Courtesy: Daily Breeze


Mustangs thrive in futsal

It looks like Mira Costa has found another sport to dominate: futsal.

A group of Mira Costa soccer players helped the Mira Costa Football Club secure second place in the 60-team Nike Cup U-19 Futsal Tournament.

Futsal, a version of soccer that is popular in Brazil and Spain, is just being introduced to the United States. It features a smaller field, a smaller ball, smaller goals and five-person teams. The lightning-fast game, which usually features 22-minute matches, puts an emphasis on passing, foot skills and creative play. Among the World Cup stars who grew up playing futsal are Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Robinho, Roberto Carlos and even David Beckham.

Apparently Mira Costa has some natural futsallers.

Charlie Pitts, Alex Norocea, Lucas Cespedes, Jack McCracken, Goose Stern, Steven Marsella and Joe Valenzuela were part of the Mira Costa Soccer Club, which won a shootout, 2-1, in the semifinals before losing, 5-2, in the final.

"This is an awesome game. We've only been playing for a couple of months, so we were pleasantly surprised when we kept winning," said Pitts, a team captain and manager. "The guys who beat us have been playing futsal a bit longer, mostly college guys home on vacation, so we felt we acquitted ourselves well."


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com