The team arrived at the Nike campus on Thursday where they were quickly outfitted with a Nike USA sweater, backpack, tournament reversible dri-fit top, USA ball and various other items. That evening, a World Cup style draw was conducted by Fox Soccer’s Christopher Sullivan and 3 professional Boca Junior players. Weston FC’s draw included Lake Oswego (host club), CZ Elite (Southern California), San Diego Surf, and Mustangs (Northern California).

Weston FC Pre-Academy quickly took control of the group with 3 consecutive 2-0 wins qualifying them for the playoffs. In the Quarterfinals, Weston FC matched up against PDA, a well respected team from New Jersey. The Weston boys controlled the game from early on but could not score and eventually advanced via penalty kicks, resulted in a 4-2 win.

In the Semifinals, the Pre-Academy team faced Pateadores, another powerhouse club, this time from California, The game was a hard fought match which the boys eventually controlled, but again remained scoreless.   Great focus and concentration enabled the Weston FC team to advance again in penalty kicks, 4-3.

The final was next and it was a rematch of the clubs from 2009, Weston FC versus Arsenal FC from Southern California. With over 1,000 people watching on the Ronaldo field at the Nike Worldwide Campus, the ’95 Pre-Academy team finished as Finalists in a valiant effort. 

 Coach Marcelo Neveleff was quite pleased with this inaugural Pre-Academy team and had the following comments about the trip:

“Off the field, we took care of our diets properly; always eating very healthy and hydrating regularly. The boys respected the curfew times and resting periods with such professionalism, that only could be compared to professional teams. This of course makes me very proud because it was a educational process that we started in August 2009 and hopefully they’ll carry away with them as they move on in their lives but also because this is a process that we’ll continue next season with the 96’s, and hopefully year after year. I have to say that is one of the best groups I have ever worked with.

Parents who attended weren’t allowed in the boys’ routine and they were very helpful and respectful of the “rules”. When you have all the parts of the “engine” working properly (players, coaches, parents) you’ll have success. Success meaning players motivated, concentrating, and ready to play good soccer. And this was what we did, played with our brand of soccer, good technical abilities, adding a great organization, in both offense and defense. 

In conclusion, we are going in the right direction with the Pre-Academy Program, especially the way we played soccer. It was very encouraging. Technically and tactically, we were one of the best teams there. Our play and decision making was great. Physically; we did very good but must improve. Mentally; this group is very focused on what they are trying to accomplish. This was implemented by the coaching staff, with a lot of talks with individual players and with the whole group, throughout the season.

I hope this tournament will help these boys in their future, as we put them in the same conditions that a high school, college or professional organization would. This also will bring more well rounded players to our Academy Program, players that care for the club and for themselves and appreciate the work done by the club.

This should be the best challenge for all of us at Weston FC, develop good citizens that play very good soccer. ‘

Special congratulations to team members: Luis Betancur, Cameron Brice, Ricardo Castro, Reinaldo Cevallos, Ryan Enriquez, Jason Garcia, Rony Grajales, Martin Lasprilla, Ismael Longo, Alex Marotta, David Mejia, Nicholas Pappacena, Bauti Pedezert, Carlos Quintana, David Reyes, Justin Santos, Jonathan Semerene, Rhys Williams, and guest players: Fransicso Tomasino and Eric Scott.