Skylah Dias - Crusaders fall short in Region 1 Tournament

Teammates: Aidan DaSilva #15 (Westport, MA.), Chukwuma Onyejose #17 (East Greenwich, RI.), Nico Ferrara #10 (Somerset, MA.), Cameron Pattison #13 (Cohasset, MA.), Skylah Dias #11 (Captain – Swansea, MA.), Jacob Castro #1 (Goalie – Swansea, MA.), Andrew Stevens #4 (Captain – Marshfield, MA.), Troy Mattos #41 (Somerset, MA.), Mikey Carey #19 (Plymton, MA.), Chukwudi Onyejose #6 (East Greenwich, RI.),Kendall Pacheco #16 (New Bedford, MA.), Leon Djusberg #3 (Abington, MA.), Henry Kimber White #7 (Norton, MA.), Zach Miller #2 (Norton, MA.), Brandin Osborne #8 (N. Easton, MA.), John Aguiar #5 (Somerset, MA.) and Max Horowitz #14 (Swansea, MA.), Andy Stark (Weymouth, MA.) Preston Kelleher (Somerset, MA.), Spencer Kelleher (Somerset, MA.)and GPS Crusaders Coach Matt Hardiman, Although they were the only Massachusetts boys’ team to advance out of the group stage, the GPS Crusaders Massachusetts Elite U14 team left a bit frustrated after being eliminated in the semi-finals of the Region 1 Soccer Championships, at the campus of the University of Rhode Island (URI). Group play could not have gone any better. The Crusaders opened by crushing the MUSC Revolution Elite from West Virginia, 5-0. It was quite a start, but not surprising to any of the boys as the GPS Crusaders had won both the Massachusetts state championship and the highly competitive New England Premiership League, a run that had prepared them well for this tournament. “We’re not nervous,” goal keeper Jacob Castro said during one of the final practices leading to the tournament. “We played in a couple of national tournaments, so if we continue playing the way we’ve been playing, I think we’ll be OK. If we continue the same way and don’t slack off I think we can make it out of the group stage.” Castro delivered the shutout and the goals came from Max Horowitz (2), Nico Ferrara, Andrew Stevens and Chukwudi Onyejose, while Skylah Dias, Max Horowitz and John Aguiar has the assists. For local fans this was a proud run since 10 of the boys come from four area towns. Nico Ferrara, Troy Mattos, Preston Kelleher, Spencer Kelleher and John Aguiar are from Somerset; captain Skylah Dias, Jacob Castro and Max Horowitz come from neighboring Swansea, stopper Aidan DaSilva hails from Westport and Kendall Pacheco is from New Bedford. Their group stage dominance continued when they edged Global Premier Soccer, from New Hampshire, 1-0, on a goal by Andrews Stevens. But the victory came with a heavy cost as captain Skylah Dias had to be carried off the field in the second half after getting kicked in the outer part of the knee, an injury that brought an end to his season. His presence on the field would naturally be missed but the team responded well in the next game, clinching the group title with a 4-2 victory over Seacoast United Maine SC Premier. Chukwudi Onyejose scored twice, Andrew Stevens and Max Horowitz had the other tallies. That set up a semi-final match against the Arlington SA Eagles Red from Virginia. The Eagles Red had won group B, but struggled, registering two draws and only one victory, but the Crusaders coaching staff was well aware that this was a very strong club, the 7th ranked team in nation. Overall, the side from Virginia, during 2014, had 49 wins, 4 losses, 6 ties, 179 goals scored and only 33 goals allowed, registering an incredible 36 shutouts during those 59 games. They came in with victories in the U14 Club Champions League, the Fall EDP Cup Champions, the CASL Champions title, the Bethesda Thanksgiving Tournament, the Arlington Spring Invitational, the Region 1 Premier League and the Spring EDP Cup. And unfortunately they proved to be just too much to handle for the GPS Crusaders, clinching a spot in the title game with a 3-0 victory. “After winning our three preliminary games, we were in a perfect situation but we did not put on our best performance in the semi-finals,” said coach Matt Hardiman. “I know my team and the ability at which they can perform, and it was not our best performance, but that’s soccer”. “We had a great momentum going into the semi-finals,” said captain Skylah Dias. “We were facing a team ranked 7th in the country but the rankings never take my team out of their game, as I knew we can compete with the best of them. We ended up losing, but what was most impressive about my team was we never give up. My team is incredible, and they make me proud all the time”. “I think the most challenging part of the tournament was adjusting to the field conditions,” added stopper Aidan DaSilva. “We are used to practicing and playing on turf and all the games were played on grass. We are used to playing with the ball on the ground, a lot of give and go, passing and controlling the ball. So the field conditions posed a big challenge for us as we had to adjust our style of play.” The Arlington SA Eagles Red then defeated the Delaware Rush, 2-0, to earn the Region 1 title and clinch a spot in the National finals. That tournament will feature 96 teams in the various age divisions, down from the field of 10,000 that began the season. For the GPS Crusaders the loss in the Region 1 semi-finals will sting for a while, but it is impossible to overlook the incredible improvement shown over the course of the season, as they climbed 147 spots in the National rankings, to finish at number 35, and moved up 55 slots in the Regional Rank, closing the season at number 24. “It has been a long and incredible year with such great athletes and parents,” Hardiman said. “I am proud of them and all that they have accomplished over the last year and to have been the only boys team from Massachusetts to get this far against the best of the best from each of the 15 states, that’s a huge accomplishment.” The boys had similar feelings. “This year has been the most remarkable year that I have ever had,” said captain Skylah Dias. “My team has played in two National Tournaments, one in Florida for Super Y in December, where we placed second in our bracket, and the other second in Kansas in February, the Futsal Nationals, where we lost in final, 4-3 placing is second in the country in Futsal.” “It was frustrating to walk away with not as good of a performance as we would have liked, but we did have some good performances,” Troy Mattos said. “It was a learning experience for myself learning how all of this works, facing all the teams from our region, all the teams that were there representing their state, it was cool”. Coming so close left the boys hungry for a return in 2015. Try-outs are coming up and the coaching staff hopes to add a couple of players to help push a little further. But, their talent also has a cost, as some are being recruited by other clubs. Somerset’s Nico Ferrara will be leaving the GPS Crusaders to join the U14 New England Revolution Academy Team, but he takes with him fond memories of a tremendous season. “It’s a real honor to play with this team and all my close friends and end the season representing Massachusetts in the US Youth Regional Tournament,” Ferrara said. “I have had the opportunity to have met such great players and friends on this team. We have grown so much and learned a great deal over this last year preparing for so many high level games. It made my last games with this team so much more memorable”. Although the season provided memories for a lifetime, the boys are hoping that there will be more to come next year. “Hopefully next year we will do a little better and get to the nationals, it was fun though,” said Troy Mattos. “And it’s something I’d definitely love to be a part of again!” “(Competing in the regionals) showed me how far our team has come, how hard we have all worked to get there and how much our coach, Matt Hardiman, has taught us this year,” said Aidan DaSilva. “In all, it was a great experience to get this far. Even though we didn’t win the Regionals, we came in third which I think is a huge accomplishment”. The strong showing at URI proved that they can compete with anyone in the region so now they will look with curiosity at how well the Arlington SA Eagles will fare in the 2014 US Youth Soccer National Championships, which will be played July 22-27 at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Maryland. If the Eagles make some noise there, then the nationals will be a goal for 2015. Read more: http://ojornal.com/portuguese-brazilian-news/2014/07/crusaders-fall-short-in-region-1-tournament/#ixzz39Le9RbHw A GateHouse Media, Inc. Site Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial Follow us: @Ojornal1 on Twitter | OjornalNewspaper on Facebook