Marco Came Up Short in Under 9 Championship

An improved Marco Island United Under 9 team came one win short of a championship Friday night, losing 1-1 (2-1) to Pachuca FC in a game decided by penalty kicks after two five-minute overtime periods.

Coach Raymond Bergman is proud of his team’s effort, given where they started.

“We put this team together at the last minute,” Raymond Bergman said, "and a lot of the players are recreational players. Some of them haven't even played soccer before. We had a few losses initially, but then they really did great. I'm very proud of them all.” 

In the penalty shootout, both goalies performed well, but Pachuca FC was able to squeeze through one more shot in the exciting penalty shootout.

Berman is philosophical about his team’s runner-up finish.

"I think everyone's learned a lot and that's the main thing,” he said. “Everybody has really stepped up their game from literally some of them not being able to kick a ball to now being able to run, knowing positions, knowing different ways to kick the ball. We've had some professional trainers help us out a little bit and I'm really proud of them. I think they put on a good game today. It's hot. It's a big field. It could have gone either way."