cover it. We're bursting with love, joy and pride. Great job, C, and all the girls who played!! You were AWESOME!!