U9 Boys Win Benicia Youth Soccer Tournament

Congratulations to (L to R) Logan, Anthony, Damien, David, Speedy, Abraham, Jon, Rafinoe, Xavius and coaches Jerry Lanford and Tony “Marco” Castillo.

The U9 SR Black Oaks added another 1st place finish to their 2013 achievements. This evening they won a thrilling final against a tough East Bay Ajax team that was heavily favored.

Ajax scored early, leaving the Black Oaks to chase play for much of the rest of the game. Oaks leveled towards halftime. In the second half Ajax scored again and the Oaks had to raise their game to find the tying goal before overtime.

Both teams were going all out and the referees had their hands full to keep the game under control. The Oaks were playing with one sub and some rough play was almost a setback, with a few players subbing off due to injury.

But the Black Oaks proved resilient in over-time, turning up the pressure and finally pushing Ajax back into their own half. They got the break they needed when Ajax mistakenly deflected a clearing ball into their own net. Just seconds later another hard shot challenged the Ajax keeper, pushing him back as he caught the ball.  The center referee played on, although the linesman ruled the ball crossed the goal line. The final score was Black Oaks 4, Ajax 2, earning gold medals a champion t-shirts.

Last month, the same U9 boys team won the Sonoma State Six-Aside Tournament. In February the team placed third in the Redwood City Torneo di Presidenti.