16U Boys: Tampa Bay United (FL) 1-0 WCFC Armour 2001 (CA-S); Recap of the final game
It took all of regulation, but Tampa Bay United (FL) final got the goal it needed to win 1-0 over WCFC Armour 2001 (CA-S) in the 16U Boys National Championship final.
Both teams looked for chances early in the first half with Tampa Bay earning a great chance as Brennan Breuer whipped in a cross that found the head of Alejandro Rodriguez. Rodriguez connected well with the chance, but the header went over the top of the bar. Tampa Bay continued to press, and a long ball over the top was closed down quickly by Armour’s Carlos Gonzalez, who raced out to clear with a big boot.
Both Tampa Bay and West Coast continued to test each other to look for opportunities to score and the deadlock finally broke in the 79th minute of play. Tampa Bay earned a corner kick, and Robert Soronellas whipped a ball in to find Nicholas Scargle, who rose up above the West Coast defense and knocked in this chance for the game winning goal.
Tampa Bay played out the last minute and as the whistle blew all rushed onto the field and into the history books as the 2017 16U Boys National Champions.
“We started off the tournament slowly in our first game but have only been getting stronger as we’ve moved forward, said Tampa Bay head coach Kelvin Jones. “Defensively we were very good today, it just took time for us to get going offensively.
With 10,000 teams that start the hunt for a National Championship each year in State Cup the feeling of completing the journey as National Champions can feel surreal.
“It’s euphoria, pure euphoria,” continued Jones. “This group has been together for a long time now and to finish it like this with the biggest game of the year, and this late, is something you just can’t write into a story.”
Article originally featured in Soccer Wire: