Laura Vegas

a full 5 months ago, the new soccer season started up. we knew from the start that sarah's team was great. they had a great coach, who knew that he had a ton of talented girls. and he gave everything he had (along with a great assistant coach) to make these girls even better, and to mesh them into an excellent team. they were the under-12 arsenal's.

they had a great season. they won all but one game. tournament weekend, they played 4 games and won them all. took the first place championship for under-12 girls. they all got huge trophies, that are a good 2.5 feet tall. a week later, they played in the inter-city tournament with a neighboring city. the top 2 teams from each city played, and we won all 3 games. took the inter-city championship. they all got medals, and their coach got a huge trophy.

next up was the founders cup tournament. their coach knew he had a great team, that had a good shot at this tournament. so he had signed them up at the start of the season. for the past 2 weekends, we have been all about soccer. including an hour and a half drive there and back, and a 2 night stay in a hotel. 2 full days last weekend, playing 3 games and winning all 3 of them in shut-outs. moved on to this weekend, where it was single game eliminations. won the first game yesterday, with a shut-out. the second game was a tough one, and probably the most intense game i had watched at that point. ended up tied, and went to overtime, where we won. then came today for the championship of all championships.

getting all checked out by the referee's.

the last two teams standing, taking the field. i thought this was really cool. to see the referee's, with the game balls, leading the teams onto the field and over to stand before us. just a really cool moment. 

getting their pep talk from coach charlie and coach carlos, before starting the game. and just an FYI. our team color is black. black jerseys, with the red flames on the sleeves. but the other team was a dark blue/black color, and it was too close of a match. so our team had to wear the orange penny's. wish it hadn't been like that, so they could show their team colors with pride and to see their jersey numbers. but it's all good.

only took a few photos of sarah playing. i was just too busy watching the game. it was intense and nerve wracking to watch. you just can't really watch it through a lens 😉

the other team scored first, even though we were definately dominating the field. it got our girls reved up though. and it wasn't long before we scored. one of the girls scored off a header. was such an awesome goal! later, in the second half, we scored our second goal off a penalty kick. a girl from the other team had a hand ball right in their box. never good. we were up 2-1, and the girls did such a great job holding on for the rest of the game. the other team put up a good fight, and had a few scary breakaways at the very end of the game. our fans were going crazy, because the clock was up, but the referee's just kept going a few extra minutes. it was so nerve wracking on all of us to watch.

and this was taken just seconds after they won the game! 

i love this shot of them all linking arms, and running out to us to take their bow 🙂

they were so happy and so proud. and rightfully so.

sarah with her two soccer BFF's. emily and emily.

this was after receiving their medals, and the huge trophy that their coach gets to keep.

each of the girls took a photo with the trophy and the game ball.

and a last shot in the net, on the turf. where they made the magic happen. our city hasn't won this tournament in 10 years, in any age group (boys or girls). so this was a big moment. and they're the youngest team from our city to ever win. they represented well! i know we're all so proud of them, and all the hard work they put in for the last 5 months together. it paid off. city champions, inter-city champions, and now state champions! congratulations team arsenal!!!