U-12 Boys Soccer Win Essex County Championship

The U-12 Boys Division 1 North Andover F.C. United completed their 2013 season with its second consecutive Essex County Youth Soccer Association (ECYSA) championship and will compete this weekend in the Massachusetts Tournament Of Champions (MTOC) for the State Title. This will be F.C. United’s second time playing at MTOC. Last year, the boys made it to the semi-finals, losing 3-2 to Winchester in double over-time.  Winchester ultimately won in the finals and became 2012 State Champions.

The road back to MTOC was not an easy one for F.C. United.  Despite not losing a single game this season, F.C. United found themselves with 3 wins, 0 losses, and 3 ties and sat in third place with two games left in the season. As a result, F.C. United had to win their last two games in order to qualify for the ECYSA playoffs. In week seven, F.C. United faced first place Topsfield. In a fast-paced, physical game, F.C. United was able to beat Topsfield 2-0 with goals from Matt Niejadlik and Jules Bellosguardo with Nick Tilson and Matt Niejadlik picking up the assists. In week eight, F.C. United faced Peabody and grinded out a 1-0 win.

From there, F.C. United continued their momentum in the ECYSA playoffs. In the semi-finals, F.C. United faced Salem and were firing on all cylinders. They defeated Salem 7-1 to advance to the ECYSA Finals where they would meet Beverly for the ECYSA Championship. In the Championship game, nerves got the best of F.C. United early as they found themselves down 1-0 in the first five minutes of the game. F.C. United was able to tie the score 1-1 just before half. It was clear that F.C. United got over their nervousness as they came out in the second half and completely dominated the game, winning 5-1.  

F.C. United’s offense accumulated 34 goals in 10 games and consists of Josh Quirk, Jules Bellosguardo, Matt Niejadlik, Justin Holland, and Ryan McDonald.

Nate D’Entremont, Nick Milliken, Jake Sitak, Alex Martel, and Tommy Cossingham anchored a strong defense. This strong defensive unit and strong goaltending by Ryan McDonald and Matt Niejadlik allowed only 9 goals in 10 games.

Playing between the offense and the defense  is a midfield rotation of shut-down specialists Peter Coufos and Matt Feng along with the versatile Nick Tilson and Sebastian Keane who are responsible for starting the offense.

North Andover F.C. United will test their skills this weekend in Lancaster, MA at MTOC where they will compete in a World Cup-style tournament against the other county champs in their quest for the Massachusetts State Championship.