Major Beach Soccer Feature
Saturday, December 14, 2013
CLEARWATER BEACH, Fla. – After winning the U18 division at the Major Beach Soccer National Championships last year, the step up to the Men’s Open Division has been a big one for the Pirate Legacy side, according to team member Dawson Dunn.
“It’s huge,” Dunn said after the opening day of the 2013 MBS National Championships. “It’s bigger than you’d think, too, because you come out here and see a group of guys and some of them look older, but if anything they’ve got more experience and more size to push you around. It’s a pretty big step, so this is a really good thing for us.”
As big as the jump for Dunn and his teammates might have been, they came through the opening day with flying colors as wins in both of their contests left them on the verge of the semifinals. Pirate Legacy took a 5-2 win against the Rochester Italians in its opening contest, and then defeated IABS-White 4-0 to sit tied for first in Group C of the Open Division.
“We’ve been coming out here since we were 12 years of age, we always come out here to have fun, but winning is a big bonus,” Dunn said. “We’re really pleased. We’re just out here having fun, so you can’t be unhappy with any of that.”
Great Lakes Beach Soccer is the side that sits between Pirate Legacy and a spot in the semis in the final game of group play on Sunday after it also took a pair of victories on Saturday.
Elsewhere in the Men’s Open Division, defending champions Rush DSC put itself in position for a return to the knockout rounds with a 5-2 win against La ‘U’ and a 6-0 win against Beachgoers in Group A, leaving it just a point away from the semifinals. As with Group C, the winner of Group B will also be determined by the final round of group games as the Flying Kicks and Team Calvary Chapel meet after both going 1-0-1 on the opening day.
In the Women’s Open Division, 2012 runner-up IABS-Pink currently sits in first place after winning both of its group games. IABS took an 8-1 victory against the Palm Beach Riptide in its opener, and then took a 6-2 win against the Lakeland Reality. Quality Beach Soccer Club from Bermuda sits in second place, two points behind IABS, after earning a win and a draw in its opening two games.
“The day’s gone very well,” MBS Director Peter Mellor said. “The weather has co-operated, it’s been a little cooler than July’s events, but in terms of the games, there have been some good games. The game between Calvary Chapel and Quality Beach Soccer [in the Men’s Open Division] was full of good beach soccer, the flicks, playing above the sand.”
The 2013 Major Beach Soccer National Championships conclude on Sunday on Clearwater Beach, Fla., with finals for the nine divisions beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET.