On May 11
th,
Whittier Narrows Regional
Park played host to the 5
th
Annual LSI Gold Cup Tournament.
LSI
Torrance,
LSI Orange County,
LSI LA, and LSI Alhambra packed their cleats, shorts, and soccer balls and headed
to the fields to do battle and compete for the Gold Cup.
The opening round of the tournament
pitted LA against last year’s champions,
Torrance.
LA showed a slight edge in the beginning and
jumped out to a 1-0 lead before the end of the first half.
Though
Torrance
fought hard in the second half, LA’s defense dominated, allowing LA to glide to
victory.
In other first-round action,
Orange County faced a formidable
Alhambra team.
Unprepared for the explosive attack of the
Alhambra forwards,
Torrance
watched their hopes to reach the finals get buried in an avalanche of
goals.
The
Alhambra sharp-shooters netted 4 unanswered.
As throngs of fans from LSI and
Alhambra waited in
anticipation for the Gold Cup game, veteran players and long-time fans
exchanged stories of a past final game in which the two soccer powers met.
The 2010 Gold Cup game ended in a regulation
tie which led to a tense shoot-out and an LA victory.
Would the Gold Cup land in familiar hands in
2012?
Or would
Alhambra heal an old wound with victory?
These questions buzzed throughout the crowd
as the two rivals lined up for the final game.
A strong defensive effort for LA
kept the rush of the
Alhambra
offense in check for much of the first half.
Yet,
Alhambra’s
forwards were not to be turned away. Before the whistle to end the first half
blew,
Alhambra capitalized
on a momentary defensive faux pas, which gave them a 1-0 lead going into the
second half.
Adjustments were made to the LA
defense and midfield to compensate for their lack of attack, and though this
provided LA with increased shots on net,
Alhambra
players retained their composure and repelled the offensive push.
The game ended with a score of 1-0.
But the real victors were the
students who attended the event.
Players
were treated to 2 great games; Fans were treated to top-notch play on the
pitch; and everyone was treated to lunch, drinks and great fun in the
California sun.
A big thank you goes to Karla, our Marketing
Supervisor, Michelle, our Academic Director, and all the Program Coordinators
and staff from the 4 campuses for making this day possible.
We’re all looking forward to the next one.
For more information about events and activities at LSI go to
www.languagesystems.com
