This August the Philadelphia Falcons Soccer Club sent 3 teams to participate in the official MLS Futbolito 4 vs. 4 tournament. The Futbolito tournament brought fast-paced soccer action across the country. We traveled to Chester to participate in the day long tournament. The day started bright and early and the Falcons arrived at 8:30am. Each team was made up up of 7 players. We sent 2 men's teams and 1 women's team.. The Falcon men were spilt up into 2 teams, a Spanish speaking team that called themselves Patanegras. The remaining men and the women's team went by the club name Falcons.
The playing field was thirty yards long by twenty yards wide. The goals were four feet high and six feet wide so a lot different then the a pop up net like we use at practice. What made this different from any other tournament was the goal box. The goal box is an arc with a radius of six feet. There was no ball contact allowed within the goal box. However, any player may pass through the goal box. If the ball came to rest in the goal box, a goal kick is awarded regardless of who touched the ball last. If a defender touched the ball in the goal box, a penalty kick is awarded to the offensive team. If an offensive player touched the ball within the goal box, a goal kick is awarded to the defensive team. The goal box eliminated people playing as a goalie the entire match. It was a such a great idea we implemented the goal box in our fall league.
Falcon Men Semi-Finalist
The Falcons men's team finished the first round of games with 3 wins and 0 loses. They entered the quarter-finals undefeated and beat the Killer Kiwis 3-2 to advance to the semi-finals. Unfortunately they lost in the semi-finals 3-2 but played extremely well and played against a tough team. At the end of the day the 21 Falcons from all 3 teams played well and enjoyed playing with each other and the competition. All the players who registered for the tournament received a voucher for a free ticket to the Philadelphia Union game on September 5th. A group of the Falcons used the voucher and attended the game this past weekend. This was the first time some of the Falcons went to a Philadelphia Union game and seen the new stadium. Being apart of the 17,000+ fans in the stadium was an amazing feeling. Growing up in Philadelphia I always knew Philadelphians had a love for soccer but I was honestly blown away. It was nice to finally see soccer get the respect it deserves.
The best part of being a Falcon is the diversity the club brings. The Falcons come from all walks of life and from many different backgrounds but the love of soccer is what brings us all together. Whether you are gay or straight, male, female or transgender you are always welcome to join us at practice.
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