Massachusetts Adult Soccer

August 19-20, 2022: The Championship of Regions was played this weekend at Richard Siegel Sports Complex Murfreesboro, TN hosted by USASA Region III & Tennessee State Soccer Association. Titles were awarded to the national champions for the Werner Fricker Cup, the Amateur Open Championship; Gerhard Mengel Cup, the National Over-30 Championship; the Over-40 Cup, & the National Women's Championship. 

For more information see: https://www.usadultsoccer.com/region3tournaments

Safira made a big impression in their first appearance in the Men's O40 Cup. This started on route from Boston to Nashville!  Rumor has it that the super star Brazilian soccer team captured a lot of attention on their flight and one passenger exclaimed that she "felt like she was in Ted Lasso".

On the field, Safira was all business. They faced Sporting Charlotte in the first semifinal game.  Safira scored first and held the lead most of the match.  However, in the 75th minute Sporting equalized and the game remained tied through the rest of regulation.  In PKs, Sporting prevailed 5-4.

Safira viewed the 3rd vs 4th place match as a redemption game. They took to the pitch with the same passion and determination to take home a victory as they did the day before.  This time they prevailed with a 2-1 win over Wanderers FC from North Carolina.  

In the Women's Amateur Cup... The Sidekicks lost two tough games to very talented teams but competed well as a team in each match.  In the semifinals, they met up with the Charlotte Eagles, a fantastic program that develop players at all levels from youth to the USL2 and the WPSL. They were unchallenged at the regional level, however the Sidekicks gave them a good run and after some adjustments in the second half, were able to shut them down after going down 0-3 early in the match. 

In the 3th vs 4th place game, the Sidekicks faced another talented side, the Illinios Rockland Raptors. This was a rematch from last year's final. Just like last year, Raptors scored first. However, the Sidekicks immediately equalized. Sidekicks attacking midfielder, Liz Carlos, dribbled the ball with sheer determination through the attacking third and buried a rocket of a shot into the Raptor's net! Statement made!

The 2nd half was a battle...  The Raptors scored the go-ahead goal in the 47' when their team captain "Dale" broke through the 18 and hit the upper 90. The Sidekicks battled back, creating several opportunities but just could not score.  Cat Amick had some beautiful one timers that the Raptor goalie saved. Sidekicks goalie, Casey Halle put in an ESPN highlight worthy performance in the closing minutes of the game when she blocked a breakaway shot and jumped back up to make a second save.  Although the Sidekicks lost 1-2, they represented us well and showed the country the strength or women's soccer here in Massachusetts! The game was live streamed and link will be posted here shortly.