OMS Soccer Club Caps Another Successful Season

After the regular season, Team Netherlands in the O'Donnell Middle School Soccer Club was the sixth place team out of six teams, but when the playoffs ended, they were the last team standing, winning the 2012 club championship.

Playoff games for the OMS Soccer Club were held last Friday, March 16 at the . 

Stoughton High boys' varsity soccer coach and West/Jones School physical education teacher Matt Bernstein runs the program, which is in its third year. SHS girls' varsity soccer coach Gary Muello assists Bernstein.

About 60 students in grades 6-8 took part in this after school extracurricular, which ran from January until March. The students are coached by varsity soccer players from the . The teams practiced on Tuesdays and competed on Fridays. 

The six teams are all named for various soccer-playing countries. All six teams advanced to the postseason, with the quarterfinal, semifinal and championship matches all taking place on March 16.

In the quarterfinal round, USA beat Brazil; Ukraine beat Italy; and the Netherlands beat England. 

The highest remaining seed, Team USA, coached by Tim Tullis and Cameron Ramos, earned a bye, automatically advancing to the finals. 

The Netherlands beat Ukraine 2-1 in the semifinal game, setting up a finals match with Team USA. 

The Netherlands, coached by Evan Schulze and Jon Silva, subsequently went on to earn a 2-1 win over team USA, capturing the championship. 

Team England, coached by Zach Finer and Tyler Reis, finished the regular season with the best record (13-5-7). Jordan Asnes (USA) led the league in scoring with 25 goals and 3 assists. Goalie Nick Comeau (England) allowed the fewest goals per game (1.08 per game over the course of 25 games) and Kyle Silverman (Ukraine) notched the most shutouts in net with 9. 

Upon the conclusion of the championship game, players, coaches and family members celebrated the season at a banquet. 

Bernstein said he hoped the indoor club soccer league encouraged the students to want to play soccer and helped them to foster a love of the game.

But there were also some life-lessons, beyond the game of soccer, that Bernstein hoped the players learned. 

"They learn that they can succeed even with obstacles," Bernstein said. "And for those that have to fight through more obstacles, the ones that fight and do their jobs will succeed in the end."