We Are the Champions !!!
2001 District VI Soccer Cup, U-12 Girls

                                           by Matt Rosemond

Have you ever heard the term- "Team of Destiny?" Well, if you ever wondered what that meant, we were all treated to the "definition" this Sunday December 09, 2001on a cool early winter afternoon at Cherry Island Soccer Complex. In a game that defined the season, the Predators, with their backs against the wall, pulled out a miracle 4-3 win to take the District Cup from a very experienced and talented Fair Oaks Spirit team. And they did it like true Champions, never giving up, fighting for 59 minutes and 45 seconds before capitalizing on a Penalty Kick that tied the score and sent the game into a shootout...

The Shootout was almost like a dream. As each girl approached the box, a silence would fall upon the field. Looking around, you could see that our game had grabbed the interest of hundreds of on-lookers...people there to watch other games, but now they were watching our game. This was Soccer to its truest core! This was payoff for all the hard work, all the practices, all the miles up and down highway 80 to another game, all the early mornings pushing everyone out of bed to make it on time. . .

Words cannot describe the feeling we all had....tears did for many. Parents in tears, players in tears, coaches in tears. There were no individual standouts in this game, the Predators stood out together,... as a Team. Everyone was a contributor and that's why we are the Champions. Every player had a different role in this team of destiny. Without each and every one of our player's efforts this would have never happened like this. Pure Soccer...we all saw a glimpse of this on this day when our girls took home The Cup. Someday we will all look back and realize how special this year was for all of us...

We will all remember, just like in slow motion, in the silence, how that last ball hit the back of the net and fell to the ground...a ball that symbolized our team.

The Solano Predators....The District VI, U-12 Girls Champions !!!!!

December 2001