 | | | Top row, from left: Saul Carapia, Rabee Haidari, Alejandro Cardenas, Luis Felix, Nickolas Geannacopulos, Adrian Guzman, Kent Barbir and Brett Donat; bottom row: Kai Digrande, Christian Ramsey, Sean Donovan, Edward Danielyan, Coach Billal Samy, Owen Hansen, Kellen Clancy, Erik Voss and Victor Quintanilla Photo provided | | | | | | The Lamorinda United U14 Boys Navy team (LMSC), led by coach Billal Samy, travelled to Gothenburg, Sweden from July 10-20 to participate in the World Youth Cup, also known as the Gothia Cup. The tournament is the largest youth tournament in the world with more than 1,600 teams participating from all corners of the globe. The team went 3-0 in group-play, beating two Swedish teams and an Estonian team with eight goals scored and zero against (Score lines: 1-0, 4-0, 3-0).
In their first playoff match, the round of 64, they faced a strong Perth FC team from Australia. They started off unsteady, but after finding their rhythm, the Lamorinda team was able to come out on top 3-0, their fourth consecutive clean sheet. In their second playoff match, they faced a physical Swedish side that scored early. The Lamorinda boys leveled the game 1-1 with three minutes left. Lamorinda United's strong run, however, came to a bitter end: they lost 4-3 in a penalty kick shootout. Had they won, the boys would have faced the team from Dallas, Texas that went on to win the Cup.
"The tournament experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity for these boys, both from a sporting and cultural perspective. They'll never forget it," Coach Samy said of the tournament.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA