2006 USASA National Veteran's Cup
Over-45 Champions


Connecticut Stars SC


(team pictures, below)

at Wilmington, North Carolina
on July 18 - July 23, 2006


(Second year running -- see first time HERE)

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [SASL e-list] Connecticut Stars -- 2006 Veteran's Cup Over-45 Champions, AGAIN!
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 19:18:15 +0000
From: Garry Archer
To: SASL E-mail List


Shoreline Adult Soccer League, Inc. e-mail list; informational only.

Hello All,

As most of you probably know, Gigi Garofano (of Club Napoli 'A' in the SASL Masters League) organised three teams made up of mostly SASL players to play in this year's USASA Veteran's Cup tournament in Wilmington, North Carolina, July 18th through July 23th. The teams were entered into the Over-45, Over-50 and Over-55 brackets.

Tournament general information is here:
http://www.usasa.com/2006logo/cups.aspx

and details are here:
http://www.ncsoccer.org/ncasa/Veterans%20Cup.htm

Unfortunately, Gigi didn't have an overabundance of players, some dropped out just before the tournament, and some of the players had to play in two or even three of the brackets! Considering the heat and humidity, it must have been exhausting to play two or three games each day and no doubt this was the cause of some disappointing results.

As I understand it, there were close to 300 teams entered into the tournament this year, including mens and womens age group brackets from Over-30 all the way to Over-60 in 5-year increments. It has become a highly prestigious tournament, inaugurated in 1998.


Without further ado, here is how Gigi's three teams fared:

Mens Over-45 Bracket (a total of six teams entered):

Group play:
Connecticut Stars
5, Olimpia (Georgia) 0
Connecticut Stars
0, Radnor United 0-45 (Eastern Pennsylvania) 0
Connecticut Stars
2, Greensboro United 0-45 (North Carolina) 0

The Stars qualified in 1st place to play in the semi-finals:

No details given, but they must have won!

Final:
Connecticut Stars
2, Showmars (North Carolina) 0

Undefeated and unscored against, they finished as Champions for the second year running -- and defeated the same team as
last year!

Here are the Champions! Click on the thumbnail images to reveal full-size pictures:
*Connecticut Stars Over-45 Champions 2006* *Connecticut Stars Over-45 Champions 2006* *Connecticut Stars Over-45 Champions 2006*
The left and right pictures are courtesy of Gerrit Paasman (Greenwich Arsenal, SASL Masters League). The centre picture is courtesy of Raphael Zribi (Trumbull Tip Top, SASL Masters League)



Mens Over-50 Bracket (a total of 15 teams entered):

Group play:
Connecticut United
1, Raleigh Eagles (North Carolina) 1
Connecticut United
2, Last Dream (Florida) 3
Connecticut United
0, Kutis (Missouri) 6
Connecticut United
2, CCG Allstars (South Carolina) 3

Unfortunately, United did not qualify for the semi-finals, but one of the teams they played became Champions.

Final:
Last Dream (
Florida) 1, Harmonie SV (California North) 1 (Last Dream win on PKs)



Mens Over-55 Bracket (a total of nine teams entered):

Group play:
Connecticut Old Stars
1, Golden State Elders (California North) 3
Connecticut Old Stars
4, Pittsburgh Greyhounds (Pennsylvania West) 1
Connecticut Old Stars
1, Texas Wanderers 0-55 (North Texas) 2

Exactly the same as with United in the Over-50s, the Old Stars did not qualify for the semi-finals, but one of the teams they played became Champions.

Final:
Golden State Elders (
California North) 2, 055 Greensboro Utd (North Carolina) 0


All of the mens results can be found here:
http://www.ncsoccer.org/ncasa/VC%2006/Docs/2006%20VC%20v3%20MEN.pdf

(
Note: The above document incorrectly shows Olimpia of Georgia defeating Connecticut Stars 5-0 in the Over-45 bracket. It is, in fact, the other way around.)

All of the womens results can be found here:
http://www.ncsoccer.org/ncasa/VC%2006/Docs/2006%20VC%20v2%20WOMEN.pdf

So, a mixture of congratulations and commiserations to all of Gigi's players! I've spoken to a couple and had e-mails from others and they have all enjoyed it immensely. Gigi's efforts to organise this for all these players are immense and his efforts should truly be congratulated.

CONGRATULATIONS, CHAMPIONS!

Cheers,
- Garry Archer (SASL Executive Board)


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