LJSA-Chelsea Wins Impressively – Again – At HYSA’s Presidents’ Day State Championship Tournament for the U8 Through U12 Age Divisions

For Immediate Release: Kailua, HI

For the third consecutive year, the LJSA-Chelsea Boys Under-11 soccer team was crowned State Champions at the HYSA Presidents’ Day Tournament, held February 19-21, at the Waipio Soccer Complex on Oahu.  As they did in 2009 and 2010, the U11 Boys came out on top of the 7 team division, advancing from pool play with a record of 2-0-1, then winning their Semi-Final match 2-1 against the Kula Thunder before dominating Rush Nike 3-0 for their third title.

But, LJSA-Chelsea wasn’t done  -- it also gave an indication as to the future of the Club when the U8 Boys team also captured the title of State Champions in their age group.    Thirteen teams were entered in the Boys U8 Division,  LJSA-Chelsea’s U8 boys advanced out of pool play with a record of 2-0-0, scoring decisive wins of  7-0 and 10-0 over its pool opponents.  The U8 Boys then won their quarterfinal match  2-0 over Rush Zoom, their semi-final match 4-0 over Bulls Kaele, and then defeated Bulls Kaula 3-1 in the Championship game. 

Two other LJSA-Chelsea Boys teams also played in the Tournament.  The U10 Boys, in a field of 12 teams, advanced out of pool play with a record of 1-0-1, but lost a heartbreaking battle in their quarter-final match to the defending State Champions Wailuku Bruisers from Maui.  The final was 3-2 in Double Overtime.   

The U12 Boys, playing in a very difficult 10 team bracket, failed to advance out of pool play, with a record of 1-2-1. 

The overall record of the four LJSA-Chelsea boys teams was 11-3-3, winning Championships in two of the five age divisions contested in the President’s Day Tournament.

In addition, for the first time LJSA-Chelsea entered teams in the Girls U11 and U12 divisions.  This was the first year that LJSA-Chelsea has fielded girls teams, and although neither was able to advance out of pool play, both teams played very well.  The U11 girls played against teams from established clubs with much more experience, but fought hard in each of its four pool games, ending with a record of 0-3-1.  The U12 girls, also competing against teams with much more experience, proved themselves up to the challenge going 1-2-1 overall, but losing two close matches 3-0 and 1-0 on the second day of pool play to just miss advancing to the elimination round.