The Physical Life On the World Stage
Did you know that one of our Wolfhounds is a World Futsal Cup champion? Karsen S., a Fifth Grade student here at Saint Patrick Catholic School, plays futsal--a type of indoor soccer with a much smaller playing area--with the Virginia Beach Futsal 2011/2012 girls select team. After a two year journey, Karsen and her team recently came home with the World Cup trophy!
Achieving excellence takes hard work and perseverance, which Karsen and her teammates exhibited on their way to the World Cup. The team traveled to Greensboro in December 2021 and to Orlando in July 2022 placing 3rd at Nationals and 3rd at the World Futsal Championships through United Futsal. Based on their showing at the World Futsal Championship, they were invited to Spain for the World Futsal Cup last month. The other team that qualified could not attend, so they were the only team from the United States to represent their age group. Nine girls (and thirteen parents) flew to Spain on Christmas day to play in the World Futsal Cup in Blanes, Spain.
The team played two games on the Tuesday after Christmas that they won quite handedly. They followed their initial two games with one on Wednesday in which they also showed very well. On December 29th, they were faced with some stiffer competition and played two challenging games against teams from Madrid and Brazil. The young ladies trailed the entire game with Brazil, but with five minutes left in the game, they scored and tied it up. In the next three minutes they scored two more goals and won the game 3-1. In pool play, the team was undefeated!
After finishing first and second in pool play, USA and Brazil met in the championship. There were drums, whistles, popping balloons, and lots of cheering that provided an atmosphere like no other. Both teams were tied 0-0 at the half, but in the second half the American girls took over with their fitness, strength, and skill. They won the match 4-1 and were crowned the World Futsal Cup Champions for 2022.
The girls were very excited about their impressive win and the opportunity to meet players from around the world. In addition to their busy tournament schedule, the team and their families had fun exploring the small towns and castles around Blanes, Spain.
The Physical Life is more than a score or the outcome of a single game. Students at Saint Patrick Catholic School, like Karsen, learn teamwork, perseverance, good sportsmanship, along with how to live a healthy and active lifestyle through Athletics - both through the School and in our community. Karsen’s team may have entered the tournament as underdogs, but by living the tenants of the Physical Life on and off the field, the USA team prevailed.
We could not be more proud of Karsen and her teammates. They arrived back home on New Year’s Eve and can now enter 2023 as World Futsal Cup Champions! Congratulations Karsen and teammates on a job exceptionally well done!
