LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS –
Lackland's varsity soccer team held its first 5-on-5 soccer fundraiser tournament at the Gateway West fields on Oct. 13-14.
A group of 12 teams representing a number of units and organizations participated in the two-day double-elimination event.
The competition was striking, as players fought very engaging and tactful battles of supremacy on the soccer pitch.
By the end of the first day, 18 games had been played, and the field was whittled down to four teams.
Only the Screaming Eagles (344th Training Squadron) and the DC United (Dental Clinic) teams remained undefeated.
Battling heroically, and trying to overcome their one loss to emerge from the loser bracket were the Inter-American Air Forces Academy team and "We're Not Navy" from Lackland Training Annex.
In the head-to-head competition between IAAFA and "We're Not Navy," the IAAFA team prevailed with a tightly fought 2-1 victory.
But their day was not over yet as they would have to face the Screaming Eagles, who lost to DC United in a 9-1 blowout.
With IAAFA playing its seventh game in two days, they prevailed, defeating the Screaming Eagles 4-1.
The championship match was now set between IAAFA and the still undefeated DC United team, and all eyes were on the IAAFA team's stamina.
If they could muster a win, they would force a second and deciding game. The IAAFA team took a 2-1 lead into half-time.
For the first 19 minutes of the second half the score remained the same.
With time expiring, DC United pushed a shot into the net and tied the score, forcing sudden death overtime.
It didn't take long for the tiring IAAFA team to find the back of the net to secure the 3-2 win.
This set up an immediate second match to crown the champion.
The second game was scoreless through the first half, but as the sun continued to beat down on the warriors from IAAFA, it proved too much to overcome.
DC United was able to dominate the second half, scoring five goals.
The tired and tested IAAFA team congratulated the members of DC United on a well-fought victory.
Everyone should look forward to more events sponsored by the Lackland Varsity Soccer Team.
The team has tentatively scheduled a "Midnight Madness" indoor tournament for the first weekend of December.
This event will be in support of the "Toys for Tots" program. As a follow-up to this past weekend's tournament, the "Winter Blast 2008" event is scheduled for the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.
The team will again hold the Air Force's premier stateside base level tournament, "The Defender's Cup," on Presidents Day weekend.
For information on events, contact Stewart Hess at 875-8143.