2024 APAC Boys Soccer Super Tournament at CISS

Last week, the AISG varsity boys soccer team headed off to Shanghai to compete in the 2024 APAC boys Soccer Super tournament hosted by Concordia International school of Shanghai (CISS) from Thursday April 18 to Saturday April 21.  

The goalkeeper Felix said, “I think that I improved a lot from this tournament. As a team we were a bit unlucky with the results due to a variety of factors but towards the end we just tried to have fun and play together whilst still keeping a high intensity. We weren’t trying to over analyze each game but just play the football we know how to play.” 

Prior to the tournament AISG was selected in Pool A for the group stage which consisted of the APAC schools of CA, Brent, and WAB. Everyone on the team knew that this pool would be very tough, in which they showcased their strong mentality heading off to APAC on the plane. 

A senior player Aravind said “My mental mindset going into the APAC tournament was to play the best I could, no matter the result. Since this was my final soccer season at AISG, I wanted to play as much as I could, make the most out of this experience.” 

After kicking off a fired-up opening ceremony on the first day, the boys’ team first matched up against Brent International School at 10:00 A.M. Both teams started off with a bang. Each player on each team demonstrated their competitiveness both on and off the field. Brent was up two goals to nil against the boys’ team in the first half. Everybody thought the game was set after Brent scored another goal in the second half. However, AISG then scored two goals to tie up the score in the second half. The suspense of the game suddenly appeared to be back. Unfortunately, the AISG boys weren’t able to score another goal, ending the result with a final 2:3 score to Brent. Despite the close loss, the two schools fought with the spirit of competition to win the match. 

{AISG’s team huddle before game 1} 

Photo credits to CISS 

The second match was against WAB at 2:30 P.M. Each player on both teams demonstrated their passion for each minute of the game to represent themselves and their schools. 

That wraps up the first day of the whole tournament. The players and coaches took a well-rested night to recharge and prepare for the third match of the group stage against CA on the second day at 11:00 A.M. 

The match against CA had been nothing short of an exhilaration. The team demonstrated the spirit of competitiveness with the fight for every possession of the ball. Everyone on the team communicated with each other very well to give a hard fight to CA international school.  

Finishing with the tail end with remarkable memories in the group stage, our team faced SAS PD to earn a spot in the 9th-12th place round robin at 2:30 P.M. Trailing with almost a nil-nil score sheet for both teams in the first 20 minutes, SAS PD scored their first goal in around the 30-minute mark. After that, the team transformed into a defensive strategy. The goalkeeper Felix used his magical hands to keep the ball out of the team’s net. He said “I think that I was more confident on the ball and more confident to come out the box when playing. I was also louder speaking to the defense and telling them when they were out of position.” The score eventually ended 1:0 to Pudong, and both teams fought with a strong physicality on the pitch to be successful and confident keeping the opponent team from attacking the net.  

With ups and downs, the boys’ team has put the second day to an end. The hard-working coaching staff along with the exhausted players were determined to have their first win of APAC on the third day against TCIS. The match against TCIS was at 11:30 in the morning. Through effective communication, world class rondo passes, and attacking execution, from both sides, the game suddenly turned very competitive. Before the half time mark at 35 minutes, the boys were up 4:0 against TCIS. In the second half, the AISG boys played more defensively and continued to demonstrate the team’s ability to be aggressive and defensive. TCIS tallied 0 goals in the end, and the boys had their first victory of APAC. Despite the ups and downs of the game, the two teams both showed great sportsmanship towards each other both on court and off the field.  

{AISG against TCIS} 

Photo credits to CISS 

The last game of the whole tournament featured our boys’ soccer team at 4:00 P.M against SAS PX. With the experience of defeating SAS PX in tri-cities a few weeks ago, AISG was confidently heading inside this game. Due to differences of who was on the floor and nuanced changes of playing style from both sides caused some confusion in the defensive end, AISG conceded 3 goals. However, through the lessons and summary from both teams, the boys learned how to get better defensively.  

After hearing the whistle for the final 70-minute mark, AISG wraps up its 2024 super APAC boys’ soccer tournament filled with ups, downs, and memorable experiences in both the coaches and players perspectives.  

AISG’s midfielder Andy said, “We were able to work as a team and play each game with passion despite facing challenges at the start of the tournament.” 

Overall, the AISG APAC boys’ soccer team got 11th place in the whole tournament and received the sportsmanship reward. This means a lot to the boys. A sportsmanship award is given to a team that shows the upmost respect to other school players, coaching staff, and even the fans who came to watch the tournament.