Blues New Year's Premier Invitational

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2000 S.C. BLUES PREMIER NEW YEAR'S INVITATIONAL

Some of the best quality soccer being played at the youth level happens the first weekend of the new year. The 2000 Blues New Years Invitational kicked off play January 8 & 9. Once again John Currier, Father of Janessa (U13 Blues), was the invitational coordinator along with his committee of hard working volunteers. John you were pro, thanks from all the kids and families for all your work. This was the fourth year the Blues held the invitational. All the matches were held at the San Juan Polo fields. With each of the participating teams hand selected, the quality of the competition was top notch and this created meaningful games for all those involved. This year the format was two groups of four quality teams with a guarantee of four full length games rather than a host of mini games. The SC Blues want to extend thanks to all those who participated for making the tournament a positive soccer experience for all involved. Now that we have gained official CYSA-South status and have learned how to file our papers on time we are planning on upgrading the tournament services with the computer automation of papers including schedules and applications on line. This of course will be in reference to the 2001 invitational. Below the scores are posted for the final game.

2000 BLUES NEW YEARS CHAMPS!
U10	SD SURF-2 SC BLUES-1
U11	SC BLUES-3 DEL MAR SHARKS-1
U12	SD SURF-2 SASC STRIKERS-1
U13	SD SURF-1 SC BLUES-0

1999 S.C. BLUES PREMIER NEW YEAR'S INVITATIONAL

The 1999 Blues New Years Invitational kicked off and had its most successful competition in its short three year history. All credit and thanks goes to John Currier, Father of Janessa (U12 Blues), along with his committee of volunteers. All the matches were held at the San Juan Polo fields under 70 degree weather. The format of the tournament was altered to have five quality teams in each of the participating age groups (U10, U11, U12, U13). Teams played a round robin consisting of two full length games each day for a total of four games. With each of the participating teams hand selected, the quality of the competition was top notch creating meaningful games for all those involved. The champion of the tournament was declared on points and awarded championship T-shirts after the conclusion of their matches and below are the 1999 Champs!

1999 BLUES NEW YEARS CHAMPS!
U10	SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BLUES
U11	SAN DIEGUITO SURF
U12	MISSION VIEJO ELITE
U13	SAN DIEGUITO SURF

1998 NEW YEAR'S FINALS INTERRUPTED BY RAIN!

January 3 the was the kickoff of the third Southern California Blues Premier New Years Invitational. All games for this unique soccer event were held at the beautiful Rancho Capistrano Soccer Fields except for the U10 age group which played at San Gorgonio Park in San Clemente. For detailed maps to these locations check your 1998 invitational guide which was put together once again by Jim Regan of MVP Promotions, Pat Lynch, and Chris Vaught (this year's event director).

The Only difficulty in scheduling came in the U10 bracket which saw one of the teams drop out at the last moment. Fortunately, Rancho Santa Fe Attack U10 was more than happy to fill in for Jusa. The graphic art was designed and provided by Jim Regan at MVP Promotions. The number for MVP is (714) 454-1MVP or you can email Jim at mvppromo@earthlink.net

Real briefly, the weekend went extremely well except for the rain which washed out the final round of the invitational. Event director Chris Vaught, when faced with the prospect of damaging the fields at Rancho Capistrano, made the decision to cancel the final games and award the invitational championships based on points. This rule was clearly stated in the event guide which was distributed to all the teams prior to the competition.

U10'S DO IT ON THE FIELD!

The luckiest age group was the U10 who got to play for the championship as the heavy rain began to fall. The first round games were held at San Gorgonio Park in San Clemente and the finalists were Rancho Santa Fe vs the Southern California Blues. The Blues took the rain soaked final by a score of 1-0 on a sliding first half goal by Jacqueline Gantes. Towards the end of the game conditions were worsening and Rancho had some chances to tie but some timely goalkeeping from Kirsten Commins preserved the win. The other participating teams were MV Elite and SD Surf.

U11 GOES TO MISSION ON POINTS!

With rain coming down hard and soggy fields, the U11 Blues lost any chance to avenge an earlier 3-0 defeat at the hands of state cup favorite Mission Viejo. The Blues won their other two games and were poised to take on the first place MV team in the final. Awarding the invitational on points Mission was declared champion based on their 3-0 record. Other participating teams were Irvine Strikers and SD Surf.

U12 BLUES COME AWAY WITH BITTER SWEET VICTORY ON POINTS!

The U12 Blues won their second consecutive invitational in controversial fashion as they were declared champions on points. They were set for a rematch with the powerful Rancho Santa Fe Attack in the final having defeated them 2-1 in the first round. The Blues had a 3-0 record going into the final. Thanks to Rancho Santa Fe for accepting the controversial decision with a lot of class. The Attack holds a 2-1 advantage over the Blues this season and no doubt the final would have been another great game. Other participating teams were the De Anza Sharks and SD Surf.

U13 CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDED AT LEAGUE CUP SEMIS!

Perhaps the most difficult decision was the cancellation of the U13 Final between the Southern California Blues and the state champion Upland Celtic. The Blues narrowly defeated the Celtic 1-0 in the first round of play and had a 3-0 record going into the scheduled final. These two teams have played several times this season and were scheduled to meet the following weekend in the CSL Cup semifinals. In an attempt at fairness the coaches from both teams agreed to forego tournament rules and award the championship to the team that wins the next meeting. This decision became a contentious one among parents from both teams and in both directions. Unfortunately the invitational could not schedule a game for the parents and so by agreement of the players and coaches it would be decided at the CSL cup semifinals. In conclusion, the championship was finally awarded to the Blues after the two teams met once again at the CSL cup semifinals. The Blues won the game 3-1 and were awarded the Blues Invitational championship.

1997 NEW YEAR'S INVITATIONAL

On January 4 and 5, the Southern California Blues Soccer Club will be hosting their 1997 Premier Invitational. All games for this unique soccer event will be held at the Rancho Capistrano Soccer Fields. The Invitational will be made up of four teams in each age bracket in U11, U12, and U13 age groups. The Blues teams in these age groups will be squaring off against some of the top competition in the state of California. In the U11 group are the Santa Barbara Legend, Rancho Santa Fe Attack, and the De Anza Sharks. The U12 group will include the San Diego Surf, Wolfpack Blue, and a team to be determined. The U13 group will contain last seasons state champion Valley Stars, the Santa Barbara Legend, and the San Diego Surf. T-Shirts will be sold at $10 per shirt with the awesome logo you see to the right. This logo will also be put on a pin all of the participants will receive, as well as event medals. The graphic art was designed and provided by Jim Regan at MVP Promotions. The Event Director is Pat Lynch whose daughter Kristin is a member of the U13 Blues. Pat was determined to put the event together this season in order to find our teams some quality games during what can sometimes be a dead time for the girls, just as they begin preparation for the state championships.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 1997!
BY KRISTIN LYNCH (BLUES U13)

Your mission should you choose to accept it is to successfully pull off the annual Blues New Years Invitational. The weekend in which you will complete this task is January 4 & 5 and the primary goal is to provide quality games for the U11, U12, and U13 Blues as they prepare for State Cup. Now get to it! This was the mission assigned to Blues Tournament Director Pat Lynch (my Dad). Lynch, along with several other volunteer helpers, staged a prosperous invitational with premier soccer teams coming from throughout California. Although mother nature provided us with a few showers, the games got underway on a soggy Saturday. The first day of the invitational proved to be a winning day for the Blues, as all three teams went undefeated. The U13 Blues led off the day avenging early season losses and beating rivals California Legends (Santa Barbara), by a score of 2-1. They went on to earn a 2-2 tie in their evening game, coming back from a two goal deficit to the powerful San Dieguito Surf. On the other side of Rancho Capistrano fields the U12 Blues inched out a 1-0 victory against the U12 Surf in an action packed game. They concluded the glorious day with a 2-0 win over the upstart Claremont Stars. Way down in San Diego, the U11 Blues started off with a tough matchup vs the Rancho Santa Fe Attack, who deserves kudos for coming up with a last minute field (the rain would not allow enough room to have the U11's play at Rancho Capistrano); thank you Rancho Santa Fe! The actual game ended up a scoreless draw and the U11's had to wait for their next game to claim their first victory, a 2-0 win over the U11 California Legends (Santa Barbara). Sunday brought happiness to two teams, heartbreak to the other. Both the U11 and U12 Blues opened the day strong with wins. The U11 took on and defeated the DeAnza Sharks (Northern California) 1-0 on a Kendal Holiday goal, a team they lost to in PK's in the semifinal of this past summer's Pleasanton tournament. They earned a rematch with the Rancho Santa Fe Attack on a muddy field. The game was a see saw battle with Rancho Santa Fe taking a 1-0 lead to halftime on a rebound off a hard shot. The Blues tied the match in the second half as midfielder Ali Rivera cut up through the middle took a shot which caromed off a defender and onto a Blues player who put it away for the 1-1 tie. The final went to overtime before it was decided in PK's in the Blues favor. Blues Win U11 Championship! U12 Blues also had a good day earning a spot in the final match with a 2-0 victory over an energized Wolfpack team. In the final they would once again face the Surf and took a 2-0 lead with goals in each half before conceding a goal of their own late in the game. Blues Win U12 Championship 2-1! Heartbreak came for the U13 as reality looked them square in their hopeful faces. They would have to defeat the defending state champion Valley United Stars twice in a row in order to sweep the invitational in all three age groups. A tall order, but not impossible considering the fact the U13's had beaten the Stars the last two times the teams had faced each other. In the first game the Blues managed to pull off another upset beating the Stars 2-1 and setting up the rematch in the final. The second game proved to be fatal as the Stars clearly demonstrated that the road to the state cup still goes through the San Fernando Valley. They thoroughly dominated the Blues and beat them soundly 3-0. Valley United Stars U13 Win Championship! That is it for me, Kristin Lynch (1997 U14 Blues), Blues News Staff Writer.