Hudson Fun in the Sun Tournament, NOGSL Northern Ohio Girls Soccer League

Ali Breen lining up another steal against Hudson on Saturday Aug. 19. Photo by Andy Kostos.

The Hudson Fun in the Sun Tournament, hosted by the Northern Ohio Girls Soccer League on Aug. 19-20, featured nearly 100 top-flight girls travel soccer teams from Madison to Wooster, Mansfield to Norwalk and Sandusky, and all parts in between. The Eastside Kickers finished in second place in the top division for U10 girls, and we are very proud of our girls for their commitment to the sport.

Resounding wins over Norwalk and Hudson on Saturday guaranteed a trip to the finals. As they played exceptionally strong teams from Mansfield and Twinsburg Sunday, the goals were not as prevalent but their heart was very evident.

Seeing the girls play a team (Twinsburg) that beat them about 11-0 last fall, to be able to come as close as they did (0-1) was a testament to the girls and the coaching. It was about as good of a U10 girls travel game that you’ll ever see. About 10 to 15 minutes into the game a handful of Twinsburg parents came up to me and said, “Can you believe this game?”  “Have you ever seen anything like it?” “You guys have a really amazing team that is really fun to watch!” They asked where we were from and if we had ever played. I mentioned the game at Forest Hills last year and they said, “Are you kidding me? This is the same team? Wow, what your team has done is amazing.”

James Breen

Jim Breen is the father of Ali Breen, an Eastside Kickers player. A longtime Heights resident, he owns a commercial real estate firm that specializes in Green Buildings.

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Volume 4, Issue 10, Posted 8:52 AM, 09.02.2011