The Carpinteria AYSO Warriors boys under-16 played their sixth tournament this season in Cypress this past weekend in a tournament that always brings good quality teams at all levels. The Warriors, 15-4-6 this season, won the Cypress Memorial Classic by beating Rowland Heights 3-1.
The Warriors also won the sharpshooter contest, a penalty kick competition within their pool.
Carpinteria finished second in pool B after winning 3-1 against Murrieta (San Diego) and drawing twice, 1-1 vs Rowland Heights and 0-0 vs Cypress. Goals came from Luis Cisneros, Alfredo Maya, and Angel Varela, while defending the net was Erick Rojas.
In the semifinals, they faced the No. 1 seed in pool A, North Torrance, who had beaten the Warriors in the finals in the last meet at Torrance in a game that ended 1-1 after overtime and had to be decided by penalty kicks. Playing North Torrance again gave the Warriors the opportunity to redeem themselves and put on a good show.
The game did not disappoint.
North Torrance played fast and very aggressive during the first ten minutes of the match and scored. The Warriors, however, held the North Torrance surge and then took over. In the second half, the Warriors scored twice, placing them in the finals against a very tough Rowland Heights who beat Downey 3-2.
In the final game, the Warriors again went down 1-0 and had to dig deep to overcome the score. Alfredo Maya scored on a header and the game was tied. Angel Varela broke the tie and on a scramble in front of the net, Alfredo hammered the third goal for the Warriors. This tournament saw a very competitive Warrior team that kept playing better and better exactly when it matter most. Congratulations Warriors!
