REAL Cup Champions

 

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This was quite the amazing soccer tournament!  The Real Cup 2021 comprised five straight days of games over in the Arvada Soccer complex which must have 25-30 soccer fields in total and a mass of humanity all over the place.  This is a highly competitive and massive tournament drawing teams from all over Colorado and many surrounding states.  The 2010 Broomfield Prestige team was in a very competitive bracket playing several different P1 (the highest division) and P2 teams even though they have been ranked as a P2 team.  After some some very competitive teams, these guys fought like crazy and made the finals.

 

 

The finals match was against a very competitive P1 team and the whole scene was rather unreal.  There may have been close to 100 - 125 people on the sidelines which was easily the biggest crowd I have ever seen watching one of their games.  After giving up an early goal to a PK, our team fought hard all game.  With only about 90 seconds left and down a goal, Gage was called up to take a free kick from close to the midfield line to send it into the box where the other 8 players all awaited.  He hit a great ball right into the mix and with a header we scored to tie the game!

Through a highly physical overtime period that saw us trade goals once again, we arrived at PKs to determine who would win the tournament.  Gage had nerves of steel standing in there to see if he could deliver a victory while the stress was almost too much for us to watch!  Right off the bat both teams scored their first PKs.  Gage made a great save on PK #2 and we drained another one in the back of the net taking the lead 2-1.  We each missed and made one each of the next two.  Sitting at 3-2 we needed Gage to come up big and he did making a diving save to secure the victory at 3-2 for his team!

 

 

The team erupted and it was pandemonium on the field as they all jumped around and celebrated!  It was such an awesome thing to watch and be apart of.  I am so proud of Gage and all his hard work learning the goalie position and being able to contribute to the success of his team in such a prominent way!  It is always good to remember the good times like this one because he will inevitably experience the other side of the coin that happens where we lose a close game or tournament.  It is the nature of competitive sports but what a great weekend!