BLAINE, Minn. – Last weekend’s success for the Thunder Bay Chill at the USA Cup soccer tournament has been brewing.
Having been a perennial contender in various age groups prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chill made their presence felt once again.
The U15 boys’ and girls’ teams both captured the title in their respective age categories, while the U17 girls’ squad earned runner-up honours.
“It took us a little bit of time to get back going again, but this weekend showed the overall growth and improvement that we’ve been having here,” said Marco Colistro, who coaches the U15 and U17 girls’ teams.
“I don’t know if I want to say that we are back to normal, but after winning a championship last year (with the U17 boys’ program) and three teams in the finals this year, there are a lot of good signs.”
The USA Cup tournament is the largest youth soccer tournament in North America and features teams from around the world.
The Chill sent 16 age-group teams to the event, where they played a total of 64 games in three days.
“Our goal with the tournament is to bring a lot of our players to develop, do well against the other teams and enjoy the experience,” said Chill technical director Wilson Neto, who is also the coach of the Chill U10 girls and U11 boys teams.
“This was the most teams that we have taken down to the USA Cup since before the pandemic and it was a great year for us. We were scoring more goals, winning more games and winning more titles, but there was also a lot of great development for our younger players.
“We can’t wait for the future where we’re going to have lots of strong teams and hopefully more that are competing in the final.”
The championship matchups for the U15 squads could have gone either way.
The boys prevailed in an exciting 4-3 affair with the South Suburban Soccer Academy of South Holland, Ill., while the girls outlasted the Eden Prairie (Minn.) Soccer Club by a score of 3-2.
“The U15 girls had struggled a little bit in the Winnipeg Premier League, but they didn’t let that affect them,” Colistro said. “They approached the USA Cup as a fresh start and they had a never give up mentality.”
“A USA Cup win was something that the U15 boys had been dreaming about for many years now,” Neto added. “They had fallen short the past couple of years down there and it was really fulfilling to see them accomplish their goal.”
Although the U17 girls saw their championship run come to an end in a 5-0 defeat to the Tempo Rain Soccer Club of Sioux Falls, S.D., their resiliency was something that was easy to spot for those who watched them play.
“They kind of had the same approach as the U15 girls’ with their never give up attitude,” Colistro said.
“A perfect example was in the semifinal. They were down 1-0 (to Kelix Intra Soccer Club of Minneapolis) but they clawed their way back and ended up winning 4-1.”
