Team 91 Crush after winning the 11U National Championship for the second consecutive year, as well as the third straight national title for the Team 91 11U program.
WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — There were plenty of new faces in the 11U division at the 2013 DICK'S Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions presented by Pasco County, with the tournament's youngest division featuring its highest number of teams to date. It was a familiar image, however, that closed the tournament.
Led by a game-high five goals from Brennan O'Neill, defending national champion Team 91 Crush routed LI Express 2020 Terps in the 11U National Championship Game, 18-0.
Crush attackman Brennan O'NeillEight different players got onto the score sheet for Team 91 Crush. O'Neill, who was named Championship Game MVP, added three assists, tying Joey Spallina (3G/5A) for the game high in points. Last year's MVP, Aiden Danenza, scored twice and contributed a pair of assists. Tyler Cordes, who opened the scoring with what held up as the game-winning goal, notched a pair of goals as well. The rest of the scoring came from Andrew McAdorey (2G/3A), Brett Martin (1G/1A), Alex Moynihan (1G), Jake Naso (1G) and Cristian Mercado (1G). Crush goalie Jason Tingue was scarcely tested but stopped all four shots faced.
Before the game — which was being billed as the Battle of I-495 — the two Long Island-based teams were serenaded with songs like "Empire State of Mind" and "New York, New York." Once the game began, it didn’t take long for Team 91's breakneck pace and stifling defense to cement the Crush as king of the hill, top of the heap.
Returning the vast majority of its roster from last year's championship squad, Coach Joe Spallina's Crush recorded shutouts in three of its four pool play victories. As the top-seeded team in the 11U bracket, the team lived up to its name, defeating playoff opponents by an average of 18.5 points per game.
For LI Express 2020 Terps, the championship game loss was its only blemish on the weekend. Building on a seventh-place finish in last year's Tournament of Champions, the Terps finished pool play undefeated and earned the 3-seed based on tiebreaking criteria. Despite technically being the underdogs against second-seeded Looney's 2020 Orange in the semifinals, the Terps won each of their first three playoff games by no less than seven goals.
The championship victory extended the Team 91 program's tournament win streak to 19 games, dating back to Sal Locascio's Team 91 Orange team, which went undefeated en route to the 11U National Championship in 2011.
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Tournament Recap:
11U Pool Play Results
11U Playoff Results
11U National Championship Game Photos