Waltham, 18th February 2014; GPS Massachusetts U14 Elite Boys placed 2nd in
the Nation at the 2014 US Youth Futsal Nationals that took place on February
14th -17th at the New Century Fieldhouse in New Century, KS.
John Aguiar (St. Michaels School), Jacob Castro (St. Stanislaus School),
Skylah Dias (St. Stanislaus School).
“Being 14 years old, and to have the opportunity to play at the Nationals
and making it to the finals, is a dream come true,” said GPS-MA Crusaders,
Midfielder Skylah Dias.
The GPS Team qualified 2nd in their group after 2 wins and 1 loss. They took
part in an exciting semi-final match with the F.C. Black Knights also from
Massachusetts which was forced into penalty kicks. GPS Goalkeeper Jacob
Castro was able to make a save and the 5 GPS Kick Takers scored. GPS
advanced into the 2014 US Futsal Nationals Finals against an academy futsal
club out of Dallas Texas – City Futsal Sounders.
It was a match up that was highly talked about during the tournament where
both teams were highly skilled and equally talented. The Texans train nine
months out of the year, four days a week for three hours a day strictly in
Futsal. Having already recorded a 4-3 group win against GPS the game was
going to be a cracker.
It was GPS-MA vs Texas and the crowds were electrifying chanting for
Massachusetts and Texas, throughout the match.
GPS was up 3-1 at the half, and the Texans never gave up eventually coming
back in the second half with a penalty kick, the shot changed the momentum
of the game and the Texans won 4-3 in an amazing comeback. It was a
fantastic final and a real spectacle for the game of Futsal.
“To be runners-up in a national tournament is fantastic and a credit to
every one of them”, said Head Coach Matt Hardiman. “It has been
thoroughly enjoyable this weekend to watch the boys play and spend time
together as a team and really fight for each other. It would have been
fantastic to win the tournament but when we put this into context it proves
more what a great job the boys did,” said Hardiman. “They have played
against teams that train together for 3-4 sessions a week and have not only
matched them they have at times been far superior. It is a great feeling as
a coach to walk around a tournament and have parents approach you and
congratulate you on the quality of your team. This is a credit to the boys,
they all have bright futures ahead.
Castro placed second with the least goals allowed in the tournament through
the finals, while Aguiar led the team with 12 assist and had 1 goal. Skylah Dias
led the team in goals (10) and had 5 assist.
Futsal is the only form of indoor soccer endorsed by FIFA. It earned the
status of FIFA’s official form of indoor soccer in the 1980s as it was
recognized as a scaled down version of outdoor soccer played indoors.
It is a 5 v 5 small-sided game played on a hard surfaced, basketball sized
court with a smaller, heavier low bounce ball. Futsal is played with
touchline boundaries and without walls.
Futsal gives a player more touches on the ball, helps to improve make
quicker decision making, improves speed of play, helps with ball control; it
helps to improve attacking and defensive skills as well as maintains a very
high intensity of play.
