Despite the year ending and spring breaks inching closer, the members of the Northwood soccer program are all focused on the same thing. Victory at Jefferson Cup. Every year, no matter how good the prior season has gone, the Huskies always fall short at the Jefferson Cup. Whether it’s the heat, the focus on spring break rather than the games, or just the stiff competition in general, something about the Jefferson Cup makes it stand out from the rest.
First, some context. Jefferson Cup is, size-wise, the biggest tournament in the United States, and, competition-wise, second only to the world-famous Dallas Cup, which takes place the same week. The tournament began in 1981 and features around 2,000 top teams across every age group and skill level. Black Rock is good enough to make the top bracket of the whole tournament, but since making the top group, Northwood’s best finish has been fourth place out of the twelve-team group.
The field where Northwood claimed victory over Arlington SC last year. Photo: Jefferson Cup.
Last year, the U19 team was on pace for a great tournament. They won their prior tournament in Las Vegas and came in well rested, ready to do what no Northwood team before them had done. They started the tournament off with a big win over Arlington SC and carried that momentum into the next game, the biggest game of the tournament, a clash against the hosts, Richmond United. Despite a valiant effort, the team fell 2-1 on a last-second goal, thereby dashing their hopes of a tournament win. With all hope lost heading into the final game, the team fell 4-3 in a less heartbreakingly close game. This has been the case for Northwood teams for years; they always build up the Jefferson cup well, only to fall short right before the finish line.
However, that is not the case this year. This week, the coaching staff met with the players, and everyone agrees that this year the focus is sharper than in years past. Every player has their eyes set on one goal and one goal only: winning the Jefferson Cup. Also, another factor that will help this year’s team is having a chip on their shoulders. Coming into the Jefferson Cup, most Northwood teams have been coming off an easy win of the Las Vegas Players Showcase, but not this year. The Northwood U19 team faced the hardest schedule in years in Las Vegas and came away with an anticlimactic haul of three ties and one loss, leaving them gripped with anger and frustration. When asked about the team’s mindset for the Jefferson Cup, senior captain Tziyon Morris had this to say: “For a lot of us, it’s our second-to-last tournament at Northwood, and it’s the biggest one that we play each year, so we’re playing every game like it’s our last and trying to cherish every moment. Along with that, in a certain sense, we feel like we let the program down in Las Vegas, and we have a chip on our shoulders and something to prove at this year’s Jeff Cup. We want to be the first team ever to win the Jefferson Cup for Northwood and send the year off in the right manner.”
Morris sums up the team’s mentality perfectly, and for those looking on from Northwood, expect big results as we head into spring break.
