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Rage U11 wins Santa Cruz Pro Am tournament
Shuts out Livermore 2-0 in final game of beach soccer

by Debi Frost

The spring soccer division-winning Rage U11 Premier team took home another title (and a very large trophy) over the weekend when it finished in first place at the Santa Cruz Pro Am Beach Soccer Tournament.

Ten members of the team participated in the two-day event. All five games were played on sand with the games consisting of three exhausting 12-minute periods played in temperatures that reached 85 degrees.

Saturday's 8 a.m. game was the only one played on packed sand, as the Rage took the field against Dublin and won it decisively, 19-1.Then, under the blazing sun and on a very loose playing field of sand, the afternoon became a little more concerning as the girls tied the Placer Pride, 10-10.

But thanks to careful strategy planning by beach coach Jim Frost, the girls knew they needed a shutout in their third game on Sunday in order to advance to the playoffs, and the girls delivered -- ending the game with an 8-0 shutout over the Thunder.

The finals were just by coincidence against Livermore, a team that these girls have gone head-to-head with more than once. It was hot, it was getting late, but nothing was going to get in the way of the Rage winning this tournament. The team stayed on top of Livermore throughout and won the championship title with another shutout, 2-0.