BRYC Thunder, a U16 Boys team coached by Scott Sarratt, entered the SFL Tournament facing an uphill battle.  Just to make it to the Championship Game, they had to face two fast and determined teams from Prince William. To make matters tough, two players were out for the morning game and others got lost and arrived late. Within the first two minutes, Thunder was down 0-2.  It looked grim. But then the late arriving players showed up, the team got back to their normal positions, and by halftime the score was 3-3.  At the end of the second half the score was tied 5-5!  It was time for PK’s to determine who went on…and Thunder came out on top, 2-0.

Next up was a higher ranked, well rested, team from Prince William that had had a bye the first round, facing a tired Braddock Road squad. At halftime Prince William led 2-1. Remarkably, the second half was all Thunder, who wore down and demoralized the Prince William boys, notching four more goals while holding Price William scoreless for a final score of 5-2.

In the Championship Game against a team from Vienna, Thunder chose field disadvantage in the first half hoping they could hold off the opposition and use the sun to their advantage in the second. Vienna pressed. Thunder played more defense than the coach liked. When the Thunder pressed, Vienna had counters.  After several close shots from both teams in the second half, the game was still scoreless at the end. On to PK’s for the second time.

Once again the Thunder prevailed, notching four out of five attempts while the Thunder goalie stood tall, blocking one Prince William shot while another went over the goal  for a 4-3 shootout win and the Tournament Championship for the second time this calendar year.  Congratulations to Coach Sarratt and the BRYC Thunder for their great SFL season-ending performance!