Brigade’s tournament run halted

The Brigade, a local boys Under-13 soccer team, advanced to the

quarterfinal round of the National Cup Tournament before being eliminated

from title contention.

Brigade opened the tournament with a forfeit victory over the Rancho

Bernardo Nomads before they tied the Camarillo Titans, 1-1.

Adam Beavor converted a penalty kick at the 10-minute mark of the first

half to give Brigade a 1-0 lead.

The team suffered its first tournament loss in the third round, falling,

1-0, to the fourth-seeded Mission Viejo Pateodores.

Despite the loss, Brigade still earned enough points to advance to the

Round of 16. There, they met up with old nemesis, Celtic, the No. 3 seed

who, last November, knocked Brigade out of the League Cup Tournament with

a semifinal victory. This time, however, Brigade rose to the occasion and

scored a resounding 6-1 triumph. Nick Rippeto ripped the nets in the win

with five goals, with Kareem Khalil also scoring once.

That win set up a quarterfinal date with top-seeded Palos Verdes, which

fell behind, 1-0, when Brigade’s Bryan Osuna volleyed a shot into the net

in the game’s fifth minute. But two quick goals within a two-minute span

of the second half, and a goal in the match’s final five minutes, gave

the Palos Verdes Raiders a 3-1 lead.

David Sias scored with one minute remaining, but Brigade could get no

closer and went on to suffer a 3-2 defeat.

Brigade’s success during the season earned the team a sixth-place ranking

in the Southern California area, and a 10th-place ranking in the Far West

Region.

Members of the Brigade also include Steven Kalogeropoulos, Jeremy Small,

Jarrid Johnston, Kevin Fronk, Bryce McKendry, David Aguilar, J.P. Smith,

Brendon Welch, Brandon Plummer, Tomer Konowiecki, Brad Smith, and Coach

Alex Comargo.

Brigade will advance to the Under-14 Gold Division for the 2000/2001

season, which gets underway in May, and the team will be holding upcoming

tryouts. For more information, call 964-3277, or 964-1240.