Cedar International School’s under-13 boys football team arrived back to the territory on Monday after winning the championship trophy at the KPMG Football Fest hosted by Lyford Cay International School in the Bahamas.

Eight teams including the Turks and Caicos, Cayman Islands, Jamaica and the Bahamas were vying for the trophy.

It was the fifth time CIS competed in the annual tournament. Last year, the team came in third place. However, this year they finished in first place in Pool A after securing two wins and a key draw against the home favourite Bahamas.

In the semifinals, CIS took a 1-0 win over the Cayman Prep team, which earned them a spot in the finals. The only goal of the match came from Michael Palladino on a cross from Scott Kirk. 

The final match came down to penalty kicks after T&C managed to come back from an early goal from CIS’s Michael Palladino on a cross by Luka Chalwell. 

During the shootout, both Luka Chalwell and Luca Reich scored their goals while Lawton Green, CIS’s MVP keeper, saved two of the three shots on goal to help his team win the championship.

“What a journey,” said CIS’s UEFA A certified football coach John Reilly. “The boys worked so hard with many of the boys training three to five times a week in preparation for the tournament.”

CIS also fielded a girls team for the second consecutive year. Last year the team finished in seventh place, but this year the team finished in fourth.

Leading up to the tournament the girls team held tryouts and increased their training.

 “Their technical development has been exponential,” said Mr. Reilly. “They have all been so dedicated to their team and in their training.”

CIS took second place in the A side of the draw with two wins and a loss. In the semifinals, they lost to the defending champions Cayman Prep, who would go on to win the tournament. The CIS team also lost their third place match to Lyford Cay International School, 3-0.

With about seven minutes left in the match, Cedar only trailed by one goal but was unable to capitalize.

Some of tournament standouts included MVP and team captain Tola Broderick with two goals, Darci Reich with three goals and several assists, Gabbi Jermyn had two goals and two assists, while Hailey Chomiak and Alisha Ayers also had a solid performance.  On defence, Arial Mohammed and Tinia Van Zoost led the way. 

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