by Ian James

The Seals tournament run is finished as we made it to the semi-finals and lost 3-2. Despite our disappointment in not winning the tournament there is a sense of pride in what we accomplished. Most of the players are also relieved they can go a couple hours without playing a game of soccer.

The quarter final was a first class attacking spectacle. The Seals went down early, but Johnny brought us back level (once again) with an amazing chip from halfway off of the kick off. He scored another before Gabe rounded off the scoring with a clean first time shot into the upper right corner.

Our semifinal was where we dug a whole too big for us to comeback from. We went down 3-0 against a strong Basque team before we could get our legs. Spencer Johnson got a brace as the Seals tried to overcome the deficit but it was not to be. I believe that our poor start might be partially contributed to the opposition's goalkeeper having dreads arranged in a mullet, a hairstyle that could overwhelm even the most composed forward.

Now we are off to Madrid, where we will take a flight back to San Francisco, and away from the  shared showers, smoking seven year olds and twenty person bedrooms. I think we will all miss it.


Note:  Defender Ian James is traveling with the U19 - U17 team in Spain and will be chronicleing the experience which will be posted on the Seals website.

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