Easter Weekend brought the first competitive event of the outdoor 2019 season for the Athlete Institute FC boys program. The Admiral Cup, Downtown Toronto U16 division, saw AIFC enter a roster comprised of nine U15 and nine U14 athletes competing in a round robin, playoff elimination format at the scenic Cherry Beach Fields.
The boys came flying out of the gate in game one with a resounding and lopsided victory which put Group B opponents on notice of their intentions on the weekend.
Game two saw a physical and well-contested match up against the champions of last years Admiral Tournament. While having good control over long stretches of the match, both defences were well on display in a 0-0 stalemate.
Game three on a very rainy and crisp Saturday was a group decider with a win or tie gaining AIFC qualification to the semi-final. Looking to gain experience while also giving rest to those who had played in a tough and demanding second game, AIFC lined up with eight U14 players starting and going the full match versus a very competitive and disciplined Whitby squad fighting for a win to remain in the tournament. In one of the most entertaining contests of the tournament, a back and forth match saw Whitby tie it during the last minute of play. The young guns of Athlete Institute demonstrated their level and got us to our objective of qualification.
Semi Final Sunday got off to slow start with the boys going down 1-0 very early in the match. Tournament MVP Matthew Plaath pulled one back midway through the first half as AIFC began to exert wave after wave of attacks. After keeping the foot on the pedal in Karpaty FC's final third for most of the game Daniel Coke finally broke the deadlock with a quality finish, Denzel Vasquez ever a workhouse in this tournament put the game out of reach 10 minutes before full time.
Sunday afternoon's Final finally saw the sun come out at Cherry Beach and our boys were ready to shine with it. In a rematch of the second game, AIFC were dominant from start to finish displaying quality possession football and competing with determination on both sides of the ball. As the final whistle sounded closing out the weekend AIFC were crowned convincing Champions.
A fantastic platform and standard has been set moving into the bulk of our competitive calendar, the academy now continues its prep for the OASL season as it heads to Ottawa this week for a strong competitive weekend at the Nike Canada Cup Showcase.