Team Freshman was claimed winner of the annual LSU soccer tournament as Latino Stand Up participated in its annual LSU soccer tournament, held on Wednesday, February 26th from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

“We ask students and teachers to put together a team and enter.   Then the teams play each other in a round robin arrangement.  We have several seven-minute rounds.  Then eventually the final teams left in the competition play each other and the winning team is determined. They win T-shirts and bragging rights,” said sponsor Amy Alderson.

Teams fill in waivers and a team sheet with their team name and the players’ names.

“Each team has four members, three who play at any given moment and one to sub in and out as needed,” Alderson said.

The teams also include students and staff.

“All of the teams choose a name for themselves and register for the tournament. Only 3 play at a time so the 4th member can rest,” said sponsor Cynthia Karabush.

In order to prepare for this tournament, teachers in charge  market the tournament.

“We post flyers and announcements to get teams interested and signed up, then we create a bracket of the teams to plan exciting and well-matched rounds for everyone,” Karabush said.

Some students who volunteered and who were in LSU sold food for guests and players during the tournament.

“I was one of the people who sold food. We were also in charge of giving the soccer players drinks during the tournament,” said student Jose Torres.

In charge of setting up and supervising the event is the LSU sponsors and members.  North teachers serve as volunteer referees.

“LSU sponsors Mrs. Karabush, Sr. Rocha, and club members, and I are in charge of it,” Alderson said.

No matter if someone is participating in the event themselves or is a member of the audience, the tournament is always an event to enjoy.

“It’s a great experience, because everyone who wants to can take part can. Teams are coed and include people of diverse ability levels. Staff members have a great time refereeing, and parents and siblings come to cheer for their favorite team,” Karabush said.

All of the teams tried their best, but in the end, Team Freshmen won first place in the LSU soccer tournament.

“The score was Team Freshman in first place, team Real Futbal Players in second, and team Wu-Tang Clan in third,” Karabush said.

Even the teams who did not get the gold, still had a marvelous time.

“I was on team Handel. We didn’t make it to the finals, but we still tried our best. The only flaw that I feel the LSU tournament had was that it could have been longer. If it was longer than other teams would have had a better chance of moving on to the finals,” said student Fernando Morales.