First Scirea Cup Game vs. Bari

Buon Giorno a Tutti! Today the boys played a very hard game against professional club side Bari from the hometown team from Bari, Italy, who happened to be finalist in last year's tournament. The game was played on turf field of Stadio Laterza, with fireworks and ceremonial start with the National Anthem of both countries. The boys nervous energy was apparent at the onset but were  able to channel it to a strong start by scoring first after the injury foul to Esteban Reyes. Unfortunately his injury is a big loss and will most likely cause him to miss the next match.
The boys battled hard and played with an intensity that created the first goal of the match by Tony Velazquez. It was set up by by an overlapping run by Senna De la Cruz after passing it to Tristan Thompson who knocked it in to Giovanni Partida, who then placed a nice through ball onto the diagonal run of Tony Velazquez beating the keeper with a nice finish. Bari quickly came back and tied the game as they received support from the hometown crowd. The boys eventually succumbed to the onset of fatigue and inexperience of European style of soccer that they are not exposed to back in the states. It was an eye opening experience but proud to say they never quit and played hard throughout the game.
They will face Italian side Noicattaro tonight at 8:30 pm. Italian time. Wishing our boys the best of luck for tonight's match. Photos and video footage to follow!