SURF SELECT AT ROYAL PRESEASON CUP
Four Surf Select teams traveled to London, England to compete in the inaugural Royal Preseason Cup from August 2nd-8th2022. On Tuesday morning our players and families made their way to the Berkshire countryside, with our teams based at the picturesque Bradfield College. After our opening team meeting, the teams took part in their first practices that evening.
The next morning we headed into the capital to watch the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, and visit Horse Guards Parade, Westminster, and Big Ben. Our players then had the opportunity to tour Stamford Bridge and visit the museum, home of Chelsea FC.
Thursday saw our teams participate in their opening games with friendlies against Reading City for our Boys 2009 and 2008 teams. Our Girls 2009s faced Sussex RTC and 2008s against Andover. The first evening of games saw wins for three of our sides.
Both Boy’s teams faced XL Academy from the Isle of Wight and Procision Academy on Friday as they looked to fine-tune ahead of the weekend. While our Girls 2009s took to the road to face Gloucester RTC, once again showing their quality and dominance on the field.
In the first of the marquee games, our Girls 2008s faced off against Tottenham Hotspurs U16s on Saturday morning. Our three other teams were on campus to support the girls! We showed excellent quality from the start, dominating the first half and taking a convincing lead into halftime. While there was an improvement from Spurs in the 2ndhalf, our girls put on an exhibition at times with some excellent soccer on display. We finished with a big win and a shutout against the North London side.
Saturday afternoon, our teams traveled across London to visit the new Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium, as Spurs faced Southampton in the opening weekend of the Premier League. A fantastic experience for our players and families to witness soccer at the highest level, in a sold-out stadium with the sun shining in North London!
Our Girls 2009s and Girls 2008s opened the Royal Preseason cup with two excellent performances and wins against Women’s Super League club, Reading Football Club. The Boys 2009s opened with a win vs Procision Academy U14s, while our 2008s also won by a goal against Wiltshire FA.
Our Boys 2009s made it two wins from two as they clinically dispatched Aldershot FC. The 08s faced a tougher test against Aldershot U15s, falling 2-1 after conceding in the second half.
In the final game of the Royal Preseason Cup, the Girls 2009s and Girls 2008s both faced off against another WSL club, Brighton & Hove Albion FC. First up was our Girls 2009s, they once again started quickly, taking the lead and showing their quality. They dominated throughout the game and picked up another convincing win to be crowned Champions of the first Royal Preseason cup!
Our Girls 2008s faced a bigger challenge as they went a goal behind in the first half to Brighton. However the girls didn’t panic and equalized before half time to make it 1-1. With less than 10 minutes remaining they found the back of the net to clinch a 2-1 win and win the Girls U15 Royal Preseason Cup!
On the Boy’s side our 2009s made it 3 from 3, with a hard-fought and deserved 4-2 win against Premier League club, Fulham FC U14s. Our third Surf Select team to lift the trophy!
Finally, our Boys 2008s faced Fulham FC U15s. The Cottagers started well and showed their quality in possession but we held our own. The London side took the lead into halftime after scoring from a corner kick. We created some chances on the counter-attack but Fulham extended their lead in the second half, before clinching the win with their 3rd goal late on. Congratulations to Fulham FC on winning the Boys U15 Royal Preseason cup.
Congratulations to the following players on being named Player of the Tournament-
- Boys 2009s- Sandro C- Match Fit Academy
- Boys 2008s- Aaron H- East County surf
- Girls 2009s- Sophia M- LA Surf
- Girls 2008s- Chloe L- New England Surf
The week concluded with a cookout for our players, staff, and families on a beautiful summer’s evening! Congratulations to our Girls 2009s, 2008s, and Boys 2009s on lifting the inaugural Royal Preseason Cup. Thank you to our players and staff for their efforts and quality during a fantastic week in England.
