The "Davids" of soccer in Monterey County

Proud soccer mom Jackie Scott of Carmel compares the wins of the MCFC Warriors to David defeating Goliath. Why, the tiny team of 10-year-old boys have defeated big time clubs like Santa Clara Sporting and the Inter Rage Academy of Sacramento.

These "Warriors" will now vie for the NorCal State Cup, with their first game this Sunday.

Scott, mother of goalie, says it with so much enthusiasm that I'll just let her have the mic. Here's her letter:


There's a tiny team of ten 10-year-old boys with HUGE hearts, out of tiny Carmel, that has triumphed against all odds in the first three tournaments they have played this soccer season. It's the kind of story everybody loves...It makes us feel like anything is possible. These boys are inspiring, dedicated and they are fighters!

In the sport of boy's competitive soccer, there are the "Goliaths" like Santa Clara Sporting http://www.santaclarasporting.com/ and Ballistic United http://www.busc.org/ , both out of big cities, with thousands of players to draw from. They have fancy websites and full time coaches and multiple teams at each level; intense parents who pay thousands of dollars for the season, with elaborate uniforms and private trainers. It's big business.

Then you have the MCFC Warriors. The boys practice on the modest Carmel River School field. They don't have matching practice uniforms or managers, or even a paid coach. The coach often pays refs out of his own pocket and stripes the field himself in the foggy early mornings before the game days. But what they do have clearly matters...and they are starting to get noticed! They have entered three tournaments to begin their season and, against all odds, defeated all the Goliaths and won all three tournaments! This weekend, in the Stanford Summer Classic Tournament, they beat the Interrage Academy http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=rageacademy out of Sacramento in the finals, with a shut out of 2-0. In the semi finals they beat the Santa Clara Sporting 4-3 in a very exciting match in which they were down 1-3 at the half. The boys endured taunting from the other team and parents, fought through tears and hurt feelings, and came back to win in the game in a very tension filled second half.

Similar stories of comebacks and exciting triumphs are plentiful from their victories at the Santa Cruz Sand Tournament in July and the Breakers Cup in early August, both of which the Warriors won. The boys are now ranked ninth out of hundreds of teams entered in the NorCal State Cup, with their first game this Sunday.

It's really the fight and the heart that make these boys what they are. The small but victorious Davids of boys' competitive soccer in Northern California. We are so proud of them. And we think Monterey County should be too!

By Jackie Scott

Go Warriors!