"We can dominate the game and not score like nobodies business." That was the team joke this tournament.
We went to St. George for the President's Cup at Dixie State College. Everything about the trip was so fantastic - except for the weather. It rained and was cold, but the boys were not bothered. It was just those of us sitting in the stands that were whining.
We got down there Thursday night and had our first game Friday morning. It started at 9 so the boys were there at 8:15. It was a little cold, but we didn't feel like we could complain with a field like this! Have you ever seen a field like this? It was awesome! And I didn't have to get the chairs out of the car because we sat in the stands. The team played so well! It was a physical game and by the end I was the bad mom yelling "pull his hair!" The ref decided to just take advantage of the field time and get a little workout. He ran back and forth and blew his whistle when he thought the crowd might attack him, but otherwise "let them play" without fouls. We tied this game 2-2 and had 2 yellow cards. The other team ended with 2 yellows and a red. And, this is the team that ended up winning the tournament. Dirty buggers.
The rest of Friday, we played. The boys were glued to each other. They went from the pool to the Nike Store to the pool to Cold Stone to the pool. I think we only saw Josh for the 15 minutes before each game and when it was time for bed and they'd been kicked out of the pool.
We tried hard to keep the girls busy. Jer challenged them to each find a jacket for $8 or less. They were so excited to come back and show their dad that they got a jacket and flip-flops for the $8! Love Old Navy Clearance. My parents came down and played with the girls between games. I was having a hard time keeping up with them. Grandma and Grandpa B. took them to Zion's to see the waterfalls, to the sand dunes, swimming at their hotel (indoor) and Emma went fishing with Grandpa. We all went to dinner a couple of times and froze our butts off in the rain at the games. They are good sports.
Saturday we played two games. The first one was scheduled for 1:30 but when we got to the field, the previous game was still going. I walked onto the track just in time to hear the crowd gasp and the boys come running over to the coaches screaming "his leg is poking out!" Apparently, a player had collided with the keeper and had a compound fracture. Poor boy. Our game was delayed a little and before we even started the boy was in surgery.
Our boys weren't bothered. They went out and played a GREAT game! We won 2-1. I took garbage bags for the boys to put their gear in but ended up standing down by the bench the whole game trying to keep them somewhat dry. We still had one more game to go and not a ton of time between. Most of us still ended up throwing uniforms and blankets in the dryer before the night game.
At 7:30 they played under the lights at the football stadium. So cool. And it didn't rain! It was cold, but without the rain and wind we were all happy! They played hard and won again! This time it was 1-0! So fun. Josh had some amazing saves. One of these days I will actually have my camera ready when he saves it. He also has quite the leg on him. He can send the ball to about the 45 yard line every time.
This is Emma and Megan. Megan plays soccer and was here for a tournament, but her brother was a guest player on Josh's team as well. He was on Josh's team last year and the girls missed each other. We are all hoping to pick Tyler up in the Fall. Love that family!
This last picture was about 30 seconds after the team lost in the Semifinals. Heads were hanging a little, but they did so well! We took 3rd place! If we could just get the dang ball in the net! Lol! Our boys are so skilled and so ready for the season. I can't wait to see them play this Spring!
