B1 USA success at the Naples Junior Cup

Another weekend filled with games for the B1 Soccer Academy in the USA as the majority of our teams showed up at the Junior Cup on the 5th and 6th of December in Naples, Florida.

Our teams have been participating to a lot of tournaments and have been making us really proud both in the wins and the losses.

Before anything else, we want to congratulate the coaches for doing amazing work with each one of the teams as we have been seeing huge improvements since the start of the season.

Furthermore, we are delighted to announce that three of the seven teams who participated were able to reach the finals, congrats to the U14 Boys, U16 Boys, and the U13 Girls!

The B1 champions of the weekend

The U14 team was astonishing and was able to win two out of their three games. They showed a lot of improvements, playing together and being well-structured overall which allowed them to create favorable opportunities. In their first game, they faced Cooper City in a really close game.

Unfortunately for our boys, the rivals were able to find the back of the net in the last 30 seconds of the game. In the second game, our boys made a huge comeback against Labelle Heat from losing 0-2 to winning 3-2, a fantastic game.

In their third game, they faced Tampa Dynamo and were able to dominate from the start, scoring 5 goals to 1. After this amazing comeback, our boys went to the finals to face a top 25 team in the state.

The game was really close and ended up in a tie, so the sake of our boys depended on the penalties shootouts. Unfortunately, the boys came up short in the penalties, but what is important is that the U14 boys are growing as a team and improving every week.

Moreover, the U16 boys were also able to reach the finals. They faced some pretty good teams and were able to go through by winning over Heat Strikers (2-0) and Juventus (1-0) who are a really competitive team.

They lost one game against Lake Wales (2-3) in a really close game as our boys came back from a 0-2 to a tie, and conceded one goal at the end of the game.

They were able to reach the finals and faced a really strong PSG Academy team. Sadly, the rivals were solid and our boys were not able to find the win, losing 3-0. Anyway, much respect for the performances of those U16 boys. They are coming back even stronger!

The B1 Girls are still untreatable

Last but not least, our U13 Girls are once again shining. Despite the competitiveness of their rivals, the girls did not flinch and had one goal in mind, to win this tournament.

In their first game against Florida West, the girls played really well but missed a couple of chances that could have given them the win, anyways, the result is far from disappointing as the end score was 1-1.

Braden River girls were waiting for the second game and were able to win the game 2-0. The third game and a possible ticket to final opposed our girls to Cape Black.

The girls performed really well and were able to dominate their opponent winning 3-0. In the final, the girl faced the number 3 in the state team.

The tension of the game would be felt in the air, a really close and nail-biting game, but the U13 Girls showed once again their dominance winning the game 2-1 and making them the Champions. Congratulations!

The young teams of the B1

The U10 also were hungry to win last weekend as they fought through the game as if it was the last day they could play football. In their first game they faced Miami Lakes, the boys dominated and won 4-1.

Their second game was more complicated against a strong San Carlos team, losing 2-6. However, they didn’t give up and fought in the third game against Biscayne, winning 2-0.

Unfortunately, the boys didn’t make it to the finals for goal differential but we are very proud of the way they played!

Furthermore, the U11 had a rough tournament with three hard games against strong teams. In the first game, they faced Gulf Coast Lions and couldn’t keep up with the rhythm, losing 2-6.

In the second game, they faced Florida West and lost only 0-1 which is a good result taking into account the competitiveness of the rivals. In their last game, they played against West Pines and unfortunately couldn’t find a win, end score 1-6.

U12 and U13 teams

The U12 Boys had a hard weekend but sometimes it is going to go down like that and the players can only learn from such experience. The Boys faced San Carlos in the first game and lost 2-3 in a really close game.

Moreover, they faced Florida West (1-7 loss) and ended their tournament with the game against Miami Lakes (1-2 loss) in a close game. The boys fought but this time it was not enough.

The U12 Girls also had a hard time but still fought for their colors like every team at B1 USA. They faced the Braden River and were able to draw 0-0.

They then faced Azzurri Storm which is a strong team and lost only by one goal in a close game (1-2).

Finally, the U13 Boys also participated in the tournament. In their first game, they faced Tampa Bay, who beat us 6-0 two months ago, and were able to perform really well with great ball control and defensive/ attacking movements, winning 3-0!

The second game faced them against Metodo Coira Academy and they came up short, losing 2-0. Their last game was against Tampa Bay once again and this time the game was really close, unfortunately, the opposition was able to score the only goal of the game, end score 1-0.

We would like to give our congratulations to all the teams who participated. You are all showing clear improvements and we couldn’t be happier with that, the B1 Methodology is taking its shape in the best way possible, and you are the main reason for it!

Eric Bertran

Journalist, sports expert, Social Media Manager, and sports business developer. Ex-soccer player and passionate about teamwork. "Every player will have the same opportunity to achieve their dreams. With effort and sacrifice, everything is possible."