Vassal Lane Upper School wins a 2nd consecutive Cambridge Upper School Soccer Tournament Championship
In a tournament full of drama and excitement, VLUS came away with its 2nd consecutive championship at the Cambridge City Upper School Soccer Tournament on Friday, June 7th. VLUS opened the tournament looking a little tight versus a determined CSUS team before eventually pulling away for a 3-0 win. In the semifinal VLUS took control versus PAUS quickly and cruised to a dominant 7-1 win.
This set the stage for a showdown with Amigos for the championship. The final was tense and tight throughout. Amigos applied heavy pressure from the start and had VLUS on the backfoot, but VLUS was able to settle into the game and keep it level. However, Amigos broke through first on a beautiful header off of a perfectly slotted corner kick to take a 1-0 lead with less than 5 minutes remaining. With the seconds ticking away, it looked like The Vipers championship hopes were done until Bona Alemu broke through the Amigos’ lines off an excellent ball from Anisa Cali and smashed home the equalizer with just seconds left in the game. This sent the match to a 5 minute Golden Goal overtime period, with penalty kicks looming after that. Both teams opened the overtime looking dangerous, but obviously tiring. Just as it looked like penalties might be inevitable, Julie Moss played a perfect 1-2 with Alemu, and he cut to his right and fired the match winner into the back of the net. A wild celebration then ensued as Alemu was swarmed by his teammates on the pitch.
After the dust had settled, Head Coach Leif Faber said “Everyone is going to remember Alemu’s two late goals, but this was truly a team effort. We had many significant contributions up and down our roster. We had 5 different players score goals. Khalil El Hadi tied Alemu for the team scoring lead. Julie Moss’s smart and steady play was a huge key as she led the team in assists. Noel Barua made several key saves to keep the championship game close, and Aayan Tazin was also massive on defense. Anisa Cali and Izzie Chiumiento were important late additions to the roster who really stepped up. Also, Dagmawe Henok, Nahom Hadegu, and Hamza Abotalb really solidified things in midfield. Everyone really played their role. I will remember this one forever!”
Reflecting on the VLUS’s championship run later, Coach Faber went on to say “Last year we dominated the tournament, but this year the players really had to dig deep and showed tremendous heart when they fell behind late in the championship game. VLUS has really established a strong futbol culture. I knew that we would have another great chance this year. Not just because we had experience and talent returning from last year’s team, but because there is a voracious appetite for futbol here. Not only did we start a full year futbol club this year, but every recess there are hotly contested pickup games. While we lose several talented players, the players coming back and in the pipeline look very capable of carrying on the championship tradition.”