North Andover FC United Makes Play for State Title in Inaugural Year

The all 5th grade U-12 boys FC United have completed their spring season with an Essex County Youth Soccer Association (ECYSA) playoff berth.

They began their inaugural year in travel team play with an 8-0 record in the fall season. As a result of their fall season success, they started the spring season as the “team to beat.” At the halfway point of the eight-game season, FC United had 2-1-1 record. With four games remaining, they had to win all four games to qualify for the ECYSA playoffs.

FC United won their week 5 game against Peabody (6-3) and their week 6 game against Triton (7-0) before taking a break from regular season play to participate in the Danvers Memorial Day Weekend Tournament. In the Danvers Tournament, FC United defeated North Reading (4-0), Georgetown (7-0), and Peabody (1-0) during the preliminary round of the tournament to earn a playoff spot where they defeated the North Andover Sturgeons (4-1) in the semi-finals and Andover Alliance (3-1) in the finals to become the Boys U-12 Division Champions. After that, FC United completed their regular season with a week 7 win over Amesbury (7-0) and a week 8 win over Peabody (3-1) to earn an ECYSA playoff berth.

In the ECSYA playoffs, FC United kept their momentum going by defeating Marblehead (2-0), followed by a win over Lynnfield (4-0) in the semi-finals. In the finals, FC United were down early in the game 1-0 to Manchester but remained persistent and tied the game at 1-1 just before halftime. FC United’s relentless attack and shut-down defense was just too much for Manchester to handle as FC United scored two goals in the second half to win the ECYSA Championship (3-1). FC United earned a spot in this weekend’s Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (MTOC) for a shot at the State Championship.
Jules Bellosguardo led an offensive unit consisting of Matt Niejadlik and Justin Holland, a midfield attack of Peter Coufos, Matt Feng, and the versatile players Sebastian Keane and Nick Tilson.

The relentless offense put up 63 goals in 16 games this season. Just as impressive is the .625 goals allowed per game (10 total through 16 games) because of a stifling defensive unit lead by Nate D’Entremont and consisting of Alex Martel, Tommy Cossingham, Jacob Sitak, and Nick Milliken. Of course, the success of a soccer team relies on great goaltending and FC United certainly had that this season with Ryan McDonald coming up with big saves game after game.

North Andover FC United will test their skills this weekend in Lancaster, MA, at MTOC when they compete in a World Cup-style tournament against the other County Champs.