Playing in its first tournament since winning the All American Turkey Tournament in North Torrance last November against North Torrance, 3-1, the Culver City AYSO Boys Under-19 All-Stars won the recent Culver City Sony Classic against the same team by the same score.
“Players on these two teams respect each other,” said Culver head coach Jim Pochick. “It is rewarding to see the intensity without tempers flaring. Players helped up opponents they knocked to the ground.”
Culver City beat Chino, 3-1, blanked Burbank, 2-0, and tied Castaic, 3-3, on a last second goal to reach the finals.
Players are Alan Cazarez, Oscar Orellana, Joey Sukal, Andy Castillo, Jerry Grande, Shota Watanabe, Andy Landaverde, David Tapia, Eddie Gondinez, Ret Tilman, Jacob Elliott, Morris Ellis, Oscar Diaz, Antonio Herrera, Lawrence Friedl and Julien Prestridge.
Assistant coach is Junji Watanabe.
Other Sony Classic winners were Girls U-16 (coach George Reyes), Girls U-14 (coach Humberto Benitez), Boys U-14 (coach Luis Carbajal), and Boys U-12 (coach Francisco Anaya).
Considered a young squad with many 16 and 17 year olds, the reign of the Culver City AYSO Boys Under-19 surprised tournament officials, according to Pochick.
“Many of our players moved up from the U-16 team I coached last year, and we knew we had a lot to prove in ‘world cup’ style play against veteran teams,” said Pochick.
A defensive gem at the goal mouth by Jacob Elliott against South Torrance for a 4-1 win, a grueling 1-0 win over El Segundo, a 1-0 loss with outstanding goaltending against Central Torrance, and a gratifying 3-1 win over friendly rival North Torrance highlighted the All American Turkey Tournament, according to Pochick.